By Tinashe Mushakavanhu
Publication Date: 2026-03-26 16:27:00
A new feature film, Makemation, is an African coming-of-age story set in an era of artificial intelligence (AI).
Makemation was produced by Nigerian AI developer and filmmaker Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji. As conversations about AI are dominated by external global powers, his film offers a different perspective: an AI story rooted in African realities.
Read more: AI in Africa: 5 issues that need to be addressed for digital equality
After a successful release in Nigerian cinemas in 2025, the film is now playing internationally and I attended a screening at the Harvard Center for African Studies. This was followed by a discussion with producer and economist Ebehi Iyoha, who researches AI in Africa. The evening brought to the fore exactly what the film so cleverly dramatizes: that the future of AI can also be imagined, debated and built on the African continent.
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