Fame Week's 2025 Inclusive Lens Awards finalists revealed
Now for its second edition, the Inclusive Lens Awards, a powerful celebration of filmmakers, creators, and storytellers who are pushing boundaries and reshaping perspectives through film and television, have revealed its finalists for the 2025 edition.
Source: www.fameweekafrica.com
Presented by Bronx Colors, a professional makeup brand rooted in diversity and bold self-expression, the Inclusive Lens Awards spotlight African stories that reflect the continent's rich cultural fabric and amplify voices too often left out of the frame.
The Inclusive Lens Awards shines a light on bold, authentic works that challenge the status quo and champion representation.
The 2025 awards ceremony will take place on 2 September 2025, at Fame Week Africa in Cape Town, uniting finalists from across the African diaspora with global industry leaders attending Africa's film and television gathering.
“As conversations around diversity grow more challenging globally, Africa must lead in reframing a narrative that honours the multitude of voices on this continent,” says Martin Hiller, portfolio director of Fame Week Africa.
This year's ceremony will feature a keynote address by award-winning social innovator and disability inclusion advocate Tarryn Tomlinson and will honour outstanding fiction and non-fiction works across three categories: Diversity in Kids' Programming, Representation of Disability, and Representation of LGBTQIA+.
These awards celebrate the stories that ignite change, challenge assumptions, and redefine Africa's place in global storytelling.
The 2025 Inclusive Lens Awards finalists
Diversity in Kid's Programming
These children's shows center African identity, values, and creativity through engaging storytelling.
Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes (South Africa, Canada, France) features a brave Black girl and her friends defending their community with heart and tech.
Kunda and Friends (United Kingdom) gently explores adventure and character-building in an inclusive African setting.
Meanwhile, Waka Waka Moo (Namibia) blends puppetry and live action to teach life skills using local languages and playful, culturally grounded narratives.
In Iwájú (Nigeria), Tola and Kole navigate a high-tech Lagos, unearthing hidden societal truths.
Iyanu (Nigeria), follows a courageous orphan discovering magical powers in a Yoruba-inspired realm as she rises to protect her homeland.
In Supa Team 4 (South Africa & United Kingdom), four teenage girls from Lusaka balance school and superhero missions under the mentorship of a retired spy.
These animated series are celebrated for their Afro-futuristic style and Black girl heroes, cultural mythology, and pressing social themes shaped by authentic African voices.
Representation of Disability
This compelling trio of stories highlights perseverance, inclusion and strength.
Caleb: Beyond the Bite (South Africa) follows shark attack survivor Caleb Swanepoel as he bravely returns to the sea, embracing healing and renewal.
Facing Forward (South Africa) captures para surfers preparing for Para Surf 2024, revealing how sport transforms lives.
Normal To Me (South Africa) offers heartfelt insight into the daily experiences of adults with special needs working at a protective workshop in Fish Hoek.
The narrative lineup features deeply personal journeys such as living with a disability, finding your autonomy and maternal love.
Everybody Loves Touda (Morocco, France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway) follows a Moroccan singer striving for a better life for herself and her deaf son.
In Special (Nigeria), a man with autism, begins to heal through the care of a kind companion.
Ume (Breathe) (Nigeria) presents a powerful sibling reckoning as a paralyzed woman seeks assisted death, igniting a deeply emotional response from her sister.
In Diepe Waters (South Africa), the Swarts family run a competitive swimming club where Olympic dreams collide with secrets and rivalries, featuring an empowering portrayal of disability through a differently abled swimmer competing on equal footing. The series is also recognised for its inclusive representation of Angie, a young girl with albinism who breaks barriers in South African television.
Meanwhile, One Weeks (South Africa) offers comic relief as Fana, a high school dropout dating a top lawyer, navigates life with surprising wisdom from her precocious 10-year-old daughter.
Representation of LGBTQIA+
The Non-Scripted Films slate showcases diverse LGBTQ+, fame and Black narratives across Africa.
Highlights include personal journeys in Black Women and Sex (South Africa), crime and legacy in Onthou Vi Fredo? (South Africa), and queer creativity in Young, Gifted & Queer (South Africa).
Queer identities are being reimagined in the realm of scripted films.
Blind Spot (South Africa) offers a nuanced portrayal of queer Black women as they navigate love and vulnerability.
In the genre-defying sci-fi dance film Ecstatic Exit (South Africa), two intergalactic travelers reconnect by journeying through different dimensions.
Nyame Mma (Ghana) employs magical realism to explore themes of rejection, heartbreak, and societal pressure experienced by a gay Ghanaian man who returns home.
South African talk-show flair comes alive in Die Tollie & Manila Show, while reality-based storytelling shines in This Body Works For Me and The G List (South Africa), follows the lives of three queer personalities — Kyle Clarke, Lula Odiba, and Mthaux — as they navigate fame, identity, ambition, and relationships in eGoli's queer scene.
Bold and daring narratives are seen in She, He, They (Nigeria), which is recognised for its groundbreaking portrayal of LGBTQ+ lives in — a context where visibility is both radical and risky.
Smoke & Mirrors (South Africa) adds suspense with a salon-owning protagonist and Youngins (South Africa) explores identity through teenage friendships.
Judges
The 2025 Inclusive Lens Awards judging panel brings together a powerhouse of creative leaders, academics, and advocates for inclusive critiquing.
They include filmmaker and lecturer Dylan Valley, Reel Stories founder Esther Pearl, queer cinema scholar Gibson Ncube, writer Karen Jeynes and entertainment veterans like Lala Tuku, Maganthrie Pillay, and Keymanna Paulas.
They're joined by industry experts in storytelling, distribution and inclusion; Graeme Swanepoel, Jason Fiddler, Louise Callcott-Stevens, Tarha McKenzie and Tongai Furusa.
For event details and finalist profiles, visit the Inclusive Lens Awards page.