I Can’t Stop Thinking About These S16 Shorts (And Neither Will You)

If you haven’t experienced the S16 Film Festival yet, it’s a must-add to your cultural calendar. Founded in 2021 by the Surreal 16 Collective, the festival champions indie shorts and experimental storytelling while creating a welcoming space for cinephiles and creators alike.

The Festival has quickly become an alternative to mainstream Nollywood, offering a stage for indie voices, avant-garde stories, and short films that defy expectations. Running December 1–5, the festival is a creative playground where filmmakers experiment, audiences engage, and African stories take centre stage. 

It was organised in collaboration with A Whitespace Creative Agency, Fatherland, and OAK Media, as it continues to provide a platform for experimental films, creative exploration, and a subculture where cinephiles and emerging filmmakers can connect.

While I haven’t seen everything the festival has to offer, I spent a day immersed in some of the standout shorts, and the experience was nothing short of inspiring.

There’s something irreplaceable about seeing short films in a cinema, especially when they’re as rich and layered as these:

In Keys, a young girl trapped at home discovers courage and self-awareness through her bond with a lost doll.

A horror short by Mooreoluwa Natasha Wright, Keys follows Bolanle, a young girl trapped in her home yet craving the outside world. The story dives into the complex interplay between parent and child, revealing how parental authority can be both protective and suffocating.

Bolanle’s father manipulates religion and masculinity to assert control, cherry-picking biblical passages to enforce his version of “right” behaviour. Meanwhile, Bolanle’s connection to a lost doll, a symbol of childhood and purity, guides her transformation into a more confident, self-aware individual.

What stayed the most was the portrayal of religion as both a societal tool and a personal struggle. The short skillfully balances horror with commentary, showing how easily beliefs can be corrupted to justify control. Wright’s deliberate pacing might feel slow at first, but it builds into a tense, immersive experience, leaving viewers with a dark yet thought-provoking exploration of isolation, manipulation, and personal growth.

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Kagho Idhebor Crowther’s documentary-style photo essay brings Lagos’ Jebba Street vividly to life. Through images spanning 15 to 16 years, the short captures fleeting moments, people who are now gone, and those who have moved on. Watching it in the theatre, the impermanence of time became heavily palpable.

Crowther’s emotional presence during the Q&A underscored the project's personal stakes, including his early years in Jebba, the community he built, and his meeting his future wife there. This short isn’t just about the photography, but more about the meditation on memory, change, and how images preserve the stories we might otherwise forget. By the end, I felt both the weight of what was lost and the beauty of what persists.

The standout for me was Dika Ofoma’s Obi is a Boy, a visually striking, emotionally layered short that tackles identity, an increasingly popular topic, but still fraught with stigma across Nigeria and beyond. Obi’s journey begins when his father discovers him in a crop top and makeup at work, then escalates after the loss of his mother, exposing him to abuse and rejection from his village and a lack of recognition from his father.

The film delicately balances external grief with internal struggle, portraying Obi’s efforts to live authentically while navigating societal pressures. Two elements made it unforgettable for me: the clarity and complexity of its emotional storytelling, and the warm, rich cinematography that reinforced those feelings. 

The ending, where Obi dons traditional Igbo women’s attire, pays homage to 1970s cross-dresser musician Area Scatter, linking Obi’s personal narrative to a broader history of gender nonconformity and courage.

Beyond the films, the S16 Film Festival atmosphere was warm, inviting, and distinctly creative. The audience engaged deeply with the shorts, responding thoughtfully during Q&As and discussions. There’s an energy in the air that encourages dialogue, reflection, and the celebration of cinema as both an art form and a vehicle for social commentary.

Even though I’ve only seen a portion of the lineup, the experience reaffirmed why S16 has become a cultural touchstone: it nurtures talent, celebrates bold storytelling, and challenges audiences to think differently about the world. For anyone attending later in the week, you won’t be disappointed, and it’s sure to be a truly enjoyable experience.

S16 Film Festival 2025 proves that short films can carry the weight of a full-length narrative, offering profound experiences in just a few minutes. It reminds us that storytelling is entertainment, as much as it’s a way to connect, reflect, and sometimes, confront uncomfortable truths.