The Red Balloon Festival is a festival of ideas that fosters discussion on image-making at the intersections of Pan-Africanism, identity, race, mindset, entrepreneurship, relational intelligence, technology, filmmaking, and the business of the creative economy.
The Red Balloon Festival.
One day. Four programme tracks. Endless possibilities and even more opportunities.
2026 Programme
Decolonizing the Algorithm.
Red Balloon Festival: South Africa
Red Balloon Festival Kenya
What to Expect
Red Balloon Festival brings together
Africa's image-makers.
A festival built for the continent.
day
programme tracks
Endless possibilities and even more opportunities.
Panel Discussions
Conversations led by African and African diaspora image makers. — exploring who controls the visual frame, and what it takes to reclaim it.
- Representation and the image economy
- Platforms, algorithms, and African audiences
- Who funds, who distributes, who decides
Industry Workshops
Hands-on sessions for working practitioners — from cinematography and post-production to pitching, licensing, and building a sustainable creative practice.
- Technical craft sessions
- Business and rights literacy
- Peer critique and feedback
Film Screenings
Short films and documentary works by African and African diaspora image makers — curated around the festival theme, followed by conversation with the filmmakers themselves.
- Curated short film programme
- Filmmaker Q&As after each screening
- African voices, emerging and established
Networking
Structured and informal space to connect with fellow image-makers, industry professionals, and potential collaborators from across the continent.
- Peer-to-peer introductions
- Industry mixer session
- Connect with the Kipaji Lab alumni network
what we stand for
A platform for African visual storytellers to connect, collaborate, and be seen.
The tools and platforms shaping what gets made — and what gets seen — weren’t built with African and African diaspora image makers in mind. Red Balloon Festival exists to change that. Not just for one day, but through the networks, conversations, and collaborations that outlast it.
Every session is designed to spark conversation and build lasting industry connections.
Sessions are designed by and for working image-makers. No theory without practice — every conversation is grounded in the realities of making work on the continent.
Every format — from panels to screenings — is built to generate real connection, not polished presentations. You leave with relationships, not just notes.
Programming that speaks directly to the politics of making, distributing, and being paid for visual work as an African creator — platforms, funding, audiences, and representation.
For Africans, by Africans
Kipaji Lab Cohort 4.0 applications open in 2027
Inclusive
Open to all visual storytellers across Africa and the diaspora.
Red Balloon Festival is not credential-gated. Whether you’re a working professional or an emerging voice — photographer, filmmaker, documentarian, or visual artist — if you make images, this day is for you.
OCTOBER 17, 2026
Programme Highlights.
Decolonising the Algorithm
A conversation to open the day — setting the frame for everything that follows.
Craft & Practice
Hands-on cinematography in real urban environments, led by working practitioners.
African Voices on Screen
A curated selection of short films by African image-makers, followed by conversation with the filmmakers.
The story so far
Red Balloon Festival began in Nairobi. Johannesburg 2026 is the next chapter.
Three editions. Three years. A growing community of East African image-makers who came to ask harder questions — and stayed to build something lasting. Now we’re bringing that energy to South Africa.
Partner with us
Building the African creative economy together.
Red Balloon Festival is looking for founding partners who share our commitment to African visual storytelling. If your organisation invests in creative communities, we want to talk.
WHY IT MATTERS
The image-makers who shape how Africa is seen deserve a seat at the table.
If Africans do not tell their own stories, Africa will soon disappear.
