By Prisca Sam-Duru
In a major strategic move to harness the power of film in shaping the national narrative, NLNG has unveiled a new category under its prestigious awards: The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts.
The inaugural theme for the documentary film prize, which carries a substantial award of $20,000, is “Identity.”
The new prize is specifically targeted at emerging Nigerian filmmakers aged 18 to 35.
The company announced at a Lagos press conference that the new Prize category aims to challenge young creators to produce documentary films that celebrate the nation’s multifaceted identity as well as reshape global perceptions of Nigeria through visual excellence and creativity.
The new prize cycle will officially commence in February 2026 with a Call for Entries, running concurrently with The Nigeria Prize for Science and The Nigeria Prize for Literature.
Speaking on the launch, General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, NLNG, Sophia Horsfall, emphasised the company’s commitment to nurturing creative capital as a component of national development.
“The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts is an invitation for young Nigerians to own their narrative, to show the world our complexity, our brilliance, and our resilience through film,” Horsfall stated. “This Prize symbolises NLNG’s belief that storytelling is nation-building—that every frame, every voice, and every perspective matters in the shaping of who we are and who we aspire to be.”
She added that the prize is designed to strengthen the nation’s voice globally while promoting unity and understanding by bridging the gap between Nigeria’s dynamic youth population and the broader creative industry.
The prize will be administered by the same esteemed Advisory Board that oversees the literature category, chaired by Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, and supported by Emeritus Professor Olu Obafemi and Professor Ahmed Yerima.
Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo described the prize as a significant milestone in NLNG’s over two-decade commitment to excellence. “The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts is a reaffirmation of our belief that excellence knows no boundary. It can be written, spoken, or filmed. It asks its creators to confront truth, explore memory, and translate experience into meaning,” she noted.
Joel Benson, an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker and technical advisor to the Advisory Board, underscored the significance of the development. “This is, without question, one of the most significant developments in Nigerian and African documentary filmmaking,” Benson said. He affirmed that the prize will be benchmarked against international film festival standards to ensure winning entries can compete globally.
According to him, the inaugural edition will accept short documentaries of no more than 20 minutes completed between April 2024 and April 2026. Submissions, he said, will be judged on originality, production quality, and storytelling craft.
Benson further explained the theme “Identity,” encouraging filmmakers to use the documentary genre to explore who Nigerians are—as individuals, communities, and cultures—and how that shapes their worldview.
The judging panel will be chaired by veteran actor and director Dr. Sam Dede, alongside award-winning director Adeola Aderonke and renowned producer George Ugwuja. The prize cycle will culminate in the Grand Award Night in October 2026.
