Recently, the Kaduna International Film Festival (KADIFF) secured a partnership with Air Peace which offers 20% discount on flight to participants to the festival this August.

LEADERSHIP Friday in a chat with the festival founder, Israel Audu Kashim, discovered how the deal was procured, and it was largely based on aggressive marketing.

Post announcing the theme of the eighth edition at the end of the festival last year, KADIFF wasted no time opening a call for film submissions same year, and establishing a nine-man jury to select entries for screening at the festival as early as March 2025. By May, it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pearl International Film Festival (PIFF) Uganda, not to mention, the continued online promotion of the festival by international jurors, local jurors, and with the support of film actors/actresses, and securing the approval of several embassies in the country – that in turn encouraged their citizens to attend.

This resulted in over 700 estimated participants scheduled to attend the festival – which include 20 Ugandans, 10 other foreign nationals, and 100 local registered participants from across the country. There are also the festival’s visits to the National Youth Service Corps, and the Kaduna State University (KSU), which has an estimated – 200 Kaduna-based NYSC corps members and 300 KSU students set to attend.

The 130 registered international and local participants is a good enough number to tempt the airline into the partnership.

On what inspired the partnership, Kashim said, “some people wanted to attend the festival but are facing challenges of inadequate funding and other reasons. We thought to approach the airline. The partnership covers international participants who are coming from outside Nigeria to Kaduna. They will get 20% discount on their flights from Lagos to Kaduna, or Abuja to Kaduna.

“It also covers 20% discount on flights for Nigerians who will be attending the festival throughout its duration. All they need to do is to send their details to the information we have circulated online. Invitations have been sent to international participants to participate in the competition and invitations sent to process their visas into the country.”

On the duration of the partnership, Kashim said it’s a one-off, that depends on the outcome of the festival.

Thus far, over 2000 films from over 50 countries were submitted to the festival this year, the largest it has ever received; with over 168 films from 15 countries scheduled to screen at the festival, at the Silverbird Galleria, Kaduna.

Beyond film screenings, attendees will have access to Masterclasses, Panel Sessions, a Cultural Exhibition of KADIFF’s international partners, networking opportunities and a skills acquisition programme. The latter which is the first of its kind at the festival is aimed at helping young creatives develop entrepreneurial skills that will support their livelihood.