AFRIFF 2026: Babaeko Set To Release Ramat, New Movie On Valuable Childhood Memories

Veteran advertising industry leader and President of the International Advertising Association, Nigeria Chapter, Steve Babaeko, is set to release Ramat, a film which he says is drawn from one of his most unforgettable childhood memories. The film has been selected to screen at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) 2026 in Lagos.

Babaeko, founder and chief executive of X3M Ideas, revealed the selection in a statement where he said the project began as an effort to hold on to a memory, not as a plan for the festival circuit. “I did not plan to make a festival film,” he said. The story recalls the day he saw his father, a soldier, cry for the first time. He said it took him many decades to find the courage to let other people see it.

The cast for Ramat includes Gbubemi Ejeye, Samuel Adebola and Durotimi Okutagidi with Nora Awolowo as director of photography. Babaeko also expressed gratitude to Oluwabukola Makinde, Zero Degrees, Seun Akinseloyin, Josh Borrill and others who supported the project.

The film is scheduled to show in Lagos in November, with more details to unfold later. The festival’s published dates put the 2026 edition between November 1 and 7. A screening date, venue and category for Ramat have not yet been released.

The selection puts one of Nigeria’s best-known advertising figures into a film festival line-up. Babaeko started X3M Ideas in 2012 after working at agencies including 141 Worldwide. The X3M group has since grown to include X3M Music and Zero Degrees Productions.

AFRIFF was founded in 2010 by Chioma Ude and is held every year in Lagos. It runs film screenings, awards, industry conversations and professional development programmes for African and diaspora cinema. This year’s edition carries the theme “Frames of the Future: Africa’s Creative Intelligence.”

The festival has also widened its role beyond screenings. In 2025, it launched the AFRIFF Film & Content Market, which is meant to support financing, co-production and distribution for African projects. In May, it presented five African works in progress at the Marché du Film in Cannes, representing Lagos at the world’s largest film market.
Babaeko closed his announcement with a line that sums up the moment: he is “not waiting in the wings anymore.”