The United States Embassy in Nigeria, in collaboration with the Kaduna International Film Festival (KADIFF), has opened a call for the 2026 edition of its AFS-KADIFF Film Production Workshop.
Organised by both the US Diplomatic Mission’s American Film Showcase (AFS) and KADIFF, the former provides the project’s facilitator, while the latter connects local filmmakers to the workshop. Selected filmmakers to participate in the workshop are vetted by both AFS and KADIFF.
To facilitate the programme this year, an American Documentary filmmaker, producer, and director, Patrick Shen. Shen is the founder of Transcendental Media. He is also an adjunct Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he teaches directing in the graduate Documentary Production course.
Shen’s first experience with non-fiction work was in 1999, when he served as a second-unit director and art director on the Emmy-nominated ‘We Served With Pride’, which earned him a visit to the Oval Office to meet with President Clinton.
Since then, he has gone on to win several awards for his films ‘Flight From Death: The Quest for Immortality’, ‘The Philosophers King’, and SXSW 2016 film ‘In Pursuit of Silence’. His documentary works include the award-winning Day of a Stranger, the COVID-inspired film ‘Dawn Chorus’ which premiered at the DC Environmental Film Festival, and the L. A Times Short Documentary ‘The Picture Taking Experiment’. His works have been screened at prestigious film festivals, cinemas, museums, and academic institutions, including SXSW, CPH: DOX, the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the Smithsonian, the Hammer Museum, the Music Centre, Princeton, and Harvard University.
His role as a film envoy with the US State Department is what brings Shen to Nigeria.
Filmmakers keen on tapping into Shen’s rich film resources should register for the workshop online on or before February 28, 2026.
