The voyage from a bedroom in Lagos to a screen at AFRIFF.
Cinevoya is a curated, AI-powered short film platform that gives African filmmakers a structured home to monetise their work, grow their careers, and access the global film ecosystem — starting in Nigeria and scaling across the continent.
The name says everything
Cine·
Film. The craft, the art form. The reason we gather in dark rooms and let stories rearrange us.
·voya
The voyage. The journey, the vehicle. The platform that carries upcoming filmmakers from unknown to recognised, from unpaid to earning.
Every feature on Cinevoya exists to serve that journey. Curation protects the quality of what gets on board. Monetisation ensures creators earn along the way. The AI features act as the navigator — helping filmmakers find festivals, reach the right viewers, and connect with the right collaborators. The destination is a sustainable career in film.
Three pillars of the journey
Content. Money. Career.
01 — Content destination
A hand-curated library of premium African short films.
Quality is the ticket to board. Our AI enforces standards before human review, so what makes it onto Cinevoya feels intentional, not algorithmic.
02 — Monetisation engine
Creators earn on every journey.
Pay-per-view today, subscriptions and licensing deals tomorrow. The platform earns only when creators earn — incentives stay aligned all the way through.
03 — Career platform
Filmmaker profiles, spotlights and AI-matched festival submissions.
The full journey, not just the first stop. A crew marketplace lands in Phase 3, turning each filmmaker page into a hub for collaborators and opportunities.
The problem we solve
Three pain points blocking the journey.
01
Filmmakers create but cannot earn.
Thousands of high-quality Nigerian short films are released for free on YouTube and Instagram each year because no structured monetisation channel exists specifically for this format.
02
Talent is invisible.
Emerging directors, writers, and cinematographers have no professional discovery layer. Their work is buried in algorithmic feeds not built for film — and no platform connects them to opportunities.
03
Festival access is opaque and expensive.
Routes into reputable festivals like FESPACO and AFRIFF are not accessible or affordable for most indie creators. There is no intelligent guide to help them navigate submissions.