Dika Ofoma and Blessing Uzi continue to shine as they secure funding and international recognition. Directed by Ofoma and produced by Uzzi, Kachifo: Till the Morning Comes, earned three international awards ceremony for the 23rd edition of Locarno’s talent development programme Open Doors.

The Open Doors initiative was the main award for the day and also included two other African projects from Zimbabwe and Ivory Coast. The award entails a CHF 50,000 grant total sponsored by visions sud est and the City of Bellinzona. Kachifo came in second and landed CHF 20,000.

The movie also picked up the €6,000 Prix Arte Kino International for development and the Sørfond Award which gives the project an opportunity to take part in the Norwegian pitching event this November.

According to the five man Jury Kachifo  tells a well structured story in a complex and challenging manner. In their words“The award goes to a film with an original narrative structure, where two layers are closely connected. Through a parallel storyline, we gradually approach the revelation of a connection that will unfold over time. We are excited by the complex and challenging approach taken, which will require further work to fully realize. We look forward to seeing this film about love on the big screen soon.” 

According to screen daily, Dika Ofoma’s €1.3m romantic drama, which is set to begin shooting at locations in the Nigerian state of Enugu from October 2026, draws inspiration from the difficulties the director has experienced coming to terms with his sexuality and pursuing romantic relationships with other men in a country where same-sex attraction is considered taboo and criminalised under the Nigerian constitution.

This wins mark a big break for Dika Ofoma and Blessig Uzzi’s continuous collaborations. A little while back they released Something Sweet, which is one of Zikoko’s Life Series. And on the other end Uzzi debuted the award-winning feature Freedom Way. Jointly they have also worked together under the Blu-house studios on A Quiet Monday,