Venice 2026: Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu wins two awards

Cameroonian filmmaker Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu won two awards for The House of the Wind on Saturday, September 12, 2026, in Venice. His debut feature film received the Special Jury Prize in the Orizzonti section and the Lion of the Future “Luigi De Laurentiis,” which is reserved for first works.

The two awards were announced during the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice Film Festival. The official selection places the film among the most notable productions of the 2026 edition, in an Orizzonti selection dedicated to new trends in global cinema.

With a runtime of 102 minutes, The House of the Wind is filmed in French and Bafang. The story follows Josette, an 80-year-old woman living alone in Yaoundé after her children moved to the West. Her life changes when she becomes close to Sarah, a young woman from her neighborhood.

Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu also wrote the screenplay for this drama, inspired by the loneliness of his own mother. The cast includes Josette Kwanya, Moudjeu Pouadeu, and Adrien Jolivet, according to the information released by the Venice Biennale.

The film brings together partners from Cameroon, France, Belgium, Benin, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The Cameroonian production company Horizons d’Afrique and the Beninese company Merveilles Production, based in Cotonou, are among the entities credited by the festival.