Welcome to IQStar Week™ 2026Tonight · Opening Ceremony broadcasts globally at 18:00 UTCPremiere Screening · Paper Lanterns Over Hokkaido available in 90 territoriesForum · The Future of Cinema — open submissions for the audience roundPress Center · Daily kits available throughout the weekWelcome to IQStar Week™ 2026Tonight · Opening Ceremony broadcasts globally at 18:00 UTCPremiere Screening · Paper Lanterns Over Hokkaido available in 90 territoriesForum · The Future of Cinema — open submissions for the audience roundPress Center · Daily kits available throughout the week
Creator Spotlight™
Celebrating craftsmanship — never celebrity.
Each day of IQStar Week highlights creators whose work has shaped this year's conversation.
Amara Okeke
Lagos Lumen Pictures · Nigeria
Director and cartographer-by-training whose work charts the geography of memory.
Featured · The Cartographer of Silences
Ren Takagi
Yukiboshi Animation · Japan
Animation director whose lantern-soft palette has redefined Japanese hand-drawn cinema.
Featured · Paper Lanterns Over Hokkaido
Noor Al-Sayed
Karam Studios · United Arab Emirates
Writer-director exploring the ethics of intimate technologies.
Featured · The Algorithm That Loved Us
Maeve Lindqvist
Nordlys Atelier · Sweden
Fantasy filmmaker working at the latitude where myth and meteorology meet.
Featured · Salt & Constellation
Biography
Director and cartographer-by-training whose work charts the geography of memory.
Creative Journey
From documentary cartography in Lagos to feature direction across three continents, Amara's practice has always traced the lines between place and person.
Exclusive Interview
How does a map become a story?
A map names what we are willing to remember. A story names what we are not.
What do you hope the audience carries home?
The freedom to leave a small white space on their own map.
Filmography
- · The Cartographer of Silences (2026)
- · Tributary (2023)
- · Salt Witness (2020)