Thursday, September 10, 2015

Uganda Film Festival Honours Nigerian Filmmaker Femi Odugbemi


UGANDA FILM FESTIVAL 2015 HONOURS NIGERIAN FILMMAKER FEMI ODUGBEMI

Femi Odugbemi selected as Chair of Jury of the 2015 Uganda Film Festival.

3-time Head Judge of the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, respected award-winning filmmaker Femi Odugbemi has just returned from another international assignment serving as the Chairman of Jury of the recently concluded 2015 Uganda Film Festival held in Kampala Uganda 25th-29th August 2015.

Odugbemi was appointed to Chair the jury of the Uganda Film Festival as well last year when he headlined the festival's international guests along with Nollywood star actress Patience Ozokwo. At that time the organizers of the festival, the Uganda Communication Commission, through its Executive Director Mr. Godfrey Mutabazi wrote a glowing tribute stating that Odugbemi's "professionalism and commitment displayed during the task, together with the quality of decisions made contributed highly to the resounding success of the UFF 2014." It was no surprise therefore that Odugbemi was invited once again to Chair the 2015 Jury along with distinguished international jury members including Dr. Sister Dominic Dipio, Professor of Literature at Makerere University Kampala, international film curator from Germany Ms.Barbel Mauch, President of the East Africa Film Network Mr. Leonce Ngabo of Burundi and Pioneer Ugandan TV Producer Faustin Misanvu.
The Uganda Film Festival in its third outing showcases films of Uganda filmmakers as well as films from East African countries including Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and Rwanda. The festival also includes other activities such as Exhibitions, a film market, training workshops and Masterclasses. The final ay of the festival was capped with an elaborate gala evening of glamorous red-carpet and awards in various categories.

Speaking at the gala awards, Head Of Jury Femi Odugbemi revealed that the our jury began work over 3 months ago with over 130 entries into the 2015 UFF. The pre-selection process for the competitive categories was electronically conducted over the course of 60 days and 5 nominees per category were identified and announced by the organizers in the first week of August. The jury then reconvened in Kampala from the 24th-27th August to select the winners. While congratulating the winners, Odugbemi expressed delight at the remarkable progress in the talent and technical quality of the nominated works especially in the areas of storytelling, casting, performance, visual aesthetics, cinematic values, sound and music. He especially noted the improved quality of Sound, one of the repeated weaknesses observed in the year's jury statement. He encouraged more effort in this regard especially in the areas of additional dialogue recording(ADR), Sound Design, Music score and Final mix.

The big winner of the festival was the feature film "HOUSE ARREST" by Joseph Ken which carted prizes for Best Feature Film, Best Sound, Best Screenplay and Best Actress. Other winners of UFF 2015 include "BODA BODA THIEVES" which won for Best Cinematography and Best Editing, "WALK WITH ME" by Peter Muhumuza and Johan Oetitinger which won Best Short Film, "CHIMP-BODA" by Matovu Francis which won for Best Animation and "HALF A DOLLAR" by Oris Ssebowa which won the Best Documentary prize.

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Elizabeth of Toro: The Odyssey of an African Princess: The First Ugandan Hollywood Star
Daughter of one of the kings of the four tribes that formerly ruled Uganda, Elizabeth of Toro is among the most intriguing and accomplished contemporary African women. Only the third African woman to graduate from Cambridge University and Uganda's first female attorney, in the 1960s the princess embarked on a highly successful career as an international fashion model, partly, she explains here, to persuade the West of the beauty and sophistication of the Ugandan people. In the 1970s she turned to public service. Idi Amin, whom she initially viewed as a demented savior and whom she later rejected as a potential husband, appointed her foreign minister in 1974; during the politically sensitive years of transition to the current democratic regime, she was Uganda's ambassador to the United States. With disarming modesty, the princess's intelligent and gripping autobiography allows historical events precedence over her own often dramatic adventures. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
~ Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
African Film: Looking Back and Looking Forward 
By Foluke Ogunleye (Author, Editor)

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