Showing posts with label African Countries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African Countries. Show all posts

Friday, May 6, 2022

Nollywood : Between The Palme d'Or and Netflix d'Or

Nollywood : Between The Palme d'Or and Netflix d'Or

Well, if #Nollywood movies cannot qualify for the Official Selection for the competition for the Palme d'Or at the annual Cannes Film Festival in France, they have qualified for the Originals Selection of the #Netflix on the world wide web.

It would be great to have an annual Netflix Awards where Nigerian movies can make the Official Selection for competition for a Netflix d'Or.

If after more than 20 -30 years of making movies and your greatest achievement is having your movies on Netflix while your fellow filmmakers in other African countries are competing with the best filmmakers in the world in the Official Selection of the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival coming up from May 17 - May 28, 2022, is still better, because you to have something to cheer about than have nothing to brag about.

Cheers!

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima,
The Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry since 2013.




Thursday, September 1, 2011

Sweden to host informal Nordic-African ministerial meeting in Skåne

1 Sep 2011 11:55 Africa/Lagos


Sweden to host informal Nordic-African ministerial meeting in Skåne

STOCKHOLM, September 1, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Next week, on Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 September, Sweden will be hosting an informal foreign ministers meeting between the Nordic countries and eleven African countries at Örenäs Castle, south of Helsingborg. Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt will host the meeting and Minister for Trade Ewa Björling and Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson will also be taking part.


At the meeting ministers will discuss economic development and growth against the backdrop of the strong economic outlook in several African countries, freedom on the Internet, democracy and state-building, and other topical issues.


Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt will host the meeting. Sweden's Minister for Trade Ewa Björling and Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson will also be taking part. In attendance will also be foreign ministers (or other representatives) from Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, and Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Djibouti.


This year's will be the tenth informal Nordic-African ministerial meeting of its kind. Each year the job of hosting the meeting has alternated between an African country and a Nordic country.


Press conference

A press conference with Mr Bildt and Ms Carlsson will be held after the meeting. Please bring your press credentials.


Time and place:

Tuesday 6 September, approx. 12.15

Örenäs Castle, Landskrona, Sweden


Source: Sweden - Ministry of Foreign Affairs


Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
1 Sep 2011
11:55 Sweden to host informal Nordic-African ministerial meeting in Skåne
08:15 Press statement on piracy, maritime armed robbery in Gulf of Guinea
08:11 UN Secretary-General, in briefing to Security Council, calls for quick, decisive action to meet challenges facing Libya's transitional authorities


Match.com Reveals Dating Trends and Opinions of New York City Singles

CreditCards.com: Weekly Credit Card Rate Report

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Hurricane Season

10th Anniversary of 9/11

Labor Day 2011

IBM to Acquire Algorithmics








Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Migrants Continue to be Vulnerable in Libyan Conflict

7 Jun 2011 16:46 Africa/Lagos


Migrants Continue to be Vulnerable in Libyan Conflict

GENEVA, June 7, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- IOM Press Briefing Notes


The on-going conflict and political stalemate in Libya has left migrants in a situation of continued vulnerability, with large groups stranded across the country.


During an assessment of the humanitarian needs in various parts of Libya, IOM staff reported on the plight of a large community of mostly African and Filipino migrant workers sheltering in two sites in the capital, Tripoli.


Staff say some of the migrants have been without jobs since the beginning of the crisis as their employers had left the country. Feeling they have nothing to return to, they stay on in Libya in the vain hope that they may receive back pay from their employers or find another job. Others have been left to take care of employers' properties but have not been paid since February.


The majority, from Ghana, Togo, Sudan, Nigeria, Cameroon and other African countries, are unskilled and undocumented workers.


Like the others, they are dependent on whatever food and shelter people of goodwill from within and outside their community can provide with some basic food prices having increased by up to three times since the start of the crisis.


Although the numbers of migrants managing to flee Libya on a daily basis have slowed down in recent weeks, migrants continue to be stranded in towns and cities around the country.


The Malian Ambassador to Tripoli estimates between 8,000-10,000 of his compatriots remain in western Libya, mostly in Sabha, Gadames, Ubari and Murzuk, while the vulnerability of Sub-Saharan Africans in the eastern part of the country has led to Malians there fleeing into Egypt.


Thousands of Egyptian migrants are also believed to be still in the country, according to the Egyptian Ambassador to Tripoli. While most are thought to be in the south in cities such as Gatroun and Sabha, others are in places like Sirt and in need of evacuation.


As these reports emerge, IOM is continuing its efforts to access Gatroun where many Chadians are reported to be stranded. IOM interviews with Chadians who are returning home by truck reveal that many migrants have stayed as long as they could in Libya in the hope of being given months of unpaid wages. Lack of food and water was forcing them to finally leave.


Meanwhile, an eighth IOM mission to evacuate another group of migrants by sea from the port city of Misrata concluded late last week.


The mission, funded by the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, rescued 166 migrants, the majority from Sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeriens, Chadians, Ghanaians and Sudanese. The rest comprised Palestinians, Moroccans, Egyptians, Tunisians as well as migrants from Jordan, Britain and Pakistan.


Thirty-six war-wounded casualties were evacuated to Benghazi with the migrants, bringing the number of people rescued from Misrata to about 7,200.


The IOM-chartered ship also delivered hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid and provided the logistics for the deployment of an IOM-led interagency assessment team to Misrata to assess humanitarian needs there after months of fighting.


So far, IOM has provided evacuation assistance to about 31,000 people from inside Libya including the Misrata operations. More than 9,000 migrants including Sub-Saharan Africans have been transported by road from Tripoli to the Tunisian border and nearly 15,000 from Benghazi in the east to the Egyptian border.


Since late February, IOM has helped nearly 144,000 migrants in Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Chad and Niger with evacuation assistance back to their home countries.


As the crisis drags on, the numbers of people fleeing across Libya borders continue to mount steadily. More than 952,000 people have so far crossed into its six neighbouring countries or arrived in Italy and Malta.


Source: International Office of Migration (IOM)



Monday, June 6, 2011

8th Tarifa Film Festival Presents 148 African movies



6 Jun 2011 16:05 Africa/Lagos

8th Tarifa Film Festival Presents 148 African movies

TARIFA, June 6, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- 8th African Film Festival of Tarifa presents between 11th and 19th of June 148 movies from 23 African countries, which compete for 8 awards endowed with 46 500 euros. One of the biggest European festival of African cinema welcomes this year over 200 African filmmakers including legendary African directors Abderrahmane Sissako and Moustapha Alassane and focuses among others on African Diaspore in Latin America, the role of cinema in recent revolutions in Tunis and Egypt or restrospective of Congolese cinematography.


Festival is accompanied by 3rd Africa Produce Forum, where 10 African filmmakers compete with their projects to get funding from European producers, while 4th Photoafrica competition offers to African photographers 3 000 euros in prize money. Festival, which attracts every year over ten thousands of film fans, takes place on the southernmost tip of Spanish coast only 14 km from Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar.


COMPETITION AND AWARDS


Feature-length fiction movies (The African Dream section), documentaries (On the Other Side of the Strait section) and short films (Africa in Short section) compete for 8 awards endowed with 46 500 euros. There are awards for the best feature-length movie (15 000 euros), direction (10 000 euros),actor and actress (1 500 euros each), documentary (10 000 euros), short movie (2 000 euros), short movie audiovisual creation (1 500 euros) and Audience Award for the best feature length movie (5 000 euro).


OUT OF COMPETITION


There are 3 non-competitive sections of the festival - Open Screen (classics of African cinema, film adaptations of African literature...), Africa Rhytm (films dedicated to African music and dance), AnimAfrica (African short-length animation films).


RETROSPECTIVE


Retrospective brings 4 sections focused on: Cinema and censorship / Cinema and democracy? (the case of Tunis and Egypt), Cinema of RD Congo (retrospective of Congolese cinematography from 60´s till the present), selection of movies regarding African Diaspore in Latin America and Carte Blanche of FIDADOC, selection of the films from Festival of documentary movies in Moroccan Agadir.


3rd AFRICA PRODUCE FORUM


Ten African film directors will be pitching their new film projects at the 3rd Africa Produce Co-Production Forum to Spanish film producers and TV commissioning editors including representatives of Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel.


There are 4 selected feature-length projects (Mettou, Abderrahmane Sissako, Mauritania, The Boda Boda Thieves, Donald Mugisha/Jamie Tayler, Uganda/South Africa, And Then The Rains Return, Yemane I. Demissie, Ethiopia, Le Ntih, Narcisse Wandji, Cameroon) and 3 documentaries (Un Día Vi 10.000 Elefantes, Pere Ortín/Ramón Esono, Equatorial Guinea/Spain, Parles a Eux, Maïmuna Ndiaye, Burkina Faso, Cenizas del Perdón, Gilbert Ndunga Nsangata, Congo/Spain)


Apart from that there are 3 guest projects to enrich the forum by their experiences: Asube (feature length project), Richard Jordan, Spain, Citizens Without Borders (feature-length project), Lexy Uyi Osunde, Nigeria/Spain, Jeanne d'Arc Masriya (documentary), Iman Kamel, Egypt.


4th PROHOTAFRICA


25 photographers from 11 African countries compete with their works in finale of 4th Photoafrica contest, which offers €3,000 in prize money through 3 awards and the topic of this year is “Urban Space”. The exhibiton of altogether 27 large format photographs will be inaugurated and installed outdoors in Tarifa before and through the festival and after its closure will be travelling the whole year through Spanish and African cities.

25 photographers competing at 4th Photoafrica: Abdelmohcine Nakari (Morroco), Aboubacar Traore (Mali), Adolphus Opara (Nigeria), Djibril Drame (Senegal), Georges Senga (RDC), James Muriuki (Kenya, Hlompho Letsielo, Lesotho, Resta Nyamwanza (Zimbabwe), Mário Macilau (Mozambique), Marwen Trabelsi (Tunis), Mimi Cherono (Kenya) and 13 photographers from South Africa: Noncedo Charmaine Mathibela, Roanne Sutcliffe, Anthony Purnell, Bianca Kerstein Vinay, Cendyl Charlton, Chandre Busschau, Costas Christodoulou, David Kutlwano Moagi, Davina Gokool, Hayden Brawn, Ihsaan Haffejee, Jessica MacLeod, Kristi Bailey.




Contact:

Filip Hruby

International Press Officer

African Film Festival of Tarifa (FCAT)

Mobile: +420/775 011 550

Skype: filip.hruby2409

gabineteprensa2@fcat.es


Source: 8th African Film Festival of Tarifa

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
6 Jun 2011
16:05 8th Tarifa Film Festival Presents 148 African movies
16:06 Statement by H. E. Dr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission At the 8th Ordinary Session of the CISSA Conference Monday, 6 June 2011, Khartoum, Sudan
16:05 AGOA Pre-Forum Event



Monday, March 14, 2011

The United Nations and Loots from African Rulers

The United Nations and Loots from African Rulers


What Kept me guessing is how the Western world, including Australia and some Asian countries keep on being the custodians of the ill-gotten loots of many African rulers (both current and past). We Africans will only know about the loots when there is political crisis such as the uprisings in North Africa, if one of them is overthrown or suddenly died.



Muammar Gaddafi speaking at the United Nations Assembly


Though we still see the loots with our very eyes; having oil wells, private universities, 5 star hotels, directors of many corporate organizations where they invested their loots. One other thing is that the Muslim heads of state of the troubled countries are more corrupt than ever; stealing in the name of Allah, deceiving their people or are they just kleptomaniacs?



President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe


How on earth can an Africa ruler be the richest man in the world by just being the President of his country and stashing away his country’s wealth worth $70 billion; and the United Nations is aware of this wickedness meant to his country and they condoned this loots and continue to dine and wine with him. If Mubarak is worth this, what about others?



Hosni Mubarak of Egypt


Now Gaddafi of Libya is another monster that must be stopped by all means. Since I came into this world all I know about Libyan history from my secondary to university education is Gaddafi and because of this crisis we now know the loot he has acquired over the years. What is left to do is change the name Libya to Gaddafi. There is this adage that says “he who protects and hides a thief is also a thief”. Since these countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia and the Middle East in the United Nations and members of the Commonwealth are part of this conspiracy of keeping the loots, they should use their tongue to count their teeth. No wonder the late Afro Beat King Fela Anikulapo Kuti call it "Disunited Nations". Can United States of America be honest to African Countries by telling us who and who is having our African money dumped in the banks in their country. In my country we know that banks look for deposits, with $70 billion in America banks including others yet to be mentioned why America economy won’t recover fast after the financial crisis. International Monetary Fund IMF will continue to tell African Countries to devalue her currencies I think the IMF is lending to African Countries the loots of our rulers most of the banks are hiding especially the notorious “Swiss banks. “Why will United Nation and Common Wealth not address this man’s inhumanity to man. Suspend them from league of civilized people and isolate them, and return the loots back to Africa instead of enslaving us more with borrowed funds from IMF.



Demonstrators trampling on the poster of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi


In African countries after being an ex this or that they will become multi millionaires and receive awards of best looters and diversion of public funds, this have been the bane of African development over the years. United Nation, don’t wait to give us relief fund, no fly zones and humanitarian activities but refuse and impose sanctions on any bank that indulge in keeping this loots



Nelson Mandela


We have had leaders in Africa like Julius Nyerere of Tanzania of blessed memory, Joaquin Chissano of Mozambique and Madiba Nelson Mandela, I don’t know about others.



~ By Hope Obioma Opara



Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to Visit Nigeria and other African Countries

5 Jan 2010 13:15 Africa/Lagos

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to Visit Five African Countries and Saudi Arabia


BEIJING, January 5, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu announces at the regular press conference: :


At the invitation of Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula of the Republic of Kenya, Minister Ojo Maduekwe of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Minister Zainab Hawa Bangura of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Minister Mourad Medelci of Foreign Affairs of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Minister Taieb Fassi-Fihri of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco, Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi of the People's Republic of China will pay official visits to the six countries from January 5 to 14, 2010. He will also visit the Republic of Maldives.


Source: China - Ministry of Foreign Affairs