No Nigerian Filmmaker is Among the Best and Greatest African Filmmakers

No Nigerian Filmmaker is Among the Best and Greatest African Filmmakers

I am currently doing research on my article on "African Cinema in the Eyes of the World". 

No Nigerian filmmaker is among the best and greatest filmmakers in African Cinema since 1925 to date. None of them is on the list of the to 10 African Filmmakers.

Only Newton Aduaka's multiple award winning film,"Ezra" that won the most prestigious award of the "Étalon d'or de Yennenga" (Golden Stallion of Yennenga) at the 2007 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou or FESPACO) (held biennially in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. "Ezra" also other sspecial awards; including the Oumarou Ganda Prize, given for the best first film, and the Paul Robeson Prize for the best film by a director of the African diaspora named in honour of the major 20th-century American actor, singer and civil rights activist in the United States.) and C.J Obasi's cinematic masterpiece, "Mami Wata", the  2023 sci-fi drama based on the mythology of Nigerian marine spirits  are included in the best 100 African films so far.

"Mami Wata"'s  cinematographer Lílis Soares won the Special Jury Prize in the World Dramatic Competition and won three awards at FESPACO - Prix de la Critique Paulin S. Vieyra (African Critics Award), Meilleure Image (Cinematography Award) and Meilleur Décor (Set Design Award).

The first African film to win international recognition was Sembène Ousmane's "La Noire de (Black Girl). It won the Prix Jean Vigo in 1966. Ousmane is recognized as the Father of African Cinema.

Only one African film has won the highly coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, "Chronicles of the Years of Fire" (1975) by Algerian director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina. 

Then Mati Diop of Senegal became the only African woman to win the Grand Prix, the second-most prestigious award, for her film "Atlantics" in 2019.

"Tsotsi", a South African film is the first African film to win  the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006 actually,  the first non-French language film from Africa to achieve this honor.  It was directed by Gavin Hood, based on a novel by Athol Fugard.

The first African film to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival was "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha", a South African drama directed by Mark Dornford-May, in 2005.

"Dahomey, directed by Mati Diop won the Golden Bear at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival in 2024, the first Black filmmaker to win the award. 

No African films has won the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award. However, "Mother, Mother" by Somalian filmmaker K'naan Warsame did receive the FIPRESCI Jury Award in 2024.

The Golden Globes celebrated a century of Egyptian Cinema in 2021. I have been working on "A Century of Nigerian Cinema: from Palaver To Nollywood - 1926-2026".

- by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
The Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series, the first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

#africa
#africancinema
#nigeria
#nollywood
#filmmakers
#films
#academyawards
#filmfestival
#cannes
#berlin
#toronto
#Ousmane
#diop
#obasi
#aduaka
#blackgirl
#Tsotsi
#ezra
#mamiwata
#palmedor

#goldenlion
#goldenbear
#goldenglobes
#fespaco
#movies
#series
#books

Pavillon Afrique the Place where Africa Welcomes the World at Cannes Film Festival

ADVERTORIAL: Pavillon Afrique the Place where Africa Welcomes the World at Cannes Film Festival

The mission and driving force of Pavillon Afriques is to increase and give value to the representation of filmmakers, talent and producers who identify with African heritage in order to develop a viable film industry in Africa. Karine Barclais, Founder of Pavillon Afriques, believes in: 

"giving more visibility to African talents on the global scene and allowing the continent to take a better share of the multi-billion dollar film industry."

Pavillon Afriques’ visionary leadership and dedication in the industry to further the respect and demand of African cinema is at the heart of its commitment.

Pavillon Afriques (PA) brings together the finest filmmakers from Africa and its diaspora from Europe, the Caribbeans and the USA to nurture collaborations and bring to life new co-productions. It invites the rest of the world to discover the talents and the specific ways Africa tells stories.

The international film and entertainment industry is ripe for growth when looking at the incredible talent pool and cultural significance of sharing the vision of growing access to distribution of African film and audiovisuals.  It’s no longer a digital revolution, but a digital evolution!

Since 2019, the flagship event takes place each year at the Cannes Film Festival. PA has become the home where Africans and Afro-descendants welcome the rest of the world.

During 10 days, the programme will aim to educate, strategize, network and entertain through workshops, masterclass, panel discussions, country presentations, screenings, pitch sessions, cocktail parties. 

We have content looking for distribution and projects looking for investors. Come and visit Pavillon Afriques in the Village International, Pantiero side

Contact: info@pavillonafriques.com