Chad and Morocco in Official Selection of the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival

Chad and Morocco in Official Selection of the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival

Two films by African filmmakers are in competition for the prestigious Palme d'Or, the most coveted award of the annual Cannes Film Festival in France 

In competition is "Lingui,” by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, who was the  Minister of Tourism, Culture and Crafts of Chad from February 5, 2017 to February 8, 2018. He is well known for his award winning films, including "Bye, Bye Africa", winner of the Best Film Prize at the 1999: annual Venice Film Festival; "Daratt", winner of the Special Jury Prize at the  2006 annual Venice Film Festival and the Yennenga bronze stallion and Best Photo Award at 2007 FESPACO; "A Screaming Man", winner of the Jury Prize at the 2010 annual Cannes Festival and the Robert Bresson Prize at the Venice Film Festival (awarded by the Catholic Church).

The second film is "Casablanca Beats" (Hauts et forts) by Nabil Ayouch, the first by a Moroccan filmmaker to qualify for the competition of the Official Selection of the annual Cannes Film Festival. The  74th annual Cannes Film Festival, is from July 6 to 17, 2021.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor, NOLLYWOOD MIRROR ® Series.

Official Selection of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival

Official Selection of 2021 Cannes Film Festival

The 74th annual  Cannes Film Festival will take place from July 6-17, 2021 in France, celebrating the triumph of the human spirit over the unforeseen circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unbreakable vision of the cinema. 

French director Leos Carax's long-awaited musical film Annette will serve as the opening film of the festival. The Official Selection is scheduled to be announced June 3, 2021. Americana actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster, will be awarded the Honorary Palme d'Or.

COMPETITION

“Ahed’s Knee” OR “Ha’berech,” Nadav Lapid (Israel) 

“Annette,” Leos Carax (France) — OPENING FILM

"Benedetta,” Paul Verihoeven (Netherlands) 

“Bergman Island,” Mia Hansen-Løve (France) 

“Casablanca Beats,” Nabil Ayouch (Morocco) 

“Compartment No. 6” OR “Hytti Nro 6,” Juho Kuosmanen (Finland) 

“Drive My Car,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (France) 

“Everything Went Fine” OR “Tout s’est bien passé,” Francois Ozon (France) “Flag Day,” Sean Penn (U.S.) 

“France,” Bruno Dumont (France)

 “The French Dispatch,” Wes Anderson (U.S.) 

“A Hero,” Asghar Farhadi (Iran) 

“La fracture,” Catherine Corsini (France) 

“Lingui,” Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (Chad) 

 “Memoria,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand) 

 “Nitram,” Justin Kurzel (Australia) “Paris, 13th District” OR “Les Olympiades,” Jacques Audiard (France) “Petrov’s Flu,” Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia) 

“Red Rocket,” Sean Baker (U.S.) 

 “The Restless” OR “Les Intranquilles,” Joachim Lafosse (Belgium) 

 “The Story of My Wife,” Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary) 

 “Three Floors” OR “Tre Piani,” Nanni Moretti (Italy) 

 “Titane,” Julia Ducournau (France) “The Worst Person in the World,” Joachim Trier (Norway) 

UN CERTAIN REGARD 

“After Yang,” Kogonada (U.S.) 

 “Blue Bayou,” Justin Chon (U.S.) “Bonne Mère,” Hafsia Herzi (France) “Commitment Hasan,” Hasan Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey) 

“Freda,” Gessica Généus (Haiti) 

“Gaey Wa’r,” Na Jiazuo (China) 

"Great Freedom,” Sebastian Meise (Austria) 

“House Arrest” OR “Delo,” Alexey German Jr. (Russia) 

“The Innocents,” Eskil Vogt (Norway) “La Civil,” Teodora Ana Mihai (Romania-Belgium) 

“Lamb,” Valdimar Jóhansson (Iceland) “Let There Be Morning,” Eran Kolirin (Israel) 

“Moneyboys,“ C.B. Yi (Austria) “Noche de Fuego,” Tatiana Huezo (Mexico) 

“Rehana Maryam Noor,” Abdullah Mohammad Saad (Bangladesh) “Unclenching the Fists,” Kira Kovalenko (Russia) 

“Un Monde,” Laura Wandel (Belgium) “Women Do Cry,” Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova (Bulgaria) OUT OF COMPETITION “Aline, the Voice of Love,” Valerie Lemercier (France) “Bac Nord,” Cédric Jimenez (France) “Emergency Declaration,” Han Jae-Rim (S. Korea “Peaceful” OR “De son vivant,” Emmanuelle Bercot (France) “Stillwater,” Tom McCarthy (U.S.) 

"The Velvet Underground,” Todd Haynes (U.S.) 

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS 

“Bloody Oranges,” Jean-Christophe Meurisse (France) 

SPECIAL SCREENINGS 

“Babi Yar. Context,” Sergei Loznitsa (Ukraine) 

“Black Notebooks,” Shlomi Elkabetz (Israel) 

“H6,” Yé Yé (France)

"Mariner of the Mountains” OR “O Marinheiro das Montanhas,” Karim Aïnouz (Brazil) 

“The Year of the Everlasting Storm,” Jafar Panahi (Iran), Anthony Chen (Singapore), Malik Vitthal (U.S.), Laura Poitras (U.S.), Dominga Sotomayor (Chile), David Lowery (U.S.) and Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand) 

CANNES PREMIERE

“Cow,” Andrea Arnold (U.K.) “Deception” OR “Tromperie,” Arnaud Desplechin (France) 

“Evolution,” Kornél Mundruczo (Hungary) 

"Hold Me Tight,” Mathieu Amalric (France) 

“In Front of Your Face,” Hong Sang-soo (S. Korea) 

"Jane by Charlotte,” Charlotte Gainsbourg (France) 

"JFK Revisted: Through the Looking Glass,” Oliver Stone (U.S.) 

"Love Songs for Tough Guys,” Samuel Benchetrit (France) 

"Mothering Sunday,” Eva Husson (France) 

“Val,” Ting Poo and Leo Scott (U.S.)

A Dream of Meeting Bong Joon-ho

A Dream of Meeting Bong Joon-ho

I had an usual dream before dawn in which I saw documents like a brochure and passport on my bed in the room of a hotel or a guest house. I saw "Bong" written on the brochure slightly overlapping the passport. The scene faded in a flash. Then another scene appeared and I was meeting with Bong Joon-ho in the lobby of a venue for an event. 

Bong is the famous South Korean filmmaker of critically acclaimed films, including his directorial debut film, "Barking Dogs Never Bite" (2000), "Memories of Murder (2003), and the record making "Parasite" (2019), the highest-grossing South Korean film in history; the first South Korean film to win the highly coveted Palme d'Or of the 2019 annual Cannes Film Festival, @festivaldecannes in France and the first South Korean film to receive nominations for the #Oscars; and at the 92nd Academy Awards won the: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. "Parasite" is the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and became the first non-English language film to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. 

Why did I dream of travelling and meeting Bong Joon-ho?Are we going to meet for international awards or international co-production?

One of my unusual stories which I think Bong can direct the film adaptation is "Hysterics" about sin, insanity and redemption. A surrealistic drama of unforeseen circumstances that resulted in the encounter of a monk with an insane prostitute in a brothel. But how did a Roman Catholic monk end up in a brothel of drunkards, gamblers and prostitutes?

-  ByEkenyerengozi Michael Chima 

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

Faruk Lasaki’s Nigerian premiere of Changing Faces at 2011 EKOIFF

Faruk Lasaki’s Nigerian premiere of Changing Faces at 2011 EKOIFF

The Nigerian premiere of Faruk Lasaki’s spiritual thriller "Changing Faces" will definitely thrill the audience at the second Eko International Film Festival at the Silverbird Galleria from July 9-14, 2011.

Faruk Lasaki is one of the ambitious filmmakers who are making Nigeria proud in the international arena by making movies that are quite different from the common Nollywood flicks. He is also an accomplished producer of award winning commercials and documentaries who got his first break with his 15 minutes short documentary "Scars" (CICATRIZES) that won him $20,000 at the É Tudo Verdade - Festival Internacional de Documentários in Brazil in 1998.

"Changing Faces" is a 92 minutes metaphysical romantic thriller on the transference of spirits through sex as ‘Two unlikely bedfellows share a night of passion’ and their lives were never the same again. The film parades an international cast of professional British and notable Nigerian actors and actresses Alex Lopez, Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey and Ayo Mogaji.

"Changing Faces" was premiered at the Pavillion les Cinema Du Sud of the 61st Cannes Film Festival., featured in competition at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in 2009, Cairo International Film Festival in 2009. Black Diaspora International Film Festival of New York in 2008.

“Changing Faces” was the first Nigerian film to be dubbed into French and screened at FESPACO and Ecrans Noirs in 2009. And on the 3rd and 6th of August 2009, Canal France International (CFI) presented it as the first Nigerian feature film on it’s network and interviewed the director Faruk Lasaki.

Two African films compete for Foreign Language Oscar

Two African films, Outside the Law from Algeria and Life Above All from South Africa are among the 9 films that will advance to the next round of voting in the Foreign Language Film category for the 83rd Academy Awards. They were selected from 66 films that qualified in the category.



Notably is Rachid Bouchareb’s "Outside the Law," the French-Algerian film that annoyed French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's political party, who wanted the film banned at the last Cannes Film Festival, because “it denigrates France and the French military."

"Outside the Law", tells the story of three brothers who fought for Algeria's independence from France after World War II. After losing their family home in Algeria, three brothers were scattered across the globe. Messaoud joined the French army fighting in Indochina; Abdelkader became a leader of the Algerian independence movement; whilst Said moved to Paris to make his fortune in the shady clubs and boxing halls of Pigalle. Gradually, their interconnecting destinies reunited them in the French capital, where freedom is a battle to be fought and won.



"Life, Above All" an emotional and universal drama about a young girl who fought the fear and shame that have poisoned her community. It was directed by South African filmmaker Oliver Schmitz who adapted the international award winning novel "Chanda's Secrets" by Allan Stratton.



Chanda, 16, is a smart and determined South African girl on track to win a scholarship – but she’s suddenly thrust into an impossible situation, forcing her to adopt maturity beyond her years. When we first meet her, she’s making funeral arrangements for her year-old sister, Sara. If people begin to suspect Sara’s death was due to more than a passing flu, Chanda will be faced with shame and stigma, not only for the victim, but also for their entire family.

When Lilian’s (Chanda’s mother) illness becomes impossible to hide, their nosy, eccentric next-door neighbor, Mrs. Tafa, engages a spirit doctor to perform a startling ritual. The spirit doctor determines that a curse is hanging over her and her children. In order to lift it, Lilian must return to the village from where she was banished decades before, leaving Chanda alone to care for her siblings.

Meanwhile, Chanda’s best friend, Esther, has turned to prostitution in a desperate attempt to survive and reunite her own family. Though the community shuns Esther, Chanda refuses to reject her friend. To the horror of those around her, Chanda opens her house to Esther at her friend’s moment of greatest need. That’s just the beginning of Chanda’s fight against convention.

When Chanda discovers that her mother may have gone away to die in order to spare her children shame, she ignores the cautions of the meddling Mrs. Tafa, and embarks on a fateful journey to bring her mother home. And in doing so, challenges the people around her to reject their prejudices and embrace the truth.

The 9 films, listed in alphabetical order by country, are:

Algeria, “Outside the Law”), Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Canada, “Incendies,” Denis Villeneuve, director;
Denmark, “In a Better World,” Susanne Bier, director;
Greece, “Dogtooth,” Yorgos Lanthimos, director;
Japan, “Confessions,” Tetsuya Nakashima, director;
Mexico, “Biutiful,” Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director;
South Africa, “Life, above All,” Oliver Schmitz, director;
Spain, “Tambien la Lluvia” (“Even the Rain”), Iciar Bollain, director;
Sweden, “Simple Simon,” Andreas Ohman, director.



~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Hopeful Nigerian plans mega-film festival for Lagos Mega City

Hope Obioma Opara

Hopeful Nigerian plans mega-film festival for Lagos Mega City


As millions the world over continue to shudder at the shocking news out of Plateau state, in Nigeria’s “Middle Best” region, of the gory massacre of beleaguered Berom Christians by rampaging Muslim Hausa-Fulani herdsmen, in the midst of the unease surrounding Acting President Goodluck Jonathan stepping in to resolve the dilemma of an incapacitated President Umaru Yar’Adua, and the do-or-die political game of his ruling party in the ongoing power tussle over the leadership of Africa’s most populous country, one hopeful Nigerian is not giving up on the future of his beloved country.

His first name, Hope, is suggestive of his drive, as is the smile on his chubby face, beaming out as a beacon of light, bright enough for the ship of state to sail by in the troubled waters of the turbulent times.


Hope’s journey to the world of international film festivals began in November 2008 when he braved a particularly bad spell of winter to attend the 30th edition of Festival of 3 Continents in Nantes, France.

He was excited to gain accreditation to attend the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, where he got caught in the rarefied air surrounding blazing star actress Angelina Jolie. He wrote about it for his Supple magazine which he started in August 2008, after six years’ experience as a successful printer.

From being star-struck at Cannes, France, Hope returned home clear-eyed with high motivation to launch a new film festival buoyed by the much publicized report of Nigeria as having the largest movie-making industry in Africa and the second largest in the world, after India, with an annual production of over 800 movies in video-format, popularly called Nollywood after India’s ‘Bollywood’ the first to be christened after the benchmark, America’s Hollywood.

A close associate came up with a name: Eko International Film Festival. He posted it online in August 2009. By the following month, it was duly registered by Hope. Both had never undertaken any film festival before and knew definitely that they would need help.

Soon, he found a mentor in the person of Bruno Chatelin, co-founder of filmfestivals.com, a web portal launched in 1995. Bruno was in charge of the launch of over 250 films during his tenure as Marketing Director and Managing Director for Columbia TriStar Films and Twentieth Century Fox.

Hope would brave yet another bone-chilling winter to meet up with Bruno in Paris. He got to seal a deal that makes filmfestivals.com a media partner to boost morale to help realize a world-class film festival, like Cannes. He proceeded to commission the design and hosting of the official website of Eko International Film Festival. He returned to Lagos to share the good news.

Hope returned again to Europe for the Rotterdam International Film Festival in the Netherlands, then again for the 60th Berlinale, Germany. He now felt convinced he could put together a successful world-class film festival.


But how does he hope to finance it? “We are making sacrifices to raise the funds for Eko International Film Festival, and what we need most is money to host the filmmakers and accredited journalists and enough to rent the halls we would need to screen selected films!” Hope says amidst chuckles.

Big dreams come with big, mind-blowing budgets. Hope needs over a million dollars to make his dream of a mega film festival come true.

“We have started a fund-raising drive. We’re sending out letters of proposal to sponsors. I saw film festivals with numerous sponsors in Europe. We are seeking the cooperation and support of local and international sponsors. We have attracted the interest of some Nigerian banks and we expect to close deals with some prospective sponsors shortly,” he explains, with infectious optimism pouring out of his brown shining eyes.

News of the forthcoming Eko International Film festival is circulating fast and far on the Internet. But will filmmakers and visitors from outside Nigeria troop in as expected, at the prospects on offer, given reports of the massacres of innocent Christians in the middle belt region making the headlines online and offline?

“Lagos is quite safe and I know that the federal government has the means to stop the conflicts and restore peace in the troubled Plateau state, ditto the troubled waters of the Niger delta region. Everything is going to be fine, even long before Eko International Film Festival opens on July 7,” he assures.

Hope Opara is upbeat. “Eko International Film Festival will provide exciting new business and tourism opportunities. It’s going to be great fun for filmmakers and lovers of films in Nigeria and many thousands of film aficionados sure to turn up.”



~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Avon & Expresion en Corto to Launch 'Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Short Film Contest' During Cannes Film Festival

15 May 2009 16:22 Africa/Lagos

Avon & Expresion en Corto to Launch 'Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Short Film Contest' During Cannes Film Festival

CANNES, France, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products Inc. and the Expresion en Corto International Film Festival (Mexico) have joined forces to launch the "Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Short Film Contest" during this year's Cannes Film Festival in France.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090515/NY17520-a )
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090515/NY17520-b )


The short film competition, which accepts and awards short films and documentaries whose content or themes deal with domestic violence issues, originated in Mexico in 2007 as part of a joint project between Avon Mexico and Expresion en Corto, and has been held on two previous occasions.

"Avon Mexico's social commitment started a long time ago, and we realized that for years, domestic violence was never addressed publicly although it was pervasive throughout the country. We have been working for the last five years with young people to make them aware of this issue and to maximize our impact this year Avon and Expresion en Corto are pleased to launch this competition internationally during the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival. With this initiative Avon reaffirms its commitment to become a pioneer by raising our voice for a better tomorrow without domestic violence!" commented Jorge Martinez-Quiroga, General Manager of Avon Mexico.

The competition will be launched on May 15th during the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, the most important film event in the world, with more than 4,000 journalists in attendance among the 30,000 accreditees, representing the entire spectrum of the motion-picture industry. Over its 60+ year history, Cannes has solidified itself as the most respected film festival in the world and become synonymous with the glamorous, trendsetting and fashionable lifestyle that its guests, stars and the media celebrate throughout the festival.

The "Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Short Film Contest" will be officially launched during a presentation to be held on Friday, May 15, 2009, between 12:00pm - 1:00pm within the Short Film Corner, the most important platform in the world for short film distribution and the most visible location within the Marche du Film, where producers, international sellers, distributors and financiers meet up in Cannes to make the deals for tomorrow's films. Immediately following the presentation there will be a screening of the "Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Short Film Contest" program to be held in one of the Marche du Film screening rooms within the Palais des Festivals et des Congres from 1:30pm and 3:30pm.

The program, representing the best films from the first two years of the "Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Short Film Contest," will be directly viewable on more than 40 screens within the Digital Film Library and highlights of the films will be found in the Short Film Corner's official program catalog and website. This Digital Film Library can be viewed by festival guests, industry professionals, top festival programmers, television stations, media outlets, producers and distributors looking to program and purchase content.

"Avon Products Inc. and Expresion en Corto share a mutual belief in the power of film," commented Carol Kurzig, President of The Avon Foundation for Women, "not only as a medium that reflects the state of a society, but also as a vehicle with long-lasting and far-reaching impact, especially amongst today's youth, which is capable of transcending all areas of society."

Around the world, one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family. In the U.S., where the Avon Foundation is located, the statistics are staggering: every 9 seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten, and domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women -- more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined. According to National Institute for Mexican Women (INMUJERES), domestic violence affects some 44 percent of Mexican women, being emotional violence the most common type with 38 percent, followed economic violence with 23 percent.

Studies suggest that up to 10 million children in America witness some form of domestic violence annually, and nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.

"We are pleased to invite filmmakers from around the world to reflect and react upon this important topic and help raise awareness against the problem of domestic violence within our society," commented Sarah Hoch, the Executive Director of Expresion en Corto International Film Festival. "We would also like to encourage programmers to collaborate with us in bringing these important films to wider audiences around the world by inviting the program for future screenings at festivals and events," added Hoch.

During its inaugural program in 2007, the "Speak Out" competition received 65 short films from 9 countries and from 10 States within Mexico. In 2008 the contest received 92 short films from 23 countries and from 12 States within Mexico. Short films of up to 15 minutes in length are accepted in the categories of Fiction, Documentary, Animation and Experimental.

The contest will be announced once again during Expresion en Corto in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, on Friday, July 31st, during the Women In Film and Television Luncheon, before the festival's invited guests and assembled media. The competition will close on Thursday, October 1st, the Deadline for Entries. The third edition of the "Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Short Film Contest" will culminate during the Awards Ceremony to be held on Tuesday, November 24th, at the Cineteca Nacional in Mexico City, when the 2009 award winners will be announced. Cash prizes totaling $100,000.00 Mexican Pesos will be awarded to the top three films in competition.

For additional information on the "Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Short Film Contest," the official Call for Entries and online Registration form can all be found on: www.expresionencorto.com.

ABOUT The Avon Foundation for Women: The Avon Foundation for Women is a U.S. based philanthropy founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women and their families. Today it focuses on two causes: breast cancer and domestic violence, which are consistently rated as top concerns of women worldwide through 2008, Avon global philanthropy had raised and awarded more than $660 million in over 50 countries.

ABOUT the Expresion en Corto International Film Festival: Expresion en Corto is Mexico's largest competitive film festival and the most prestigious of its kind in Latin America. The non-profit festival has been held since 1997 during the final week of July in the two colonial cities of San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. The festival does not charge admission to its viewing audience and estimates an attendance of over 72,000 total audience members, while receiving over 2,000 works from more than 80 participating countries in its international competition. It presents a variety of films, conferences, workshops, tributes and activities at no cost to the visiting public.
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090515/NY17520-b
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090515/NY17520-a
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN 5,6

Source: Avon Products Inc.

CONTACT: Debora Coffey of Avon Products, Inc., +1-212-282-8187, or fax,
+1-212-282-6613, debora.coffey@avon.com; or Araceli Becerril Martin of Avon
Cosmetics, +52-55-9138-4191, or fax, +52-55-9138-4364,
araceli.becerril@avon.com

Web Site: http://www.avonfoundation.org/

See You in Cannes 2

See You in Cannes 2



I have just seen the Publisher of Supple magazine off to France at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos. He and Justice from This Day newspaper will be on the Air France to Nice from where they will go to Cannes to join the thousands of accredited journalists, filmmakers, movie stars, film aficionados and others from all over the world for the 62nd Festival de Cannes.
Faruk Lasaki the director of Changing Faces, the most successful Nigerian movie so far left for Cannes last Tuesday accompanied by his sister Kemi Lasaki and one of his office workers. Fidelis Duker and his amiable wife Temitope left for Cannes last Night. The delegation of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) will be at the Nigerian pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival, but I do not know if any Nigerian movie has qualified for screening or the competition. Going to Cannes is not a big deal, but competing for the highest honours is the real deal. Nollywood buffs boast that it is the third largest “film” industry in the world, but unfortunately none of the Nollywood movies has even qualified for official screening and the competition at the Cannes Film Festival. The last Nigerian delegation to Cannes turned it into a jamboree and became the laughing stock of the Cannes Film Festival for their extravagant party.
What were they celebrating?
Were they celebrating their failure to qualify for screening and competition?
I have addressed the celebration of Nigerian mediocrity in the emphasis on quality than quality in Nollywood in Mirror of Beauty and the Mirror of Nigerian Ignorance of the Cannes published on Kisses ‘n’ Roses in May 2008.

Nigerians love celebrating mediocrity and as shown in their disorganized music industry and film industry, most Nigerians careless about professionalism in entertainment.
I hope that the Nigerian delegation to Cannes would not be disgraced again.


~ Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Michael Chima is the Media Consultant of Supple magazine in Nigeria and he is also a producer and scriptwriter who is currently working on his first feature film.

13:15 Christian Audigier to Celebrate Birthday With a Bash During 2009 Cannes Film Festival

Dr. Ola Balogun: Nigeria Is Going To Cannes To Fry And Sell "Akara"?

Dr. Ola Balogun: Nigeria Is Going To Cannes To Fry And Sell "Akara"?
« on: Today at 07:06:48 PM »

As we were waiting to buy fuel at the filling station on the Commercial Avenue in Sabo, Lagos, Nigeria, I exchanged greetings with Nigeria’s foremost filmmaker, Dr. Ola Balogun and the author of the travelogue The Magic Land of Nigeria.

Orikinla: Nigeria is going to Cannes.

Dr. Ola Balogun: To do what? To fry and sell Akara?

Orikinla: Our magazine is going there to report the truth about what Nigeria is going to do at the Cannes Film Festival.

Dr. Ola Balogun: Nigerians don’t like to hear the truth.

We smiled.

Nigerian administrators of the film industry like the Nigerian Film Corporation and others have been making an annual pilgrimage to the Cannes Film Festival to display their audio-visual products at a pavilion and have never been able to make any film that has qualified for the screening and competition. Notable Nigerian director and founder /CEO of the Abuja International Film Festival, Fidelis Duker said it is an annual jamboree for Nigeria to go to Cannes and waste millions of naira to display their ignorance.