Showing posts with label film festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film festival. Show all posts

Sunday, November 12, 2023

ZENITH 2024 Inaugural International Film Festival

 


ZENITH 2024

Zenith International Film Festival: Coming Soon!

Zenith International Film Festival is an annual independent film festival for the promotion of the best in motion picture, from script to screen; where the most ambitious filmmakers will meet the most ambitious film distributors from all over the world.

Participation is strictly by application and competition is only by official selection. 

Only 20 films will be selected by the international jury.

The inaugural annual Zenith International Film Festival will be launched in Lagos before the end of 2024. 


 We may not be the first and we may not be the biggest, but our mission is to be among the best international film festivals in the world.

More details will be announced later.

#zenith
#filmfestivals
#officialselection
#nominees
#nominations
#awards
#prizes
#filmmaking
#movies
#actors
#nigeria
#filmmakers
#jury
#filmdistribution
#acquisition

#ZENITH2024

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

MultiChoice Shares Insights to Content Success at MIP Africa

PRESS RELEASE

MultiChoice Shares Insights to Content Success at MIP Africa

MIP Africa forms part of Fame Week Africa, a week-long festival focusing on African television, music, and film

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, September 6, 2023/ -- Authenticity, hyperlocal stories, and a visceral understanding of the audience are pivotal indicators for success in the African television and film landscape.

While various insights, overwhelmingly practical and actionable, were shared during a MultiChoice panel discussion at MIP Africa this week, these three indicators served as a throughline for how content creators could successfully pitch to become part of MultiChoice’s creative ecosystem.

The panel discussion, Unlocking Opportunities: MultiChoice and the African Film & TV Industry, took place at MIP Africa, an annual opportunity for African content creators, producers, and sellers to present their work to a global array of buyers, investors, and potential co-production partners. MIP Africa forms part of Fame Week Africa, a week-long festival focusing on African television, music, and film. MultiChoice plays a key role as a sponsor of both events.

According to Waldimar Pelser, Channel Director: Premium Channels at MultiChoice, their most valuable content creators understand their market. “The most productive conversations we have are with producers that consume our content and on a visceral level know who our audience is. (Our partners) have to understand who they’re making content for.”

In terms of what that content looks like, Pelser shared that content that can only be made locally, and that viewers would not be able to find elsewhere, reap the most success.

Popular genres include drama and unscripted reality, with the consensus being that while successful themes are universal, viewers want something “uniquely South African,” with the setting being locally specific and the story and storytelling showcasing an understanding of who the audience is. 

Viewers also tend to gravitate toward dramas with authenticity, warmth, and optimism, while there is generally a low tolerance for gimmicks – in any genre. In unscripted reality, shows where the audience can see themselves on screen generally enjoy success. “For unscripted it’s a mirror,” said Pelser. “We want to see ourselves on screen. (Shows) that remind us who we are – those tend to work.”

Tebogo Matlawa, Head of Scripted Content: Middle & Mass: South Africa at MultiChoice, echoed Pelser and said that while the audience wants to see themselves on screen, producers should also “look outside the bubble of their own existence” when working on content.

“Our audience likes to be involved and go on the journey” and for that reason, they’ve found that very family-orientated shows, with a female point of view, and generally not risqué, do well. While action and dramas have seen success, there isn’t much of an appetite for violence. “Always think, would you watch this with your grandmother?” he advised when considering pitches for scripted content for middle and mass markets.

Victor Sanchez Aghahowa, Head of Production, West Africa for MultiChoice Africa, as well as Nicola van Niekerk, Head of Content for Premium Channels and co-productions, reiterated MultiChoice’s success with hyperlocal content. “We need the connection; people need to feel. If not, what are you doing?” said Aghahowa. “Compelling characters in compelling situations that anybody can relate to – that’s what we’re looking for. Anything inauthentic will immediately be sniffed out by our younger audience.”

According to Van Niekerk, Showmax, specifically, has seen significant success with documentaries as well as dramas.

In terms of co-productions, Van Niekerk pointed to the necessity for producers to have an in-depth understanding of both the local and the international audience before pitching a project. “As a producer, you need to assess your story and say, ‘Where will this story work?’ Will it work in a very specific demographic hyper locally in South Africa, but where else will it work? Which other broadcaster will like that? And to know that you need to understand all of the broadcaster's strategies (on a global level).”

She warns against assuming that what works locally will work elsewhere. This helps to secure funding if the appetite and interest have already been assessed.

Van Niekerk said popular co-productions generally have three things in common: “It’s crime, it’s English and it’s in a beautiful setting. We can tell that those work the best.”

Lerato Moruti, Senior Manager: Reality and Entertainment for Middle & Mass: M-Net, said that successful reality shows provide a sense of tabloid voyeurism, with family-based reality shows that rate high with viewers. But, said Moruti, South Africans look for meaning in content, and respond well to “help TV”, specifically referring to the popular Mzansi Magic reality show Abandoned about orphaned children that seek out family members later in life.

For more on MultiChoice at MIP Africa visit: https://www.MultiChoice.com/Fame-Week.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of MultiChoice Group.

SOURCE

MultiChoice Group



Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Letter To Nollywood

I received good replies from intelligent and wise people who read the firrst important and timely letter I wrote to NOLLYWOOD. The following is an updated version of it 

As written in 
 Proverbs 11:14 
"For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers."

The wisdom of the world is nothing to the Wisdom of God.

It is important to accept wise counsel.

I have updated this message, because a big insurance company told me last week that when the company wanted to support Nollywood, the President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN) of over a decade ago and the leadership of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) antagonized each other and refused to cooperate on the program. So, the company left and never wanted to support Nollywood again.
When I recommended that AMP should be changed to the appropriate Producers Guild of Nigeria (PGN), it is for the best interests of the Nigerian film industry. 
Intrigues and shenanigans are childish and foolish in professional bodies.
Unprofessional practices have actually caused the untimely demise of several actors and producers in Nollywood without any insurance policy.

The good news is: I have attracted another multinational company in the entertainment industry and I have already recommended a thorough seasoned professional in Nollywood to them. Because, she is above aboard; a woman of substance; a woman of dignity, integrity and nobility of over 40 years professional experience in the Nigerian film industry; from the cradle of Nollywood, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) where I also started my career and was paying my monthly tax from the age of 17, when I was earning N400 monthly for four years before going on to work for the John Hopkins University''s Population Communication Services (JHU/PCS) at 21 as a public health illustrator and later as a translator (through which I paid, the Nollywood actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo to do translation of English into Igbo for the family planning methods booklets fully illustrated by me for the whole Nigeria. I met him at the Radio Nigeria office in Ikoyi, Lagos).

Finally, from a dialogue in my "Once Upon a Time in Nollywood":

Even if you are driving a stolen car in Nollywood since 2010 to date, do your best to drive it well and maintain it, so that people will not even know the truth. I will even enjoy the jolly ride with you and your passengers 😀.  

PS: 
For those who are good enough for the production of documentary films, funding is available for you.
I don't know if anyone applied for the Sundance Documentary Fund I mentioned before the closing date. If you did not apply, you can apply for the 2024 round closing in April.

The Sundance Institute was funded by the MacArthur Foundation.
If you have a film festival with a film institute or foundation, you can apply for the establishment.

We need a Nollywood Museum for the Nigerian film industry from the making of the first feature, "Palaver" of 1926 to date.

See details on The MacArthur Foundation grants.
100&Change, our competition for a single $100 million grant, is open to any proposed solution to any critical problem of our time. Nonprofit and qualifying for-profit organizations may apply. The competition cycle repeats every three years.

PS:
Please, don't apply for funds to misappropriate the money to enrich yourselves. If you do so, I will also report the misappropriations of the funds which I have done before as a national Program Consultant for the UNICEF in Nigeria for NGOs.
We cannot point accusing fingers at the government for corruption when we are not innocent of corruption. 
Corruption is corruption; from the closet to the Office of the President; from the bedroom to the boardroom.

I have seen greedy filmmakers in Nollywood who misappropriated hundreds of thousands to millions of naira given to them for film and TV productions. And the funders have been disappointed and discouraged from supporting Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,.
The  Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
The first book on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry since 2013. Distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.




Thursday, June 29, 2023

In Her Eyes Through Her Eyes Filmmaking Workshop For Women By Women

"In Her Eyes Through Her Eyes Filmmaking Workshop For Women by Women.

It is the most transformational filmmaking workshop by women for women in the history of the film industry.

100 women

To be trained by 4 women who are accomplished filmmakers.

7 days of programme on filmmaking.

100 short films on "In My Eyes Through My Eyes" testimonies by each of the participant on their true life experiences.

1 feature film.

Certificate of Achievement.

Membership in an international organization for filmmakers.

World premiere of "In Our Eyes Through Our  Eyes"  by all the participants in an international film festival before Christmas.

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

The CEO, International Digital Post Network Limited.

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

The Best Films from Africa and its Diasporas Come to the 19th Edition of the Tarifa African Film Festival

The Best Films from Africa and its Diasporas Come to the 19th Edition of the Tarifa African Film Festival

This event will be held from 27 May to 3 June in the Andalusian town of Tarifa, a cross-border town between Morocco and Spain.

The opening film is the Nigerien film Walking on Water, the closing film is the Somali film The Gravedigger's Wife.

Tarifa, May 2022. The Tarifa African Film Festival celebrates its 19th edition with an official session made up of films from Tunisia, Sao Tome and Principe, Ethiopia, Egypt, Benin, Reunion, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, French Guiana, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar and Angola, as well as two major retrospectives, one dedicated to the links between cinema and literature and the other focusing on the Egyptian filmmaker Atteyat Al Abnoudy.

The two great retrospectives of the Tarifa African Film Festival

The big bet of this edition will be Entre la tinta y la pantalla, a parallel section that delves into the relationship between literature and cinema, through sixteen titles produced from the 1960s to the present day that cover countries such as Senegal, Mozambique, South Africa, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Angola, Morocco and Afro-Cuban descent. Among the filmmakers present in this section, some historical ones stand out, such as Ousmane Sembène (Senegal), Med Hondo (Mauritania) or Djibril Diop Mambéty (Senegal); as well as other contemporary ones, such as Dani Kouyaté (Burkina Faso) or Mariano Bartolomeu (Angola), among others. As for literary authors, we find classics such as Naguib Mahfuz (Egypt), an emblematic figure of the new Arab novel, Abdoulaye Mamani (Níger), Moussa Diagana (Mauritania), Assia Djebar (Algeria, literary pseudonym of Fatema Zohra), Malek Alloula (Algeria) and Mia Couto (Mozambique), one of today's most important authors. 

The FCAT dedicates a major retrospective to the Egyptian filmmaker Atteyat Al Abnoudy (1939-2018), considered the "mother of the Egyptian documentary" and one of the pioneering directors in the Arab world. Nicknamed "filmmaker of the poor", her decision to film people in a daily life of hard work and precariousness was a scandal at a time when film was perceived as a propaganda weapon by the authorities. 

FCAT official sessions: 20 titles from 18 African countries

The African presence at the major international festivals provided a great harvest of films from the continent. The official feature film section of the FCAT, called Hypermetropia, offers films from Rwanda, Tunisia, Egypt, Haiti, Mali, Benin, Reunion, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and, for the first time, a film from Sao Tome. 

The ten titles in Hypermetropia are among the most daring on a formal level and imbued with great visual poetry. Most of them are works by young filmmakers, films that dialogue with each other on the issues of exile, from the dream of an idealised place (Faya Dayi, by Jessica Beshir, Ethiopia) to the uprooting, the violence of the host country (Lèv la tèt dann fenwar, by Erika Étangsalé, La Réunion). Another theme is the struggle for dignity (Xaraasi Xanne, by Malians Bouba Touré and Raphaël Grisey). 

Films that propose a representation of women far from clichés (Black Medusa, by Ismaël and Youssouf Chebbi, Tunisia), of their emancipation and empowerment (Feathers, by Omar El Zohairy, Egypt) and (Freda, by Gessica Géneus, a film from Haiti and Benin), but also highlighting the necessary liberation of men from their own mental shackles (Une histoire d'amour et désir, by Tunisian Leyla Bouzid).

Films that revisit the traumas and forgotten episodes of history (the documentary Constelaçoes do Equador, by Silas Tiny, the first film from Sao Tome and Principe in the FCAT); a portrait of the concerns and aspirations of youth (Nous, étudiants! by Rafiki Fariala, from the Central African Republic); or the screening of an Afrofuturist, anti-colonialist, anti-capitalist and queer vision of the continent (Neptune Frost, by Rwandans Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman). 

África en breve, the competitive short film section continues to be an incubator of talent on the African continent, with titles dealing with colonial violence (Écoutez le battement de nos images, by Audrey & Maxime Jean-Baptiste, French Guiana), colonial representation (Kapita, by Petna Ndaliko, Democratic Republic of Congo) and resistance to colonial domination (Mangrove School, by Filipa César & Sónia Vaz Borges, Guinea Bissau, Portugal).

Also, the violence of war (Vou Mudar a Cozinha, by Ondjaki, Angola), gender violence (Imuhira, by Myriam Uwiragiye, Rwanda) and (Microbus, by Maggie Kamal, Egypt); the emotional violence of leaving childhood (Astel, by Ramata-Toulaye, Senegal) and the violence of exile and uprooting (Egúngún, by Olive Nwosu, Nigeria). Comedy is also present in this selection, through the meta-cinema in an international premiere (The Unusual Kinky Quaint Peculiar Weird Strange Rum Queer Odd and Bizarre Day of a Shadow Man, by Hary Joel, French Guiana) or magical realism (Precious Hair & Beauty, by John Ogunmuyiwa).

Additionally, outside the official competition is La tercera raíz, a section dedicated to Afro-descendants. The 19th edition of the festival will be dominated by films from the Dominican Republic, where the cultural legacy of Africa is present in all areas of people’s life. 

The opening and closing film of the 19th edition of the festival 

The opening film of this year's festival, the documentary Marcher sur l'eau (Aïssa Maïga, 2021), a co-production between Niger and France, is set in the village of Tatiste in Niger, where Houlaye, a 14-year-old teenager, and other children travel kilometres to fetch the water the village needs to survive. The closing film, The gravedigger's wife (Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, 2021), a Somali film presented at the Cannes Critics' Week, will be screened on Friday, 3 June, after the prize-giving ceremony of the 19th FCAT. A tender portrait of an African couple facing a health problem. 

The poster, the work of the Italian-Senegalese artist Maïmouna Guerresi 

This year's poster was created by Maïmouna Guerresi, an Italian-Senegalese multimedia artist whose work is steeped in Sufi spirituality. The work, which belongs to her series Aïsha in Wonderland, brings a feminine energy to this powerful image that alludes to "cultural and spiritual crossbreeding".

Industry and training at FCAT

The FCAT LAB post-production workshop, which offers support for featured films from Africa in the form of prizes, will once again be active at this year's edition. The FCAT LAB 2022 will take place in online format as part of the actions programmed in the Tree of Words, the space dedicated to the professional and training activities of the African Film Festival-FCAT. 

For its part, the Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) will organise a showcase in Tarifa, where five Spanish companies representing post-production services will present themselves to African producers and directors both in person and via streaming. 

The Aula de cine will also take place, under the title Relatos ensoñados. El arte narrativo en los cines africanos, an in-depth course on the evolution and characteristics of African cinema, given by the programmer and film critic Javier H. Estrada (Spain). All the filmmakers that will be analysed in the Aula share an iconoclastic spirit, authentic aesthetic renovators who also observed the realities of their countries with a profoundly critical eye. During four sessions, cinematographies such as those of Mali, Egypt, Tunisia and Angola will be addressed, highlighting their past and present relevance.

The Festival de Cine Africano-FCAT is the most important film festival of the continent and of African descent in the Spanish-speaking world and has a film collection of more than a thousand titles translated into Spanish.

DOWNLOAD IMAGES 

For more information you can contact the communication office: 

Marta Jiménez: gabineteprensa@fcat.es

Valeria Reyes: comunicacion3@fcat.es


                             



Monday, March 21, 2022

INDIGENOUS FOR GLOBAL! #AFRIFF 2022 CALL FOR ENTRIES

INDIGENOUS FOR GLOBAL! #AFRIFF 2022 CALL FOR ENTRIES

LAGOS – Monday, 21st March 2022

The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), today announced its Call for Entries for its 11th Edition in November 2022. Speaking at today’s briefing, founder and festival director Ms Chioma Ude said “I am delighted to open our Call for Entries for our 11th anniversary edition, following Amazon’s acquisition of films from AFRIFF’s film catalog last year, we are now strategically positioned to help filmmakers distribute their titles with our landmark partnership with Amazon Prime Video. We also had Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios pick up 2 movies from the festival. This year, we are already in talks with a multitude of streaming platforms interested in licensing and acquiring films from the festival  We are proud to present this year’s programme themed INDIGENOUS FOR GLOBAL, dedicated to the incredible opportunities Amazon Prime video and others offer Nigerian filmmakers going forward, enabling us to dream and continue to innovate and create exciting and vibrant experiences for our Audience”.

Submissions for the 2022 edition of AFRIFF are now officially open and will run till July 30th 2022. General entries will be accepted until July 1st with a late entry deadline set for July 30th, 2022. Filmmakers are encouraged to submit entries early with the regular deadline as late entry submissions will be strictly accepted only via waiver code.

Festival selections include fiction and non-fiction films both domestic and international, features and shorts, impact-driven documentaries and Animation with an emphasis on films that have not been premiered on commercial screens. 

ENTRY DETAILS

Early Deadline: July 1st  |  Final Deadline: July 30  |  

Selection Notification Date: September 26th, 2022

Submission linkhttp://filmfreeway.com/AFRIFF
 

CATEGORY STATUS

Features: Film is 60 minutes or more

Shorts & Episodics: Film is less than 45 minutes.

Documentary: Documentaries can be short form or feature length, however short docs are accepted as Short films for AFRIFF’s programme.

Animation/Anime: Accepted as short form or feature length.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Only those films produced after January 1st of 2021 are eligible for competition.

Films produced before 2021 maybe accepted in the programme if their story speaks to the programme theme or AFRIFF programmers think it suits the programme.

Films of any nationality and language can participate. Non English must be subtitled.

Submissions will only be accepted through AFRIFF’s filmfreeway page. 

There are no limits to the number of entries a filmmaker may enter, but these have to be submitted separately.

AFRIFF does not require premiere status; however it will prioritize premiere status for competition and screenings.

Submit Your Film on https://filmfreeway.com/AFRIFF

­The 11th Africa International Film Festival will be a hybrid experience. Follow us on all social media platform @AFRIFF

Save the date November 6 –12, 2022.

ABOUT AFRICA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (AFRIFF)

The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) conceived by Ms Chioma Ude is a celebration of Cinema and filmmaking talent from Africa and the diaspora. It consistently delivers a rich programme to foster invaluable exchanges of ideas, production connections, and business relationships. It creates an energetic and exciting hub for entertainment industry professionals to make rewarding connections and has gradually gained a reputation for delivering incredible value. 

The objectives are to develop the local film industry to a level where the products compete favorably with their contemporaries all over the world; providing a growth opportunity for these film industry professionals to eventually export their products and facilitate access to investors, equipment, and technical skill acquisition through several capacity development opportunities.

Africa International Film festival - AFRIFF
Ornife Legacy Place, 8 Professor Gabriel Olusanya Street, 105102, Lekki,
Lagos, Nigeria.

Friday, November 19, 2021

"ENOUGH! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour" Wins the Audience Choice Award at 2021 Arlington International Film Festival



Arlington International Film Festival | Nov 4-14, 2021 | Streaming

https://aiffest.org/
        
 

A WRAP-UP of AIFF 2021

The Power of Coming Together
AUDIENCE CHOICE FILM AWARD


The act of creating an AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD is by nature creating a network of people from around the globe and giving them a voice. We have awards chosen by our jury but AIFF wanted to hear the audience’s voice.

Regardless of distance, you have had the opportunity of viewing
this year’s film program virtually
and casting YOUR vote for your favorite FILM

The Audience Choice Award that YOU voted for is…
ENOUGH! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour
Congratulations to filmmaker Daizy Gedeon!

2021 FILM AWARDS

  • Best of Festival: I’M AN ELECTRIC LAMPSHADE, John Clayton Doyle, U.S.A.

  • Best Narrative Feature: JACK LONDON’S MARTIN EDEN, Jay Craven, U.S.A. 

  • Best Documentary Feature: LOS HERMANOS: The Brothers, Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider, U.S.A.

  • Best Narrative Short: THE LAST JAM JAR, Arpan Bahl, India 

  • Best Documentary Short: HUNGER WARD, Skye Fitzgerald, U.S.A./Yemen

  • Best Animation Short: TIMES OF PLENTY, Claudio Costa, Italy

  • Best Experimental Short: WOMAN, Lillian Carter, U.S.A.

High School Student Filmmakers

  • Best of Festival: THE WALTZ OF TIME, Mario Martínez Sáenz, Spain

  • Best Narrative: BRO, CRITICS, Nigeria

  • Best Documentary: EVERY BODY’S BUSINESS, Amilieyon Pridgen, Jessica Torres, NY/U.S.A.

  • Best Historical Documentary: TAKING A SEAT FOR JUSTICE: The 504 Sit-in, Thomas Huang, Allen Tang, Andrew Wang, Andrew Yu, Rohin Garg, MD/U.S.A.

  • Best Animation: CLOUDY DREAM, Rayhaneh Einollahi and Bahareh Einollahi, Iran

  • Best Experimental: ELYSIUM, Ariana Jones, Georgia/U.S.A. 

  • Best Musical: SINCE THEN, BRJDC Residents, VA/U.S.A.

  • Best Cinematography: KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, SWEET PEA, Sophie Meissner, U.S.A./Germany

  • Best Editing: I AM KEREN, Keren Chen, Canada 

  • Best Lighting: FROM WHAT YOU LEFT BEHIND, Jodhi Ramsden-Mavric, Australia

  • Best Audio: COMA, Ruby Kim, CA/U.S.A.

  • Honorable Mention: BEYOND THE MODEL, Jessica Lin, CA/U.S.A.


Thursday, November 11, 2021

Chioma Ude To Speak @ Dubai Expo 2020: Canon Brings Women Trailblazers From The Middle-East and African Film Industry


Cinema – A Social Catalyst: 



Dubai Expo 2020: Canon Brings Chioma Ude and other women trailblazers from the Middle-East and African film Industry to speak on the dynamics of the power of the cinema for sociocultural, socioeconomic and sociopolitical reformation and transformation.

PRESS RELEASE
Advancing gender equality & celebrating women empowerment at Dubai Expo 2020: Canon to bring together women trailblazers from the Middle-East and African film industry in a thought-provoking panel discussion
The panel discussion is envisioned to celebrate the creative efforts of women filmmakers who make an immeasurable contribution to the enrichment of the industry and to discuss how the industry can re-invent itself to reduce gender disparity

Access Multimedia Content

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, November 11, 2021/ -- In alignment with the company’s relentless commitment to promote gender equality and women empowerment, Canon  (Canon-CNA.com) will bring together an esteemed panel of women entrepreneurs from the film industry in Middle-East and Africa at Women’s Pavilion, Dubai Expo 2020; Canon is the Official Printing and Imaging Provider of Expo 2020 Dubai taking place from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022; To register for the event, please click here -> https://bit.ly/3ohOq4y

Canon Middle East (CME) and Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) announced today of their upcoming panel discussion on ‘Women in Filmmaking: In the spotlight and studying landscape of Cinema and Media today in Middle-East and Africa’ to be held at Women’s Pavilion, Dubai Expo 2020. As part of the company’s endeavor to celebrate women change-makers in the creative industries, a noteworthy panel consisting of women filmmakers from the Middle-East and Africa will be brought together on 18th November 2021 at the Women’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. The panel discussion is envisioned to celebrate the creative efforts of women filmmakers who make an immeasurable contribution to the enrichment of the industry and to discuss how the industry can re-invent itself to reduce gender disparity. The Expo 2020 Dubai Women’s Pavilion, is dedicated to celebrate the efforts of women in creative industries in order to reaffirm Expo’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Women’s pavilion is a platform that celebrates the significant parts that women, known and unknown, have played throughout history and continue to play in the present day, based on the principle that when women thrive, humanity thrives.

Read the report on TALK OF THE TOWN By Orikinla

http://totnaija.blogspot.com/2021/11/cinema-social-catalyst-dubai-expo-2020.html


Saturday, December 26, 2020

O Tempora, O Mores! Oh! Chico Ejiro!

                                                   Chico Ejiro.

Those celebrating their selfish egos in the entertainment industry of Nigeria while #Nollywood is mourning the shocking passing of Chico Maziakpono Ejiro,  one of the titans of the Nigerian film industry are only confirming their true characters.

Today, I found myself wearing the same clothes I wore the last time we met during the 9th Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in November, 2019 at the Landmark Retail Boulevard on Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria. I was reflecting on what we discussed before the Honourable Federal Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed joined us where we sat in the lobby. 


Without Chico Ejiro and his fellow trail blazers and torch bearers of revolutionary guerrilla filmmaking in the 1990s, the phenomenon of Nollywood would not have become what has attracted the attention of the rest of the world. His over 200 movies have become subjects of film studies and African studies in different universities in Nigeria and foreign countries. 


I cannot imagine going on to produce the new documentary film, "Nollywood Rising" without the prominence of the leading role of Chico Ejiro in the making of the phenomenon of Nollywood.  So, since the shocking news shook Nollywood yesterday, I have been in a surreal mood. As I always do in such unforeseen circumstances beyond human control, I fall back into arms of the great Comforter in communion with the Holy Spirit. For the light of the Holy Spirit shines brightest in the darkest moments of human existence. 


- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series



Thursday, December 24, 2020

Does Our National Assembly Know Anything About the Nigerian Entertainment Industry?


The American entertainment industry is getting $15 billion from U. S Congress, which adds in new copyright laws against illegal streaming.

Does our National Assembly know anything about the Nigerian entertainment industry?

2020 has been the most challenging year for the global entertainment industry, including #Hollywood,  #Bollywood and our #Nollywood  with the unprecedented shutdowns of film and TV productions and cinemas due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and hazards of the #Coronavirus  in workplaces.  And the. American government has been very responsive to the economic shortfalls in Hollywood, but the Nigerian government seems either clueless about how to respond to the deficits in Nollywood or confused. I have heard more about government concerns over #fakenews in the social media than government concerns about shortfalls in Nollywood that is the second biggest and largest employer of labour after agriculture. 


The negligence of the economic challenges in the entertainment industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is due to the administrative incompetence of the government officials appointed to oversee the Nigerian entertainment industry from Lagos to Abuja.

The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) recently hosted the Zuma Film Festival, but not a single call to action on the shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian film industry. I watched the Director-General of NFC in a live TV interview on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on the Nigerian film industry, he did  not address the economic crisis iin Nollywood or Kannywood. It was unbelievable and that was why I ignored their film festival that has not even improved over the years.  They cannot even learn from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), except only to submit a Nigerian movie for the annual #Oscars.

Hello DG of NFC, a working visit or study of AMPAS will be great for your knowledge and the benefit of the NFC.
The hands of the Honourable Federal Minister of Information and Culture (FMIC), Alhaji Lai Mohammed are full, so he cannot carry the whole "Wahala" of the Nigerian entertainment industry on his head. The DG of the NFC can be more pragmatic and responsive by addressing the critical situation of the Nigerian film industry to the Nigerian government; especially the National Assembly.


- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series.

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

NOLLYWOOD: The Past, Present and the Future

I am working on a documentary film on "Nollywood Rising: The New Generation".

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry published since 2013.
https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima
Special hardcover editions are available for purchase from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

 

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Eko International Film Festival gets underway



Eko Int’l. filmfest gets underway

~ By Iyabo AINA

President of the Eko International Film Festival, Mr. Hope Opara has announced a new date for the hosting of this year’s edition of the epoch-making festival.

The festival, which will open the floodgate of events for this new season, is coming up between July between 9th and 14th of July, 2011, in Lagos.

Mr. Opara, who is also the Managing Director/CEO of Flonnal Limited and Supple Communications Limited said, this year’s festival will witness a huge participation from film makers from across the world, including Albania , France ,Spain ,Canada ,Algeria ,Germany ,U.K.,Kenya and Nigeria.



Mr. Hope Obioma Opara


He also noted that unlike other film festivals organised in the country, the Eko Film festival promises to be different in terms of organisation, participation and content.

According to him, Eko filmfest. is yearly organised to appreciate as well promote the nation’s motion picture industry and also the tourism in Lagos State.

As the President of the film festival, Mr. Opara reiterated his commitment towards promoting the sustainable development and advancement of the motion picture industry in Nigeria and the rest of the world.

“I want Nigerian film makers to improve the quality of their movies to world class standards.


Click here to read the full report


Friday, February 27, 2009

News Video Report: Africa's Cinemas Go Dark in Ouagadougou




The FESPACO film festival opening this weekend is an increasingly rare chance for cinema buffs in Africa to see works made by fellow Africans. Across the continent, movie theatres are going dark, victims to the flood of cheap DVDs. In Senegal's capital there are almost no movie theatres left.