Tag: AFRIFF 2014

INDICATIONS are rife that organisers of the ongoing Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) have beaten previous records, with the delivery of a more artistic and business-oriented festival this year.

The schedule, which confines industry sessions and film screenings to the popular Marina Resorts, Calabar, has carefully separated business from glamour, by putting to full use, the FilmHouse arena which, each day, is almost overflowed by a ‘Mecca’ of filmmakers.

Although the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, which housed about 70 percent of the guests retains its grandeur with the breakfast networking among film stars, producers and film students in training before guests are chauffeured to the Marina Resort; action returns to Tinapa after each day’s workshops with film screening, either at the popular Tinapa Studios or canapés and cocktail at the AFRIFF Village.

It was an elevated one-week of film activities, starting with the opening ceremony, Sunday night, which featured Jehane Noujaim’s Oscar-nominated documentary, The Square, a film dedicated to hundreds of innocent protesters who were brutally murdered during the recent revolutions that swept through Egypt.

Although many had raised concern about the choice of a documentary for the opening of a feature film-inclined festival, it soon turned out that after watching the lengthy film, the festival’s artistic director, Keith Shiri, appeared to have chosen well, as the film depicts the unpleasant peculiarity of leadership in Africa, from the Egyptians’ recent experience.

The Square highlights how resolute the masses can be, in the demand for their rights, defying the divide and rule syndromes usually devised along religious and ethnic line by rulers.

The film captured details of the uprising, as never showed by most cable channels. Participants feel that there is so much to learn from the story by Nigerian leaders as they seek elective offices in the 2015 elections.

Coming on the heels of The Square are other great feature films, in addition to some hard-hitting documentaries and a generous selection of short films representing over 30 countries from all the regions of Africa.

They include Gone Too Far, an adaption from Bola Agbaje’s Olivier award-winning play set in London and directed by Destiny Ekaragha; Difret, another affecting feature debut from Ethiopia, detailing the traumatic experience of an Ethiopian girl accused of killing a man who had sexually abused her; Dazzling Mirage, an advocacy movie by Tunde Kelani on the dreaded sickle cell medical disorder; Invasion 1897, an epic on the Benin Empire by Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen and October 1, a psychological thriller by Kunle Afolayan.

The closing night film, Hard To Get, which showed last night, is another great movie that brings the artistic skill of South African filmmaker, Zee Ntuli to critical acclaim.

Hard To Get, is a compact, highly enjoyable, kinetic and action thriller in which Ntuli, a first-time feature film director, displays a mastery of the action genre with breezy performances from its main cast.”

The festival had also engaged actors, filmmakers, film marketers, distribution houses and various professional guilds in the entertainment industry at its industry sessions, where they discussed issues of benefits. Film students and filmmakers also took part in trainings, as part of the capacity building initiative of the festival.

Some of the great subjects that were explored at the festival include, Acting laboratory; Adapting African literature for screen- A cinematic goldmine; Art of Film Criticism, Demystifying Distribution in Nigeria; Film Marketing 101; Finance For Film Workshop; Going International…; Nollywood Alert and Relativity Nollywood Summits on digital distribution and piracy.

Tonight, the festival closes with an award ceremony where among other laurels, 10 students will be selected from the workshop sessions for further training in an American university.

INDICATIONS are rife that organisers of the ongoing Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) have beaten previous records, with the delivery of a more artistic and business-oriented festival this year.

The schedule, which confines industry sessions and film screenings to the popular Marina Resorts, Calabar, has carefully separated business from glamour, by putting to full use, the FilmHouse arena which, each day, is almost overflowed by a ‘Mecca’ of filmmakers.

Although the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, which housed about 70 percent of the guests retains its grandeur with the breakfast networking among film stars, producers and film students in training before guests are chauffeured to the Marina Resort; action returns to Tinapa after each day’s workshops with film screening, either at the popular Tinapa Studios or canapés and cocktail at the AFRIFF Village.

It was an elevated one-week of film activities, starting with the opening ceremony, Sunday night, which featured Jehane Noujaim’s Oscar-nominated documentary, The Square, a film dedicated to hundreds of innocent protesters who were brutally murdered during the recent revolutions that swept through Egypt.

Although many had raised concern about the choice of a documentary for the opening of a feature film-inclined festival, it soon turned out that after watching the lengthy film, the festival’s artistic director, Keith Shiri, appeared to have chosen well, as the film depicts the unpleasant peculiarity of leadership in Africa, from the Egyptians’ recent experience.

The Square highlights how resolute the masses can be, in the demand for their rights, defying the divide and rule syndromes usually devised along religious and ethnic line by rulers.

The film captured details of the uprising, as never showed by most cable channels. Participants feel that there is so much to learn from the story by Nigerian leaders as they seek elective offices in the 2015 elections.

Coming on the heels of The Square are other great feature films, in addition to some hard-hitting documentaries and a generous selection of short films representing over 30 countries from all the regions of Africa.

They include Gone Too Far, an adaption from Bola Agbaje’s Olivier award-winning play set in London and directed by Destiny Ekaragha; Difret, another affecting feature debut from Ethiopia, detailing the traumatic experience of an Ethiopian girl accused of killing a man who had sexually abused her; Dazzling Mirage, an advocacy movie by Tunde Kelani on the dreaded sickle cell medical disorder; Invasion 1897, an epic on the Benin Empire by Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen and October 1, a psychological thriller by Kunle Afolayan.

The closing night film, Hard To Get, which showed last night, is another great movie that brings the artistic skill of South African filmmaker, Zee Ntuli to critical acclaim.

Hard To Get, is a compact, highly enjoyable, kinetic and action thriller in which Ntuli, a first-time feature film director, displays a mastery of the action genre with breezy performances from its main cast.”

The festival had also engaged actors, filmmakers, film marketers, distribution houses and various professional guilds in the entertainment industry at its industry sessions, where they discussed issues of benefits. Film students and filmmakers also took part in trainings, as part of the capacity building initiative of the festival.

Some of the great subjects that were explored at the festival include, Acting laboratory; Adapting African literature for screen- A cinematic goldmine; Art of Film Criticism, Demystifying Distribution in Nigeria; Film Marketing 101; Finance For Film Workshop; Going International…; Nollywood Alert and Relativity Nollywood Summits on digital distribution and piracy.

Tonight, the festival closes with an award ceremony where among other laurels, 10 students will be selected from the workshop sessions for further training in an American university.

With more than half of the Federal Government’s N3billion grant for the movie industry being proposed for film distribution and exhibition, there are indications filmmakers are beginning to tackle their problems from where it matters most.

Series of discussions abound on how best to minimize the menace of piracy by making films available to consumers en masse and simultaneously, with the conversation shifting to the ongoing Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), in Calabar, Cross River State.

Tagged Demystifying Distribution in Nigeria, the event was part of the industry sessions where actors, filmmakers, film marketers, distribution houses and various professional guilds in the entertainment industry gathered to chart a new course for African cinema.

The forum, which held Tuesday, had panelists such as filmmaker and distributor, Gab Okoye (Gabosky), Chief Executive of FilmHouse Cinemas, Kene Mkparu, notable distributor Uwem Jacobs and Chichi Nworah of Ibaka TV, averred that distribution is still an issue in the film industry otherwise called Nollywood.

They reasoned that Nigerian filmmakers will continue to earn little or nothing from their movies until there is a properly structured distribution framework for the film industry.

According to Okoye, producer of the 1992 video films, Battle of Musanga and Nneka the Pretty Serpent, piracy is thriving because of the scarcity caused by the existing poor distribution network.

“When we initiated Nollywood, we didn’t have a distribution network. We were doing analogue distribution with its attendant problems. We then realised that piracy was thriving on scarcity so I decided to float a distribution chain after I had been licensed by government.  Now I have G-Media which has offices in 20 states to bridge the gap,” said Okoye.

He noted that the most important thing for a filmmaker is get a distribution guarantee from a distributor before shooting his/her film.

“We are talking of a paradigm shift here. We started unprofessionally but now we must professionalise. Division of labour in the movie industry is essential and we must not abuse the distribution process,” he emphasised.

On whether cinema is the answer to the distribution issue, Mkparu said it is to an extent but that the movie producer must first know why and who he/she is making the film for.

He noted that, “because of issues with DVD and CD, cinema became important. But even at that, cinema alone is not the answer. Producers spend very little on print and advertising. You need at least N15 million for publicity but most don’t do that. Then, most producers focus on Lagos alone when there are cinemas elsewhere.”

For Jacobs, filmmakers need to know more about the film industry and decide how they are going to distribute their movie right from when they are planning their production.

Nworah, who spoke in the same vein, said Ibaka TV has two platforms where it uploads movies. There is the YouTube channel where average films are uploaded and the premium platform where movies of cinema quality are shown.

She however urged filmmakers to ensure that their works is of the highest standards to increase their earnings.

The popular Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, Calabar, Cross River State, resonated with glamour, Sunday, when screen stars and several top names in the entertainment industry arrived the tourism city.

Away from the run-of-the-mill, it was a head-turning arrival, as guests were chauffeured from the Margaret Ekpo airport, aboard the popular London-styled open-roof tourist bus.

The roads were already lined by waiting natives, as the bus cruised along, with the celebrities acknowledging cheers from fans.

It was the opening day of the fourth edition of the Nigeria-domiciled Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), which was later flagged off by the wife of the Governor of Cross River State, Mrs. Obioma Imoke and Minister of Tourism and Culture, Chief Edem Duke, at the Calabar Cultural Center.

If the organisers had doubted that the festival will have great turnout by foreigners, due to the Ebola scare that has put several international programmes on hold, it was a pleasant surprise, as guests came in from other African countries, Europe, America and the United Kingdom.

Speaking at the glamorous opening ceremony, Mrs. Imoke noted that the hosting of the festival in Calabar for the second time in a row was a clear indication that the goal of making Cross River a tourism destination in Africa was fast coming to fruition.

She said: “If the filmmakers came here last year, and it was a disaster, they will never be here this year. So for us, we are excited and we feel fulfilled that people are beginning to key into what government has tried to put in place.”

She enjoined participants to avail themselves with other opportunities that abound in the state, praising the security of the state, the tourism locations and the people’s cuisine.

Edem Duke, while acknowledging the hard work of film practitioners, urged them to project Africa to the rest of the world in positive light, giving credence to the rich cultures and traditions of the continent.

“It is our delight to join you once again in this theatre of dreams in Calabar to acknowledge and celebrate a galaxy of stars that are here in Cross River State, whose works, creativity and fashion designs continue to redefine the place of the movie industry in the world. It is my belief that it is proper to acknowledge and celebrate all of you, who in you different and various roles have weaved together the story of Africa; its trial, tribulation and triumph – Its joys, its pains and the stories of warmth and generosities that is the hallmark of Africa. To weave things into a tapestry of stories that repositions us in the comity of nations that ensures that the rest of the world sees Africa truly in the light that is appropriate for us.”

Founder/CEO of AFRIFF, Ms. Chioma Ude, in her opening remarks, noted that apart from the festival creating the platform for Africans to tell their true stories, it also provides the opportunity for film practitioners across the continent to network their lots in the film industry.

According to Ude, “nobody can tell our story better than us, you get to know what is happening in other countries of Africa, and that’s the aspect that unifies us, because people know they are telling their stories. So, our vision is being to unite Africa.”

Highpoints of the ceremony was the opening night movie, The Square, a documentary film on Egypt’s most recent revolution, directed by Jehane Noujaim.