Keith Shiri, an international film curator and advisor to the London Film Festival, is the Artistic Director of the Nigeria-domiciled Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). In a chat with VICTOR AKANDE at the just concluded Cannes International Film Festival in France, he talks about the preparation for the fourth edition of AFRIFF.
AS a programmer for the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), there is no doubt that you are a spokesperson for the festival here. So, what really is AFRIFF set to achieve?
AFRIFF emerged from ION, a supposedly travelling film festival, and Chioma Ude, the CEO of AFRIFF, adopted it and said it had to remain in Nigeria. That was how people like us came in, determined to give it the best support and ensure that we have a truly international film festival coming out of Nigeria. However, the idea is not just to celebrate Nigerian output, but that of the entire continent. And Nigeria, I must say, has got the means.
What are the achievements you have recorded so far since you came?
I’m here to do the work of AFRIFF, and we can see how well Timbuktu, a film by Abderrahmane Sissako is doing here. Not only is this film one of the best from Africa in Cannes this year, it is the best film being given so much press attention. I am negotiating with the sales agent for our AFRIFF possible screening.
And as a continent, I think we also need the support mechanism because this film can be claimed by any of the African pavilions as our own. This is a way to say this is our brand and this is what we can do in our continent. Unfortunately, Nigeria does not have a stand here at the festival.
Is that affecting the operations of AFRIFF in any way?
What I am really disappointed about is that I can’t see any Nigerian pavilion here in Cannes (Cannes International Film Festival, France), which is an international platform. I know Nigeria used to have a pavilion here, but I cannot understand why there is no consistency, given that you have already endowed so much money into production through the Project ACT-Nollywood.
That is on one side. Another reason is the absence of the possibility to articulate the fact that we mean business and that we are transparent. For example, Kenya and Cameroon are here, but they don’t have the kind of wherewithal that exists in Nigeria. Here are these materials (shows flyers) announcing AFRIFF 2014, but there can be no better place to put these materials than the Nigerian pavilion. Imagine that you and I are now meeting in South African pavilion, but we should be meeting at the Nigerian pavilion right now. This would have also been the right time to get different news about Nigeria, at this time when the whole world is talking about insurgency and the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in northern Nigeria.
Practitioners blame the government for most of these anomalies. Do you share in this sentiment?
No! I don’t blame the government, but practitioners themselves. Practitioners should really be consistent on what they want to happen. There should be instances, where national interest is of priority. Practitioners’ attitude to a cause like this is sometimes worrisome. Even when they are put on the board of a project where decisions are being taken, you find out that people don’t attend meetings.
Would you say Nigerians are not as passionate with film matters as it seems?
Nigerian filmmakers are passionate-I can mention some names. What drove me to Nigeria was the passion of a people who work so hard and are so independent. Some of us are so encouraged to know that there is so much that can be done without government support. But at the end, nobody is giving an infrastructure that is sustainable or that is convincing to anyone that it is, indeed, sustainable. There are lots of divisions and camps, instead of a collective voice. It’s like a family; one should be able to defend a family in public.
You see, the fact that there is a South African pavilion here doesn’t mean everyone agrees with each other. That is the business- there are differences and there is the in-house thing. But when they come here, it’s some kind of collective vision about the country itself.
What would you say are the challenges of a nascent film festival like the AFRIFF and how far are they being surmounted?
I know the challenges of the African man. But at the end of the day, how we handle them says much about how we define ourselves. AFRIFF has done exceedingly well in the last four years. All over the continent, there are possibilities. And I have always looked at Nigeria, for example, as a country to look up to. This, for me, began back in the days when I read novels like Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and all the collections of a man like Wole Soyinka. They have always been a point of reference. Looking at the possibilities in Nigeria, I see the country as a power house. And with its huge population, it should be able to take the leadership position.
You can see a country like Burkina Faso struggling to do what is called the biggest festival in Africa called FESPACO (Festival of Pan African Cinema). In that country, people commit themselves to the ideals of cinema. But then, of course, it is a model, which is part of the Francophone idea- nevertheless, it is there.
In your own opinion, what can be done to salvage the situation?
Talking with the likes of Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Dr. Ola Balogun and a few other filmmakers from Nigeria that I used to see in FESPACO; talking about the likes of Kunle Afolayan’s father (Ade Love) and Hubert Ogunde, one begins to wonder what happened to the legacy of these people who helped to champion the African cinema.
And I am always asking: why is Nigeria not taking over this idea, especially since it has the resources? For all I know, the whole of Burkina Faso could just be like a small state in Nigeria, in terms of its outlook. But why can’t we help a great country like Nigeria, just like what it did with the FESTAC 77? Why are they not addressing this kind of positive ideals by filling the vacuum that exists for cinema?
How can an institution like AFRIFF play its part by filling the gap, where others have failed?
I am here in Cannes to meet with other filmmakers from Africa and I have just met the director of Timbuktu, among others. The platform also gives me the opportunity to see other great films like documentaries and short films, which I have already been given. I am here to begin to share our concern for the AFRIFF and the possibility to network with international people.
I remember talking to Ben Gibson, the director of the London Film School, to come to Nigeria. I made him understand our challenges. This is because one of the things I would like to suggest to AFRIFF is that, rather than just showcase films, it should find a way, where we can bring people from the outside world and explore the opportunities that we can gain from them. Getting somebody like Gibson, who wrote a white paper on the British film policy, to come to Nigeria and give us an idea of whether this is necessary or not and on how to engage young people in training is one thing.
On the other hand, I am trying to see how Nigeria can begin to define its film policy such that it will create a platform where co-production treaties can happen. South Africa, for example, has got co-production treaties with the UK and Germany. And this can just serve as an incubator, where things grow. It’s a place where we come to celebrate every year and people can begin to engage with Nigerian filmmakers. Also, content-wise, we invite filmmakers from all over the continent for competition and provide the panorama programme. That way, we can choose to have a film from Mexico or Brazil or Indonesia.
That way, African filmmakers are able to see what others are doing from the rest of the world. That’s why it is international. It is not a Nigerian film festival, but an African film festival. But, of course, the home brands have to benefit than the others, because people have the opportunity of seeing more filmmakers from Nigeria. Besides, it is an opportunity for Nigerians to show the world what they have got.
From last year when you took over as the Programmer for AFRIFF, what would you say has been the level of success so far?
The feedback has been positive. I was encouraged by the fact that from the outside, people started noticing that this thing is really possible. For instance, the governor and people of Cross River State provided us with the support that I never expected would happen- the filmmakers all came.
Generally, I just feel we have to do it again. We have to do it better than last year’s. Don’t forget that some of the big film festivals have existed for so long. But for AFRIFF, this is just the 4th edition. So, to have achieved that kind of network, people should applaud themselves, particularly the team of AFRIFF. They are an amazing kind of people. But what we need now is to get to the next level, which is to do better than last time.
The festival is a few months away. How prepared are you personally?
I have been watching films from the beginning of this year, so I know what’s going to be my opening and closing films. I’m still doing all that I need to do: meeting the people I should meet, just to seal deals. By this, when I meet with the team of AFRIFF, we will have at least a skeleton of the programme that we will start working on. I am still on the road, but Durban International Film Festival will be my very last for this year before I really go back to Nigeria for the final preparation for AFRIFF, which will be happening in November.
I believe you wouldn’t want to reveal the names of the opening and closing films now…
No! I won’t because we are going to have a proper press conference at some point, while we will also unveil the programmes for AFRIFF 2014. I need to keep all that under wraps. The earliest you will hear from me on the programme will be August because I would have gone to Durban and back.
Maybe it is just to ensure that you don’t announce a film and then cancel it at the last minute as in the case of Half of a Yellow Sun that was supposed to open the festival last year.
Yes! It’s one of those things. That had nothing to do with AFRIFF, but the producers of the film. We had full commitment from everyone before we decided to announce the films. But for reasons only known to them, they decided to pull out. That’s not going to happen this time. I am going to ensure it will never happen again. And I must say we are being careful this time around.
How would you describe the outcome of Of Good Report, as the film that eventually opened AFRIFF last year?
It was the film of the moment and because I needed to make a quick decision after Half of a Yellow Sun was withdrawn. That film was topical and it came handy, even as an opportunity for people to see what South Africans are doing, in terms of cutting-edge cinema. After the opening, I heard different conversations from filmmakers about the style of filmmaking, which was, indeed, different from what you mostly see around.
The closing film was a Nigerian film, of course. The opportunity for us to be so flexible means that we have got a lot of films from the continent. We got such a diverse range of the genres; diverse range of individual’s approach. Of Good Report is a very great film. It’s dominating the AMAAs, even as it is doing in other spheres. I’m glad that we decided to pick it.
How far have you gone with the film entries and in terms of the countries that will be participating this year?
We are doing great. I am getting a lot of things online. Later, I am going to go to Lagos and compare with my team in Lagos. So far, we are getting a lot of interesting inputs from the continent. I would want to have at least one World Premiere in AFRIFF this year and a number of African premieres as well. We are working seriously to develop a character for AFRIFF. I don’t want the festival to just be yet another film festival.
We really want it to create its own brand, its identity and its own space.
