With three plaques including one for the Best Feature Film award, October 1 was the film to beat at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), which held in Calabar, Cross River State last week. The weeklong film festival came to an end on November 14, 2014 with a special awards ceremony where, among other laurels, 10 students were selected from the workshop sessions for further training in an American university.
Omotola (middle) acknowledging cheers at one of the seminars
The AFRIFF awards night at the Cultural Centre, Calabar, offered the best of stage artistry, compelling performances and thought-provoking speeches, as the winners in different categories of the awards were unveiled intermittently.
Other awardees on the night were Andrew Dosunmu, Best Director for Mother of George; Bola Agbaje and Destiny Ekaragha, Viewers’ Choice Award for Gone Too Far; CJ Fiery Obasi, Best Nigerian Film, Ojuju; Thishiwe Ziqubu, Best Actress for South African film, Hard To Get; Joanna Lipper, Best Documentary, The Supreme Price, a film on the late MKO Abiola; South Africa’s Samantha Nell, Best Short Film, Stiff; Naji Ismail, Special Jury Prize for the Egyptian film, Om Amira, and Iquo Essien, Best Student Short Film, Aissa’s Story.
Speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the President on Research, Documentation and Strategy, Mr. Oronto N. Douglas, represented by his special assistant, Molara Wood, urged Nigerian and African filmmakers to take up the challenge of promoting irresistible images of our society on the screen, to show that our stories are also important and valid.
According to him, “We need more biopics on heroes whose exploits have impacted on our societies. We need more films focusing on pivotal episodes in our history. We need more period dramas that examine the past, and more speculative films about the future. We need greater cross-pollination between the art form, as these are some of the issues I would like our filmmakers to consider, as this year’s festival comes to its glittering close.”
Kate Henshaw (left), Ude (middle) and Dominic
Noting that no successive government in the country has done so much for the industry, Douglas said President Goodluck Jonathan believes in the value that the film industry adds to the economic and cultural development of the country. As a result, he has been walking the talk by providing concrete support through grants to make the industry bigger and better for the benefit of Nigeria, Africa and the world at large.
The event was graced by personalities, including the Governor of Cross River State, Sen. Liyel Imoke; his wife, Obioma; Nollywood stars, Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Kate Henshaw, Rita Dominic, Ramsey Nouah, Segun Arinze and Kalu Ikeagwu, among others.
The festival 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 training, as part of the capacity building initiative of the festival.
Some of the subjects that were explored at the festival include acting laboratory, adapting African literature for screen, film criticism, distribution, film marketing, finance for film workshop, going international, Nollywood alert, digital distribution and piracy.
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