Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) 2014 Announces Workshops, Facilitators

L-R; Nollywood actress, Rita Dominic, CEO of AFRIFF, Chioma Ude, AFRIFF Artistic Director, Keith Shiri and AFRIFF Goodwill Ambassador, Xolile Tshabalala

In its continued effort to engage filmmakers in resourceful cinematic discourse, a series of topical issues have been chosen for the industry sessions in this year’s edition of Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), which begins this Sunday, in Tinapa, Calabar, Cross River State.

The festival, which will hold from November 9 to 16, will run the industry sessions for five week days, beginning from Monday November 10.

Actors, filmmakers, film marketers, distribution houses and various professional guilds in the entertainment industry will gather at different venues, discussing issues of benefits, while charting a new course for African cinema. Film students and filmmakers alike will also engage in trainings, as part of the capacity building initiative of the festival.

Festival Manager, AFRIFF, Ikenna Ezenyirioha, revealed that the industry sessions are an integral part of the festival that cannot be ignored, adding that professionals in different fields will be on hand to host different classes.

According to him, the sessions are the artistic and business sides of showbiz, which are essential to the development of the creative non-oil sector of the economy. He noted that this will bring about the right skills and attitude as well as open up business deals, networking and possible collaborations among the filmmakers that will be attending the festival.

Some of the great subjects to be explored by the festival include, Acting laboratory – Acting with integrity, to be hosted by notable producer/director, Mildred Okwo and Adapting African literature for screen- A cinematic goldmine, to be handled by an army of industry bests such as Jude Idada, a screenwriter, playwright and novelist; Tunde Kelani, foremost cinematographer; Yemi Akintokun, a movie director; Jane Maduegbena, a lawyer and mobile application expert and Jeremy Weate of Cassava Republic publishing outfit.

Other sessions will include Art of Film Criticism, a conversation about the work and art of a film critique to be handled by Don Omope, Editor of African Screens Magazine and Shaibu Husseini of Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper; Demystifying Distribution in Nigeria, to be hosted by Gab Okoye (Gabosky), Chichi Nworah, Uwem Jacobs and Kene Mkparu of FilmHouse; Film Marketing 101 by Uzoma Onwuchekwa; Finance For Film Workshop by Akintunde Oyebode; The History, The Picture, The Art, The Film by Pat Nebo and International Co-production to be handled by knowledgeable filmmakers in international treaty such as Zama Mkosi, Mahmood Alli- Balogun, Neil Mccartney and Madu Chikwendu.

The week-long event will also treat topics like Going International…, a window to major festival circuit; Nollywood Alert, information platform for film industry on health and development; The Restless Pitch, a training workshop to be followed by an open, creative live pitching session and Relativity Nollywood Summits on digital distribution and piracy.