Chinese actor, Jackie Chan and Lancelot Imasuen lead others to the 11th Abuja International Film Festival, CHUX OHAI writes
Two films by Chinese movie superstar,
Jackie Chan and Nollywood director, Lancelot Imasuen, will premiere at
the 11th Abuja International Film Festival, scheduled to take place in
the Federal Capital Territory between September 23 and 26.
The films, titled Chinese Zodiac and
Invasion 1897, respectively, will also compete with others for awards in
four categories, at least, during the festival.Described as the third
highest grossing indigenous film in China, Chinese Zodiac is Chan’s last
action movie and the one that has earned the popular actor and director
two Guinness World Records for the Most Stunts Performed by a Living
Actor and Most Credits in One Movie awards.
On the other hand, Invasion 1897 is an
epic film that calls attention to the controversy surrounding the
existence of ancient Benin artifacts, believed to have been stolen
during the invasion of the Benin Empire by the British in 1897, in
museums scattered around the world.
Both films are epics with a similar
historical thread running through them. They will be shown to guests
during the opening and closing ceremonies of the festival at the
Silverbird Cinemas in the FCT.
The theme of this year’s edition of the
AIFF is Celebrating 100 years of the film in Nigeria. Often described as
the largest and longest running independent film festival in West
Africa, the event will feature the screening of over 60 cutting-edge
films from around the world, with a special focus on films from Nigeria
and other parts of Africa.
Also, there will be screenings in
schools around Abuja where cinemas are non-existent, as well as
discussions and a master-class workshop programme featuring local and
international filmmakers and industry professionals.
Meanwhile, the management of the AIFF
formally announced the appointment of Nollywood actor, Fred Amata, as
the new Director of the festival during a meeting with journalists in
Lagos on Tuesday.
Amata takes over from Fidelis Duker, who is the founder of the film festival and its first director since 2004.
Reflecting on the highpoints of the
annual event in the last 10 years, in an interview with our
correspondent, Duker said, “For me, the climax was the 2013 edition of
the festival. That was when we had the largest number of guests from
different parts of the world. We had close to 50 top notch filmmakers,
actors and actresses, as well as over 2,000 guests attending the event.
That year’s event went beyond a film festival to attain the status of a
full-blown carnival. Apart from the seminars and mini-conferences, there
was so much networking among the guests and of course, much partying.
“One of the things I discovered during
the film festival last year was that people also come to such an event
to party. When they spend some time watching films in the day, they go
out to party at night. I think the event affords many guests, especially
the hardworking ones among them, the opportunity to unwind, too. For
this reason, we have decided to create avenues for partying in this
year’s programme.”
Also recalling the hurdles that he had
to scale during his tenure as the director of the festival, he
continued, “After organising the festival for two years, I felt like
stopping it at a point for want of sponsorship. Most of our previous
editions of the festival have not been sponsorship driven in a sense
that corporate bodies and individuals are yet to understand why they
should invest in such events. Even now, it is still difficult getting
corporate organisations to fund the festival. I went to a corporate
organisation recently and I was asked to explain what a film festival
means to a marketing director.
“Although this is a challenge to us, we
are building the structures that can take us through such difficulties
in the future. One of the secrets of the success of similar festivals or
award events in Nigeria is that the organisers are connected to the
right people in the right places. It is not about what you are able to
accomplish, which makes it quite sad. But we will not be discouraged. We
will continue to strive for excellence, in spite of the obvious odds.”
Duker noted with pride that the major
goal of the AIFF, which was to create an authentic film festival in
Nigeria, had been fulfilled.
“We have always wanted to make the AIFF
the referent point for films. I think we have been able to achieve this.
Today, the festival is accepted by many Nigerians at home and in the
Diaspora,” he said.
Nigerian films and actors clearly
dominated the list of nominees for awards in 13 categories- which was
also announced on Tuesday – in this year’s festival. The closing
ceremony is expected to be attended by President Goodluck Jonathan and
members of his cabinet
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