Abuja – Mr Afolabi Adesanya, Veteran Nollywood filmmaker and one-time Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) has been named Chairman of
2018 edition of ZUMA Film Festival (ZUFF).
Dr Chidia Maduekwe, the Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and Chairman,
ZUMA Film Festival (ZUFF) Organising Committee made the announcement at a news
conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
Maduekwe said that the choice of Adesanya as jury chairman for the festival was driven by his vast experience in the industry.
He added that “ZUFF had always and carefully ensured that its award winners emerge purely on merit, and its choice of jury predicated on global best practices.
“Afolabi Adesanya is a renowned filmmaker and television director. He was Jury President, Video/TV Category, FESPACO 2009.
“He was a member of Jury NTA (Nigerian Television Authority) Adverts Awards, 1993; and member of the1992 Nigerian National Film Festival Committee.
“Central Planning Committee has been established to function closely and seamlessly with the jury to deliver a promising festival within international available best practices.”
According to him, the 2018 edition of ZUFF, popularly known as Nigeria’s national film festival, is scheduled to hold from Dec. 1 to Dec. 7 in Abuja, with the theme “Archiving For Creativity.
“The theme shall reignite the consciousness in film makers and other stakeholders on the important role of film – audio visual archiving of creative works and its posterity values.”
He added that it was a paradigm shift to protect and preserve thousands of films produced in Nigeria in past decades.
Maduekwe said NFC, through ZUFF 2018, planned to bring to the front burner, the need to preserve Nigeria’s memory for future generations of Nigerians with no end point.
Je added that “our goal is to have these images and the sounds associated with the images available for present and future generations, as the world is being driven by digital technologies.”
He explained that categories for awards listed for the festival included Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Documentary, Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography.
He explained that “at every film festival, participants and global attention is at the awards within the various categories.
“We are conscious of this, in our quest to deliver to Nigerians and our African, American, Asian and European film makers, investors and other stakeholders.”
ZUMA Film Festival, now in its 9th edition, is a platform for Nigerian film practitioners to network with their counterparts from other parts of the world and stimulate co-production and financing opportunities.
It presents the Nigerian film industry as a vibrant and viable investment option to Nigeria and international business communities. (NAN)
