Except for Rita Dominic, Kate Henshaw , Nkem Owoh , Kalu Ikeagwu , Adeyemi Okanlawon, Fred Amata. and Segun Arinze, who were the top stars at the ongoing Africa International Film Festival, AFRIFF, holding in Calabar, Cross River State, arguably belongs to the new generation of Nollywood stars.
The festival, which closes today with an award ceremony, had movie stars and stakeholders from across Africa, Europe, America and other parts of the world in attendance. But it was the emerging Nollywood stars who dominated the space since the festival opened at Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort last Sunday.
Tinsel star, Gideon Okeke, Chelsea Eze, Linda Ejiofor, Beverly Naya, Tope Tedila were among the young stars who were all over the place,networking, hugging and having good time with their colleagues. others were Blossom Chijekwu, Enyinna Nwigwe, Mbong Amata and Gbenro Ajibade .
The 7-days festival did not only provide them the platform to interact with their counterparts from other parts of the world, but also, the relaxation and warmth that the green and clean city offers to the august visitors.
From Day one of the festival till the last day, the city was bubbling with festivity, with captivating posters and bill boards dotting the streets of Calabar to announce the festival. Also,to add glamour to the festival, the organizers provided the popular London-styled open tourist bus, which was moving the celebrities from Tinapa to Marina Resort, another festival venue where most of the films were screened.
Interestingly, it was one week of film screenings, trainings and parties. There were also fashion show and the regular all-night party that was the highpoint of the festival . The presence of notable Nollywood practitioners, including Igwe Gabosky, Tunde Kelani, Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Madu Chikwendu, Charles Novia, Teco Benson and Lancelot Imasuen helped to boost this year’s festival and added intellectual angle to it.
While the festival lasted, over 105 films were screened. Some of them , however, got standing ovation after the screening .and they were “ The Square”, an Oscar nominated documentary by Egyptian filmmaker, Jehan Noujaim, which was the opening film of the festival, and which charts a the course of three years of Egyptian political upheaval, “ Gone Too Far”, an adaption from Bola Agbe’s Olivier, award winning play set in London, Tunde Kelani’s “Dazzling Mirage”, “Invasion 1897” by Lancelot Imasuen and the much anticipated Kunle Afolayan’s October 1.
As noted by the festival director, Keith Shiri, the organizers selected an array of feature films this year, some hard hitting documentaries and a generous selection of short stories , representing over 20 countries from all the regions of Africa.
In his opening remark, Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State, the host state stressed the need for the film makers to look at other ways to expand our stories to reflect our continent’s developmental achievements. “By this, I ran new direction in terms of content for African films.”
“ For us, the excitement the state derives in hosting this remarkable event lies, in the fact that we see the film industry as one of the strategic components for the growth of our local economy and so, the great benefit of having you here in Cross River is that I offers us the opportunity to showcase our rich and robust tourism and hospitality assets.”
“ when you consider that Nigeria’s creative sector remains our largest non-oil export, you will appreciate how important tourism and therefore culture is to our country.”
“ Given this enormous potential, there is therefore, the need for a synergy between stakeholders and governments, to translate this potential into a great source of growth for our economy.”
The festival ends this evening, with an award ceremony, holding at the state cultural centre, in Calabar.
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