Paper presented by Dr Francoise Parent-Ugochukwu.
Frank Speed and the Filming of Nigerian Cultures
Date: 08 December 2007
Venue: SOAS, University of London
British Academy event at the School of African and Asian Studies. For more information please follow this link.
Please follow this link for pictures of the event
Workshops and Film Screenings Programme
The Nigerian Video/DVD Film Industry: Background, Current Situation, and International Prospects
Organised collaboratively by the Ferguson Centre for African and Asian Studies, Open University; the Department of Creative Arts, University of Lagos; and the British Film Institute, with the support of the Nigerian High Commission, London, this four-day event arose from a one-year collaborative research project,The Nigerian Video/DVD Industry and the UK African Diaspora. It brought together academics, Nigerian film producers, directors, executives and journalists. It featured papers on the development of the Nigerian video-film industry, its echoes in the press and views from within by those involved in film production. The workshops were enriched by open discussions. the film screenings took place in the evenings & on Saturday 11th August 10-6pm at the British Film Institute & at the Nigerian High Commission.
Programme Word file (40 kb)
and
The event consisted of evening and Saturday screenings of films and talks by influential directors Tunde Kelani, Amaka Igwe. Other attendees included Afolbai Adesanya, MD of the Nigerian Film Corporation and Emeka Mba GM and CEO of Nigerian Films and Videos Censors Board.
British Film Institute Events
This special event highlighted the world's third-largest moving picture industry, the Nollywood phenomenon! Growing out of Nigeria's declining celluloid film industry in the 80s, Nollywood relied on low-budget production and local video distribution. As it grew, its films related to a much wider pan-African audience and, more recently, to worldwide diaspora communities. Professor Duro Oni from the University of Lagos Creative Arts School considered its historical context, and acclaimed directors Tunde Kelani and Amaka Igwe presented extracts from their work and discussed its unique production and distribution.
Presented in collaboration with the Open University's Ferguson Centre for African and Asian Studies.
Nollywood Screenings
As part of the event, there were opportunities to sample the latest drama productions from the two directors who discussed their work and its contexts:
Images of Another Day
Nigeria 2007. Dir Amaka Igwe. 104min. EST. Video
Thu 9 Aug 6.40pm Studio
The Narrow Path
Nigeria 2007. Dir Tunde Kelani. 95min. EST. Video
Thu 9 Aug 8.50pm Studio
The conversation on the topic 'Nollywood and Identity' lasted from 5pm to 7pm. There were 8 participants:
Peter Badejo (OBE) CEO Badejo Arts
Victoria Okri, Nollywood Actress
Golda John, Nollywood Actress
Mike Abiola, CEO Afrohollywood and African Voice Newspaper
Dele Ogun, Coordinator, The Yoruba Foundation and Senior Partner at
Ogun@Law
Tunji Bamishigbin, CEO Rockview Productions (Lagos)
Rufus Orisayomi, MD Ritual Theatre Arts and publisher KAYODE: African
Arts Bi-Annual.
Tope Omoniyi, Nollywood Project
Nollywood Foundation, Inc’s 2007 Convention, “Nollywood: Emerging Talents and Technologies.” Los Angeles June 15 - 17, 2007. The convention addressed two main issues relating to the Nigerian film industry (“Nollywood”): Maximizing the Footprint of Nollywood in the Global Arena and Enhancing Technical Quality in Nollywood.