2014 Cannes L'Atelier Projects Revealed - Nigerian Filmmaker Newton I. Aduaka's 'Oil On Water' Makes The Cut

NEWS BY TAMBAY A. OBENSON

Newton I. Aduaka

The Cinefondation’s Atelier hosts its tenth edition this year and will invite to the Festival de Cannes 15 directors whose projects have been considered particularly promising. Together with their producers, they will be able to meet potential partners, a necessary step to finish their projects and start the making of their films.

L’Atelier provides its participants access to international co-productions, thus accelerating the film’s completion.

The Cinefondation’s Atelier was created in 2005 to stimulate creative filmmaking and encourage emergence new and diverse filmmaker voices. So far, out of 141 projects, 85 have been released in theaters and 44 are currently in pre-production.

For L’Atelier’s 10th edition, 15 projects from 15 countries have been selected, ranging from upstarts to veteran directors.

Of note, Nigerian filmmaker Newton I. Aduaka's Oil On Water made the cut of 15.

Aduak's last film, the demanding and experimental One Man Show, was a Critics Prize winner at last year's FESPACO.

More details on his latest, Oil On Water to come.

From May 16-22, at Cannes, L’Atelier will arrange meetings with the directors for film industry professionals interested in investing in their projects.

The full list of Atelier selections follows below:

Invisible, Pablo Giorgelli (Argentina)

Territoria, Nora Martirosyan (Armenia)

Tabija, Igor Drljača (Bosnia)

Saudade, Antonio Méndez Esparza (Brazil)

Ville-Marie, Guy Édoin (Canada)

In the Shade of the Trees, Matías Rojas Valencia (Chile)

Ce sentiment de l’été, Mikhaël Hers (France)

Aliyushka, Adilkhan Yerzhanov (Kazakhstan)

The Darkness, Daniel Castro Zimbrón (Mexico)

White Sun, Deepak Rauniyar (Nepal)

To All Naked Men, Bassam Chekhes (Neth/Syria)

Oil on Water, Newton I. Aduaka (Nigeria)

Dogs, Bogdan Mirică (Romania)

A Yellow Bird, K. Rajagopal (Singapore)

Ruta salvatge, Marc Recha (Spain) 

Brazzaville: From Worst City to Best-Dressed

 Yves Francois Ngatsong, alias Yves Saint Laurent

“The SAPE is an ode to joy, the joy of living. The SAPE is an art form, the pure wit born from poverty in our streets almost a hundred years ago.”

DJ Carlos La Menace in Al Jazeera documentary Sunday In Brazzaville

           

In 2002, Brazzaville was considered the worst city in the world to live. Now, thanks to the Society of Atmosphere Setters and Elegant People(SAPEURS), the Congolese capital is rather becoming known as the best-dressed, especially after the SAPEURS went viral earlier this year in an advert and short film for Guinness Europe.

Premiering on Al Jazeera on Sunday, 23 March 2014, Sunday In Brazzaville is a vibrant glimpse into your average Congo weekend of pink suits, hip-hop and wrestling.

The 25-minute documentary focuses on four characters. Yves Francois Ngatsong, alias Yves Saint Laurent, is the president and founder of a SAPEURS association; Carlos La Menace is a DJ on local station Radio Liberté; rapper Cheriff Bakala is recording his first album despite living in a country with hardly any music producers; and champion wrestler Palmas Ya Ya relies on fetish voodoo and faith to help him defeat younger and stronger opponents.

“In the 1940’s, when Hitler occupied Paris, Brazzaville was Free France’s capital,” says La Menace. “Charles de Gaulle lived here. Then they called it ‘Brazzaville the Green.’ Today we call it ‘Brazzaville the Garbage.’ On your left plastic bags, on your right a stinking town... But the Congolese know how to dress. For that matter there’s no problem…”

Ngatsong says that as a government employee, “With my salary I can’t even travel to Kinshasa, because with our salary we barely pay for food and rent.” Despite this, he has 80 complete suits, including one sent to him as a present by his idol Yves Saint Laurent.

“Many of you might think that the SAPE is an eccentricity or a stupid way of dressing,” La Menace says on radio. “Maybe you see a sapeur at the street and say, ‘Look at that fool, he wants to dress like the whites. A madman that spends all his money in suits. A bad example for the youth.’ You may think like that. That’s up to you. But I think you’re wrong. The SAPE is an ode to joy, the joy of living. The SAPE is an art form, the pure wit born from poverty in our streets almost a hundred years ago. Today, thanks to people like Yves Saint Laurent, this art is more alive than ever.”

Sunday In Brazzaville premieres at 23:30 in Nigeria on Sunday, 23 March 2014 on Witness, Al Jazeera’s premiere documentary strand. It repeats at 10h30 on 24 March 2014; at 04:30 on 25 March 2014; and at 17:30 on 26 March 2014.

Nominees for the 86th Oscars® and Winners

Matthew McConaughey

Actor in a Leading Role

Christian Bale in “American Hustle”

Bruce Dern in “Nebraska”

Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Chiwetel Ejiofor in “12 Years a Slave”

Matthew McConaughey in “Dallas Buyers Club” (Winner)

Jared Leto

Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi in “Captain Phillips”

Bradley Cooper in “American Hustle”

Michael Fassbender in “12 Years a Slave”

Jonah Hill in “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club” (Winner)

Cate Blanchett 

Actress in a Leading Role

Amy Adams in “American Hustle”

Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine” (Winner)

Sandra Bullock in “Gravity”

Judi Dench in “Philomena”

Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County”

Lupita Nyong’o

Actress in a Supporting Role

Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine”

Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”

Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave” (Winner)

Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County”

June Squibb in “Nebraska”

Chris Buck (L-R) Producer Peter Del Vecho, directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck.

Animated Feature Film

“The Croods” Chris Sanders, Kirk DeMicco and Kristine Belson

“Despicable Me 2” Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin and Chris Meledandri

“Ernest & Celestine” Benjamin Renner and Didier Brunner

“Frozen” Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho (Winner)

“The Wind Rises” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

Emmanuel Lubezki 

Cinematography

“The Grandmaster” Philippe Le Sourd

“Gravity” Emmanuel Lubezki (Winner)

“Inside Llewyn Davis” Bruno Delbonnel

“Nebraska” Phedon Papamichael

“Prisoners” Roger A. Deakins

Catherine Martin

Costume Design

“American Hustle” Michael Wilkinson

“The Grandmaster” William Chang Suk Ping

“The Great Gatsby” Catherine Martin (Winner)

“The Invisible Woman” Michael O’Connor

“12 Years a Slave” Patricia Norris.

Alfonso Cuarón

Directing

“American Hustle” David O. Russell

“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón (Winner)

“Nebraska” Alexander Payne

“12 Years a Slave” Steve McQueen

“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese

Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen (not present), Caitrin Rogers (R) and Darlene Love (2nd from L) are presented the Oscar for best documentary feature for "20 ...

Documentary Feature

“The Act of Killing”Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen

“Cutie and the Boxer” Zachary Heinzerling and Lydia Dean Pilcher

“Dirty Wars” Richard Rowley and Jeremy Scahill

“The Square” Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer

“20 Feet from Stardom” Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers (Winner)

Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed

Documentary Short Subject

“CaveDigger” Jeffrey Karoff

“Facing Fear” Jason Cohen

“Karama Has No Walls” Sara Ishaq

“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed (Winner)

“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” Edgar Barens

 Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger 

Film Editing

“American Hustle” Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten

“Captain Phillips” Christopher Rouse

“Dallas Buyers Club” John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa

“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger (Winner)

“12 Years a Slave” Joe Walker

Foreign Language Film

“The Broken Circle Breakdown” Belgium

“The Great Beauty” Italy (Winner)

“The Hunt” Denmark

“The Missing Picture” Cambodia

“Omar” Palestine

Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews

Makeup and Hair styling

“Dallas Buyers Club” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews (Winner)

“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” Stephen Prouty

“The Lone Ranger” Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny

Steven Price

Music (Original Score)

“The Book Thief” John Williams

“Gravity” Steven Price (Winner)

“Her” William Butler and Owen Pallett

“Philomena” Alexandre Desplat

“Saving Mr. Banks” Thomas Newman

 Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez 

Music (Original Song)

“Happy” from “Despicable Me 2”

Music and Lyric by Pharrell Williams

“Let It Go” from “Frozen”

Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Winner)

“The Moon Song” from “Her”

Music by Karen O; Lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze

“Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”

Music by Paul Hewson, Dave Evans, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; Lyric by Paul Hewson

Producers Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner, Brad Pitt and director Steve McQueen

Best Picture

“American Hustle” Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon, Producers

“Captain Phillips” Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca, Producers

“Dallas Buyers Club” Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers

“Gravity” Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers

“Her” Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay, Producers

“Nebraska” Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers

“Philomena” Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward, Producers

“12 Years a Slave” Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas, Producers (Winner)

“The Wolf of Wall Street” Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers

Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn

Production Design

“American Hustle” Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Heather Loeffler

“Gravity” Production Design: Andy Nicholson; Set Decoration: Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard

“The Great Gatsby” Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn (Winner)

“Her” Production Design: K.K. Barrett; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena

“12 Years a Slave” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Alice Baker

Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares

Short Film (Animated)

“Feral” Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden

“Get a Horse!” Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim

“Mr. Hublot” Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares (Winner)

“Possessions” Shuhei Morita

“Room on the Broom” Max Lang and Jan Lachauer

Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson

Short Film (Live Action)

“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” Esteban Crespo

“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)” Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras

“Helium” Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson (Winner)

“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)” Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari

“The Voorman Problem” Mark Gill and Baldwin Li

Glenn Freemantle

Sound Editing

“All Is Lost” Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns

“Captain Phillips” Oliver Tarney

“Gravity” Glenn Freemantle (Winner)

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Brent Burge and Chris Ward

“Lone Survivor” Wylie Stateman

 Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro 

Sound Mixing

“Captain Phillips” Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro

“Gravity” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro (Winner)

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson

“Inside Llewyn Davis” Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

“Lone Survivor” Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow

Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk and Neil Corbould

Visual Effects

“Gravity” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk and Neil Corbould (Winner)

“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds

“Iron Man 3” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick

“The Lone Ranger” Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier

“Star Trek Into Darkness” Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton

 John Ridley

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“Before Midnight” Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke

“Captain Phillips” Screenplay by Billy Ray

“Philomena” Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

“12 Years a Slave” Screenplay by John Ridley (Winner)

“The Wolf of Wall Street” Screenplay by Terence Winter

Spike Jonze

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“American Hustle” Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell

“Blue Jasmine” Written by Woody Allen

“Dallas Buyers Club” Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack

“Her” Written by Spike Jonze (Winner)

“Nebraska” Written by Bob Nelson

Being the first media “Supple Magazine from Nigeria” to be at the Oscar was a think of joy.

After my accreditation by the press section I was set for the biggest stage in the film business. I just can't express the excitement having such a wonderful experience and will not wait to be there again in 2015.

Our Nigerian film industry must know that film business is not practiced in isolation, we can’t be clamming that we have a large film industry without creating and supporting platforms that will attract other professionals from all parts of the world. Lupita Yong’o exploits at the Oscars have not only helped to attract more attention to Kenyan film industry but also more confidence to their film practitioners.

A LESSON FOR NOLLYWOOD INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE FILM MAKERS

This is the category Nollywood can enter for the Oscars with films produced on our local languages but must meet  all professional standards.

Foreign Language Film

The Broken Circle Breakdown” Belgium

“The Great Beauty” Italy (Winner)

“The Hunt” Denmark

“The Missing Picture” Cambodia

“Omar” Palestine

A  LESSON FOR NOLLYWOOD UPCOMING ACTORS.

Given the class of actresses like Julia Roberts, who could have given Lupita Nyong'o a chance? Some three years ago Lupita should have been dreaming of being as popular as one of the Nollywood Stars but today, African actors want to be like her.

 Start now to look beyond what have been achieved in our local set ups and believing in you so that when that break through role comes, use it very well.

 Rachael Mwanza of Congo collected the Silver Bear of Berlin Film Festival in 2012 and also walked the red carpet of Oscar too. She was less than 20 years; she played a major role in the film "War Witch".

Being at the Oscar should be the dream of any professional because that is the ultimate in this business.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Sally Hawkins in “Blue Jasmine”

Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle”

Lupita Nyong’o in “12 Years a Slave” (Winner from Kenya )

Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County”

June Squibb in “Nebraska”

CPD 9th Annual Research Conference On Cultural Diplomacy University of Southern California

The invitation extended to Eko International Film Festival to take part in the 9^th annual conference on cultural diplomacy of University of Southern California Los Angeles USA was amazing. This conference took place on the 28^th of Febraury,2014.The Nollywood Industry was represented  by the  President of Eko International Film Festival which  attracted wild rage of professionals from various fields of endeavors was well attended.

 The welcome address was from

• Ernest J. Wilson, III, (Walter Annenberg Chair in Communication and Dean of USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism)

Followed by the Opening Remarks by

• Jay Wang, Director, USC Center on Public Diplomacy and Associate Professor, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.

The first panelists deliberated on:

Cultural Diplomacy: Continuity and Disjuncture

This panel addressed the adaptations and changes that cultural diplomacy has undergone in the 21st century, considering the multitude of actors now present in the cultural diplomacy sphere.

Below are the professionals that took part on this section

• Nicholas J. Cull, Director, Master of Public Diplomacy Program, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism (chair)

• Senem Cevik, Assistant Professor, Ankara University, Turkey

• Judy Mitoma, Professor (Emerita) of World Arts and Cultures, UCLA

• Katerina Tsetsura, Gaylord Family Professor of Strategic Communication & Public Relations, University of Oklahoma

• Daya Kishan Thussu, Professor of International Communication and Co-Director of India Media Centre, University of Westminster

The second panelists deliberated on :

Confucius Institutes: The Globalization of Chinese Soft Power

The Confucius Institutes are a platform for Chinese cultural diplomacy through language learning and cultural exchanges. This interdisciplinary panel of experts discussed the Confucius Institutes’ operations the United States and South Africa. This panel on the Confucius Institutes is co-sponsored by the USC U.S.-China Institute.

Below are the professionals that took part during the second section:

• Clayton Dube, Executive Director, USC U.S.-China Institute at the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism (chair)

• Falk Hartig, Post-doctoral Researcher, Frankfurt Inter-Centre-Programme on new African-Asian Interactions AFRASO at Frankfurt University, Germany

• Jennifer Hubbert, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Lewis & Clark College

• John Layton, Assistant Superintendent, Lafayette School Corporation

• R.S. Zaharna, Associate Professor, School of Communication and Affiliate Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University

The third section was on

GREAT Britain in Emerging Markets:

How was Great Britain's global campaign received in emerging economies? “This lunch conversation discussed the challenges and successes”

A representative from the British Prime Minister made his presentation

• Andrew Pike, Deputy Director, Prime Ministers' Director of Strategic Partnership for the GREAT Campaign

• Jay Wang, Director, USC Center on Public Diplomacy and Associate Professor, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism

The fourth section was on

Dialogues Through Film

Film festivals are flourishing around the world, yet their role in fostering cultural exchange remains under-examined. This panel examined how film festivals are a platform for creating shared cultural space.

Below are the professionals that deliberated on this section:

• Nicholas J. Cull, Director, Master of Public Diplomacy Program, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism (chair)

• Samuel Douek, Director, HOLA Mexico Film Festival

• Vladek Juszkiewicz, Executive Director, Polish Film Festival Los Angeles

• Hope Obioma Opara, President & Founder, EKO International Film Festival. Lagos, Nigeria.

• Yasemin Yilmaz, Co-Founder, L.A. Turkish Film Festival

The Dialogue on Film was the section which Mr Hope Obioma Opara (President Ekoiff) participated as a panelist.

Cultural Diplomacy is the exchange of ideas, information, values, systems, traditions, beliefs, and other aspects of culture, with the intention of fostering mutual understanding”. This has at times been talked about as involving the use of soft power as opposed to hard power.

Culture is the way of life of a people. It consists of conventional patterns of thought and behaviour, including values, beliefs, rules of conduct, political organization, economic activity, and the like, which are passed on from one generation to the next by learning - and not by biological inheritance.

So many films are submitted for screening in every film festival and these films can be documentary, short film of a different genre, which the story line can based on religion, politics or culture, it can act as effective instrument for a positive change in terms of solving problems.

Members of the delegates

Films are definitely a pathway through which Cultural Diplomacy and international relations can be conducted. In the case of the arts, and particularly in the case of ‘films as vehicles of Cultural Diplomacy’, it seems that soft power can contribute to the relations between countries and benefit both the private and public sector of a country’s economy.

Film allows the public to see a different side of the native country, a side which more than often shows the true realities rather than what the media want us to see.

Audience