13th Abuja International Film Unveiled …..

^{The Abuja International Film Festival Called AIFF Is Today Nigeria’s Biggest And Longest Running Independent Film Festival In Anglophone West Africa Has Announced The Theme Of The Festival For The 2016 Edition.}

^{The Theme Of The Film Festival For 2016 Is  “Connecting the Global Audience ”}

^{Previous Editions Of The Festival Had Witnessed Participation From Delegates From Over 20 Countries Amongst Them The United Kingdom, Ghana, South Africa, China, Japan, Niger, Usa, Poland, Togo, Burkina Faso, India, Dubia, Singapore. This Highly Reputed Film And Video Broadcast Festival Attracts Entries From Over 50 Countries Worldwide With An Attendance Of Over 6,000 Participants From The Film, Tv And General Public.}

^{The Abuja International Film And Video Festival Which Has Been Scheduled For The 4th To 7th Of October 2016 At The Prestigious Silverbird Galleria, Abuja.}

^{The Opening Ceremony Shall Be A Cocktail Event At The Silverbird Galleria Abuja On Tuesday 4th October, 2010 At 6pm.}

^{Over Films Will Be Screening At Multi Purpose Built Cinema Halls To Create The Cinematic Experience. At Last Count Over 300 Films Have Been Received From 41 Countries As The Deadline For Submission Approaches.}

^{According To Temitope Duker, The Festival Entry Will Close On 31st Of July 2016. So Far The Influx Of Entries Have Been Encouraging. She also mentioned the inclusion of a new project called the Country Roundtable where Producers from different countries will pitch, discuss and network on collaborative projects.}

^{The Festival Is Organized In Conjunction With The Federal Ministry Of Information And Communication, The National Film And Video Censors Board, The Nigerian Film Corporation, The Nigerian Copyright Commission And The Nigeria Television Authority.}

  

^{As Part Of The Festival This Year This Year, Award Will Be Giving In 15 Competetive Categories With 5 Special Recognition Awards That Will Honor Excellence And Passion For The Creative Industry. Speaking Further Temitope Duker Promised That The List Of Those Individuals For The Special Recognition Award And Jury For 2016 Will Be Announced On 18th Of July 2016.  .}

^{We Are Continuing With Our Series On Youth Empowerment In Motion Picture Via The 20/20 Project Which Will Attract Students In The Universities Around Nigeria Attending Seminars And Workshops. They Will Also Be Made To Do Their Own Films. The Festival Has Concluded Arrangements With CANON To Run This Workshop In Cinematography, Photography And Editing Over One Week.}

  

^{Screening At The Festival Will Be 60 Local And Foreign Films, 1 5 Of Such Films Are Feature, 5 In Animation, 15 Short Films, 5 Experimental Films, 10 Documentaries And 10 Student Films. Of The Above Mentioned Films, 35 Are In Competition At The Festival, Gunning For The 15 Different Award Categories.}

Temitope  Duker 

^{Reiterating,  Temitope  Duker Promised That The Festival Will Incorporate A Musical Angle As There Shall Be Musical Performances From Some Local And International Super Star Acts.  Also The Regulars At The Festival Like The Presence Of Members Of The Diplomatic Missions In Nigeria, The Festival Exhibition Market Shall Attract Over 60  Local And International Exhibitors.}

^{In conclusion Duker reaffimed the long running sustenabilty of the Abuja International Film Festival as it remains the Longest and most consistent Film Festival in Nigeria and Anglophonne west Africa, Insisting that other festivals came years after the establishment of the Abuja Film Festival in 2003. Promising an inspiring time for filmmakers and other participants this year.}

Joe Ubaka film 'Missing God' won Best African Language Film in the last AMAA 2016

Winning the Sembene Ousmane Best African Language Film in the last African Movie Academy Awards (Amaa 2016) was a great honor and gloriously amazing.

This is the greatest blessing I’ve received as a filmmaker because of the name tagged to the Award “Sembene Ousmane” the father of African Cinema, so to me a new mantle has been handed over to me, to continue in the stride of this great filmmaker.

I remember what Elijah told Elisha in the bible, that if you see me when I’m taking off, that you will receive the double portion of my anointing. So receiving this award is equally the double portion of Late Sembene’s filmmaking anointing.

For those of us who don’t know the man called Late Sembene Ousmane, he was a man with great track record in terms of cinematic achievements in Africa Cinema, he won several awards and the last I could remember was “Certain Regards” in Cannes film Festival 2004 with his last film titled: Moolaade and he lived a fulfilled life, died at the age of 92.

Late Sembene Ousmane was a man I respect so much from Senegal, though I’m a disciple of Jibril Diop Membety, another rebel filmmaker from Senegal, a friend of Martin Scorsese, another mentor.

 “The Missing God” was nominated for best Igbo language movie at African Magic Viewers Choice Award [AMVCA 2016] and we’ve had the privilege of screening at Luxor African Film Festival Egypt, CAMIFF and Black Cinema of Berlin and to mention but a few.

This is not the first time my movie is winning an award, in 2009 I had the jury’s special mention prize for my film Trapped Dream during Cinema Africano De Verona Italy.

It’s my desire to get more accolades because that’s the only thing that will separate my art from the crowd, for many are called but few are chosen and I’ve always learnt to carve a niche for myself.

Finally I want to thank the Amaa Team, the Jury, most especially His Excellency Goodluck Jonathan for supporting the Nigeria movie industry through project Nollywood Act, where I got part of my funding for this film project “The Missing God” and to all my cast & crew for working tirelessly for the progress of this project and my humble wife for believing and supporting my filmmaking career.

DIRECTORS LETTER OF INTENT

MISSING GOD offers the viewer the possibility to reflect on injustice, accountability, faith and redemption. Our point of departure in the writing process was reality. For example, the story of colonialism and slave-trade that devastated Africa in the 18th centuries inspired the concept of Missing God.

As filmmakers, we are drawn to upheavals that strike the cords of global public debates on ethics and responsibility. MISSING GOD should evoke an inner dialogue and, ideally, leave an indelible mark of western imperialism etched on the soul of the viewer. Our Intention is not to illustrate the injustice done to us Africans during the era of colonialism and slave-trade but the power of African religion, culture and traditions.

In this project we firmly reject exoticism, which focuses on the differences between people and their cultures and which thrives on clichés and prejudices. We believe in a respectful dialogue between cultures, which is linked to an introspective dialogue with our respective pasts

Embarking on this film project is a form of reflection on what the western press or historians have reported or written about Africa.

I have always wished for that moment when we Africans will start telling our stories, because the western press has tampered with our history.  In the course of my research for my documentary film project on the origin of the Igbos, I stumbled upon factual in-formations that contradicted that of the western press, so who do I believe, my people or the western press? Today so many of us are ignorant of this fact because not every-one of us has such privileged information.

Many negative things are often propagated by the Western press against Africa and remotely many Africans are made to believe that there’s nothing positive about them.

Hegel a great philosopher of the German Idealist tradition excludes the black as people with full consciousness and he concludes that Africans have no history because they lack full development of their consciousness and are ignorant of their freedom and as such have made no contribution to human development.

To a great extent, I believe that we Africans have not recovered from the devastating effects of slave trade and colonialism even to this present day, which was part of European cruelest legacy on the African continent that has contributed to our confused sense of identity.

Today in our various African societies, there's this lingering inferiority complex among we Africans and there's need to fight against it.

Our traditions and cultures are seen as barbaric and outdated because of what the colonialist taught us, with the believe that Africans will never get to the point of self-realization. And this has made us to seriously embrace the western culture to the detriment of cultural identity.

Africa is a beautiful continent filled with fascinating sights, sounds and cultures. Some of these have been lost or endangered as a result of the influx of the western culture. Presently, many Africans answer foreign names they do not know their meanings. For us Africans, names are a part of our identity. A name tells a lot about the person who bears it. This means that a name carries along side with it a personality, an identity and in fact, a destiny. This is why within the African society much care is taken in naming a child. Africans do not just name their children carelessly but take time to study the situation and prevailing circumstances of the time before they give a name to a child. There is the belief that names carry along with them the tendency of influencing the bearer to good or evil.

Africa of antiquity has been a centre of attraction for many. The great civilisations of the world began in Africa. This was the reason why ancient philosophers and scholars visited Africa to develop their philosophical doctrines. Izu Onyeocha writes that Africa was an intellectual Mecca to European scholars in antiquity.

As I conclude this reflection, let us remember that our past was indeed glorious. Missing God Film Project was born out of the desire to preserve the culture of our people, it is said that within the culture of a people, lies their identity, if we lose our culture we have lost our identity.

Some of the Africans in the Diaspora don’t know what the culture of their people is like but through this film project; they will be afforded the opportunity to know more about their culture and the untold story of western invasion across the Niger.

Africa is one of the continents with a very strong cultural heritage. And there is need for us to keep visual documentations of our traditional beliefs, culture and history for this present generation and generation to come since culture is considered as people way of life.

MISSING GOD is not a film about Colonialism and Slave-trade but a film about the core value of African Tradition, Culture and Religious belief. It is not the appropriation of exotic imagery packaged for consumption by another. It is, first and foremost, the result of a long journey inwards where we examined our presumptions and rummaged through our archives of experiences, all the while searching for revelations.

In conclusion, according to research, the best form of communicating tool is through film-making, which is a catalyst for positive change.

Joe Brown Ubaka

Full list of winners at AMAA 2016….

EFERE OZAKO AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM

1. Encounter – Nigeria

2. Le Chemin – Cote De Voire

3. Blood Taxi – Nigeria

4. Meet The Parents – Nigeria/Canada – WINNER

5. Nourah The Holy Light – Burkina Faso

6. Ireti – Nigeria

7. Life of Nigerian Couple – Nigeria

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST ANIMATION

1. The Pencil – Burkina Faso – WINNER

2. The Peculiar Life of a Spider – Ghana

3. Funsie Fast Fingers – Nigeria

4. Lazare Sie Pale – Burkina Faso

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY

1, My Fathers Funeral – Cameroon

2. Nollywood – Nigeria

3. Tchindas- Cape Verde

4. The Fruitless Tree – Niger — WINNER

5. Runs ‘I too Seek The Horizon’ – Nigeria/UK

6. Camera/Woman – Morocco

OUSMANE SEMBENE AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST FILM IN AN AFRICAN LANGUAGE

1. Brotherhood Eye – Mali

2. Bala Bala Sese – Uganda

3. Missing God – Nigeria

4. Cursed Treasure – Ghana

5. Wako – Uganda

6. Daggers of Life (Agbe Fe Akumehewo) – Ghana

MICHAEL ANYIAM OSIGWE AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST FILM BY AN AFRICAN LIVING ABROAD

1. Lambadina – Ethiopia/USA – WINNER

2. Skinned – Liberia/USA

3. LAPD African Cop – USA/Nigeria

4. Boxing Day – USA/Nigeria

5. MONA – Nigeria/UK

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST DIASPORA SHORT

1. Lines – USA

2. Raptors – USA

3. Across The Track – USA – WINNER

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST DIASPORA DOCUMENTARY

1. Can You Dig This- USA

2. America’s Blues – USA

3. Spirits of Rebellion – USA — WINNER

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST DIASPORA FEATURE

1. America Is Still the Place – USA

2. Ben & Ara – USA – WINNER

3. Luv Don’t Live Here – USA

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. The Cursed One – Ghana – WINNER

2. Soldiers Story – Nigeria

3. Ayanda- South Africa

4. Missing God – Nigeria

5. Out of Luck- Nigeria

AMAA 2016 ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

1. Eye of the storm (Burkina Faso) – WINNER

2. Oshimiri

3. The Cursed One

4. Ayanda

5. Soldiers Story

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP

1. Oshimiri

2. The Cursed One

3. Missing God

4. Soldiers Story – WINNER

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUNDTRACK

1. O-Town – Nigeria – WINNER

2. Tell Me Sweet Something – South Africa

3. The Cursed One – Ghana

4. Hear me Move – South Africa

5. Le Pagne- Niger

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECT

1. Hear me Move – South Africa

2. Oshimiri – Nigeria — WINNER

3. Stupid Movie – Nigeria

4. House Arrest – Uganda

5. Soldiers Story – Nigeria

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND

1. Eye of the Storm- Burkina Faso

2. Fifty – Nigeria — WINNER

3. The Cursed One – Ghana

4. Behind Closed Doors – Morocco

5. Falling – Nigeria

6. Rebecca- Ghana

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. The Cursed one — WINNER

2. Eye of the Storm

3. Ayanda

4. Tell me Sweet Something

5. Fifty

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING

1. Behind Closed Doors

2. Rebecca

3. The Cursed One

4. Eye of the Storm

5. Hear me Move —– WINNER

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SCREEN PLAY

1. The Cursed One

2. Tell me Sweet Something —- WINNER

3. The Visit

4. Eye of the Storm

5. Beyond Blood

AMAA 2016- RIVERS STATE GOVERNMENT ENDOWED AWARD FOR BEST NIGERIAN FILM

1. Beyond Blood

2. Dry —- WINNER

3. Fifty

4. Missing God

5. Falling

6. O’Town

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST YOUNG/ PROMISING ACTOR

1. Nyanso Dzedze – Hear Me Move

2. Ophelia Klenam Dzidzornu – The Cursed One

3. Zubaidat Ibrahim Fagge – Dry — WINNER

4. Ifu Ennada – O’Town

5. Eve Esin – Oshimiri

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

1. Joseph Otsiman – The Cursed One

2. Uti Nwachukwu – Breathless

3. Abidine Dioari – Eye of the Storm — WINNER

4. Adeolu Adekola – Taxi Driver

5. Kenneth Nkosi – Ayanda

6. Thomas Gumede- Tell Me Sweet Something

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

1. Thishiwe Ziqubu – Tell me Sweet Something — WINNER

2. Maureen Okpoko – Missing God

3. Ijeoma Grace Agu – Jimi Bendel/ Taxi Driver

4. Bontte Modiselle – Hear Me Move

5. Nthati Moshesh – Ayanda

6. Linda Ejiofor– Out of Luck

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

1. Oris Erhuero – The Cursed One

2. OC Ukeje – Ayanda

3. Fragass Assande – Eye of the Storm

4. Masego ‘Maps’ Maponyane – Tell me Sweet Something

5. Daniel k. Daniel – Soldiers Story — WINNER

6. Biuferi Yakoubi – La Pagne

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

1. Zineb Odeib – Behind Closed Doors

2. Adesua Etomi- Falling

3. Fulu Mugovhani – Ayanda – WINNER

4. Maimouna N’Daiye – Eye of the Storm

5. Iretiola Doyle, Dakore Egbuson, Nse Ikpe Etim, Omoni Oboli – Fifty

6. Nomzamo Mbatha – Tell me Sweet Something

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST FIRST FEATURE FILM BY A DIRECTOR

1. MONA – Anthony Abuah

2. Beyond Blood – Greg Odutayo — WINNER

3. 8 Bars and a Clef- Chioma Onyenwe

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR

1. Nana Obiri-Yeboah – The Cursed One — WINNER

2. Biyi Bandele- Fifty

3. Sekou Toure- Eye of the Storm

4. Sara Blecher- Ayanda

5. Moussa Hamadou Djingarey- La Pagne

6. Stephanie Linus – Dry

7. Akin Omotoso – Tell me Sweet Something

8. Mohammed Ahed Bensouda – Behind Closed Doors

AMAA 2016 AWARD FOR BEST FILM

1. The Cursed One – Ghana

2. Fifty – Nigeria

3. Eye of the Storm – Burkina Faso — WINNER

4. Ayanda – South Africa

5. La Pagne- Niger

6. Dry – Nigeria

7. Tell me Sweet Something- South Africa

8. Behind Closed Doors- Morocco

AMAA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Olu Jacobs & Joke Silva — WINNER

Richard Mofe Damijo — WINNER

Tony Akposhore — WINNER

Queen Ebigieson film 'Ileri Ife'

Ileri Ife is a story  of a rich man’s daughter who believe men were after her not because they love her but for her money

In other to find love she turned to a recharge card seller and met a guy who was also facing the same problem in finding a true love… He also disguised himself in so as to not to scare her away because he believed as a recharge card seller his status might intimidate her not knowing that she is even richer than him. Find out in this amazing film Ileri Ife

Queen Blessing Ebigieson

Producer  of the film Ile Ife 

Shan George New Movie “One Good Man” featuring Segun Arinze, Lilian Bach, Lepacious Bose, Femi Branch & More stars

“One Good Man” marks Shan George‘s third self-produced movie.

The movie was written by the Nollywood actress is being directed by Stanley Williams.

“One Good Man” stars Segun Arinze, Eric Anderson, Lilian Bach, Femi Branch, Lepacious Bose, Ibok Ekpenyoung, Vivian Metchie, Bukky Wright and more and it is set to premiere in July.

Watch the trailer below.

69th Festival de Cannes Awards.

The Jury of the 69th Festival de Cannes, presided by George Miller, has revealed the names of the 2016 prize-winners during the Awards Ceremony. Laurent Lafitte welcomed the prize-givers and winners onto the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, to the sound of music playing. The American actor, Mel Gibson, had the honour of awarding the Palme d’or to the best of the 21 films in Competition.

The French actor, Jean-Pierre Léaud, received an honorary Palme d'or for his collected works from Arnaud Desplechin.

I, DANIEL BLAKE by Ken Loach, Palme d’or, was screened at the end of the Awards Ceremony to close this 2016 edition of the Festival.

FEATURE FILMS

Palme d'or
I, DANIEL BLAKE by Ken LOACH

Grand Prix
JUSTE LA FIN DU MONDE (It's Only the End of the World) by Xavier DOLAN

Award for Best Director Ex-Aequo
Cristian MUNGIU for BACALAUREAT (Graduation)
Olivier ASSAYAS for PERSONAL SHOPPER

Award for Best Screenplay
Asghar FARHADI for FORUSHANDE (The Salesman)

Jury Prize
AMERICAN HONEY by Andrea ARNOLD

Award for Best Actress
Jaclyn JOSE in MA' ROSA by Brillante MENDOZA

Award for Best Actor
Shahab HOSSEINI in FORUSHANDE (The Salesman) by Asghar FARHADI

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SHORT FILMS

Palme d'or 
TIMECODE by Juanjo GIMENEZ

Special disctinction
A MOÇA QUE DANÇOU COM O DIABO (The Girl Who Danced With the Devil) by João Paulo MIRANDA MARIA

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CAMÉRA D’OR

DIVINES by Houda BENYAMINA presented during The Directors' Fortnight

The Jury of the CST has awarded the VULCAN AWARD OF THE TECHNICAL ARTIST to:
SEONG-HIE RYU, for the artistic direction, with great inspiration, for the film MADEMOISELLE (The Handmaiden/Agassi) by PARK Chan-Wook.