AFRIFF 2015 holds Globe awards
BY JOAN OMIONAWELE
...Clarence Peters recognised, as Cameroonian wins Best Short Film laurel
Stakeholders, notable entertainment personalities, actors and actresses, will not hurriedly forget the closing gala of the Africa International Film Festival as filmmakers, actors and actresses gathered for the 2015 edition of the prestigious Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), which was held on Saturday at the Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The star-studded ceremony sparked off with an opening speech by Mrs Afie Braimoh, Director of Operations of AFRIFF as she welcomed the guests and thanked them for partaking in the film festival. According to her, “ it’s been a wonderful week, meeting and interacting, I want to thank Mrs Chioma Ude, the AFRIFF team, sponsors and also congratulate all filmmakers whose films were selected.
She further stated, “we screened about 180 films out of the 500 films that were sent to us. We want to thank our partners and sponsors.”
For Keith Shiri, Artistic Director of AFRIFF, the fifth edition of the African International Film Festival gave a fresh and sensitive approach, as each of the films chosen represented the typical African story, every film is a winner because out of nothing, African Cinema has been created and is evolving, thus AFRIFF will continue to create a world class platform to showcase African cinema.
Clarence Peters, who won the Special Jury prize under the Short Film category expressed gratitude to the organisers of AFRIFF, while also thanking the actors who featured in his film, entitled Hex. The award- winning producer dedicated the film to his mum, Clarion Chukwura. He said “I will like to dedicate this to my mum because she raised me to be who I am today.”
Also, the Short Film award was clinched by Cameroonian filmmaker, Christa Eka Assam, for her latest work entitled Alma.
Assam who said she had been attending the festival in the last three years was full of praises for the jury and organisers of the festival for providing a platform to prove herself.
The audience was treated to soothing music by Timi Dakolo, who started off with There’s a Cry, in memory of the late patron of AFRIFF and Special Adviser on Research and Documentation to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Oronto Douglas, before performing Wish Me Well, to the delight of audience, as well as Cobhams Asuquo and the royal dancers group.
The jurors who also got a loud ovation from the crowd included Pedro Pimenta, Soheir Abdel Kader, Prof Hyginus Ekwuazi, Teddy Mattera, Dr Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, Dapo Oshiyemi, Serge-Armand Kouami Noukoue and Asha Lovelace.
The highlights of the night was announced by the CEO of Afriff, Ms Chioma Ude, who gave scholarships to 20 student filmmakers to study filmmaking and editing in the United States. According to Ms Ude, “we at Afriff will continue to grow from strength to strength, early this year, we trained 20 students at the relativity school in America, and we are set to train more students. We thank our sponsors, Africa Magic, Access Bank, Eko Hotel and Suites and the host of other sponsors of Afriff.
Other awards include Silent Tears by Ishaya Bako (Audience Choice Awards), Legacy of Rubies by Ebele Okoye(Best Animation), Joy by Solomon Onita Jr. (Best Student Short Film), E18hteam by Juan Rodriguez-Briso (Best Documentary), Reflections by Desmond Elliot (Oronto Douglas Award for Best Nigerian Film) and The Price of Love (Best Screenplay)
In the individual categories, Raja Amari won Best Director, while South African actors; Charlie Vundla and Fulu Makhovami won Best Actor and Best Actress for their roles in Cuckold Ayanda respectively, while Morocan filmmaker, Hicham Ayouch, won the best film for his film, fevers.
She further stated, “we screened about 180 films out of the 500 films that were sent to us. We want to thank our partners and sponsors.”
For Keith Shiri, Artistic Director of AFRIFF, the fifth edition of the African International Film Festival gave a fresh and sensitive approach, as each of the films chosen represented the typical African story, every film is a winner because out of nothing, African Cinema has been created and is evolving, thus AFRIFF will continue to create a world class platform to showcase African cinema.
Clarence Peters, who won the Special Jury prize under the Short Film category expressed gratitude to the organisers of AFRIFF, while also thanking the actors who featured in his film, entitled Hex. The award- winning producer dedicated the film to his mum, Clarion Chukwura. He said “I will like to dedicate this to my mum because she raised me to be who I am today.”
Also, the Short Film award was clinched by Cameroonian filmmaker, Christa Eka Assam, for her latest work entitled Alma.
Assam who said she had been attending the festival in the last three years was full of praises for the jury and organisers of the festival for providing a platform to prove herself.
The audience was treated to soothing music by Timi Dakolo, who started off with There’s a Cry, in memory of the late patron of AFRIFF and Special Adviser on Research and Documentation to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Oronto Douglas, before performing Wish Me Well, to the delight of audience, as well as Cobhams Asuquo and the royal dancers group.
The jurors who also got a loud ovation from the crowd included Pedro Pimenta, Soheir Abdel Kader, Prof Hyginus Ekwuazi, Teddy Mattera, Dr Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, Dapo Oshiyemi, Serge-Armand Kouami Noukoue and Asha Lovelace.
The highlights of the night was announced by the CEO of Afriff, Ms Chioma Ude, who gave scholarships to 20 student filmmakers to study filmmaking and editing in the United States. According to Ms Ude, “we at Afriff will continue to grow from strength to strength, early this year, we trained 20 students at the relativity school in America, and we are set to train more students. We thank our sponsors, Africa Magic, Access Bank, Eko Hotel and Suites and the host of other sponsors of Afriff.
Other awards include Silent Tears by Ishaya Bako (Audience Choice Awards), Legacy of Rubies by Ebele Okoye(Best Animation), Joy by Solomon Onita Jr. (Best Student Short Film), E18hteam by Juan Rodriguez-Briso (Best Documentary), Reflections by Desmond Elliot (Oronto Douglas Award for Best Nigerian Film) and The Price of Love (Best Screenplay)
In the individual categories, Raja Amari won Best Director, while South African actors; Charlie Vundla and Fulu Makhovami won Best Actor and Best Actress for their roles in Cuckold Ayanda respectively, while Morocan filmmaker, Hicham Ayouch, won the best film for his film, fevers.
The week-long festival was graced by many filmmakers and celebrities including Dakore Egbuson Akande, Genevieve Nnaji, Hilda Dokubo, Ini Edo, Kunle Afolayan, Tope Tedela, Toke Makinwa, Toni Tones, Rita Dominic, Mildred Okwo, Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Grace Oboba Edwin-Okon, O. C. Ukeje, Ramsey Nuoah, and Kemi Lala Akindoju among others.
AFRIFF Globe Awards : Results At A Glance
1. Best Male Performance: Charlie Vundla In Cuckold (SA) by Charlie Vundla
2. Best Female Performance: Fulu Makhovani In AyanDA (SA) by Sara Blecher
3. Best Film Screen Play: Price Of Love (Ethiopia) by Hermon Ahiley
4. Best Director Award: Raja Amari For Tunisian Spring (Tunisia)
5. Best Nigerian Film: Reflections by Desmond Elliot
6. Best Feature Film: Fevers by Hicham Avouch (Morocco)
7. Best Student Film - Joy - Solomon Onita Jr. (USA)
8. Best Animation- The Legacy of Rubies - Ebele Okoye (Germany)
9. Best Short Film - Alma - Christa Eka Assam (Cameroon)
10. Best Documentary: Eighteam, directed by Juan Rodriguez-Brisco and Co-Produced by Ngosa Chungu.
11. Special Jury Prize - Hex - Clarence A Peters (Nigeria)
12. Special Mention - The Encounter- Tolu Ajayi (Nigeria)
13. Special Mention (Student Film)- The Good Son - Tomisin Adepeju (UK)
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