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ZUMA Film Festival set to hold

Organisers of Zuma Film Festival (ZUFF) have announced their preparedness for the fiesta, which begins on Monday, December 1, 2018.

Organisers of Zuma Film Festival (ZUFF) have announced their preparedness for the fiesta, which begins on Monday, December 1, 2018. With the theme ‘Archiving for Creativity,’ the festival will reignite the consciousness among filmmakers and other stakeholders on the important role films play in the archiving of audio-visual materials and creative works and their value for posterity.

While speaking on the choice of the theme at a press briefing in Lagos, Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, said it is a paradigm shift to protect and preserve several thousands of films that have been produced in Nigeria in the past decades.

According to Maduekwe, “Several collections of audio-visual and film materials are being lost due to non-preservation. This festival sets to redefine the need and potential of audio-visual archiving in Nigeria. The NFC through this festival seeks to bring to the front-burner the need to preserve Nigeria’s memory for future generations of Nigerians, with no end point. Our goal is to have these images, and the sounds associated with the images available for present and future generations. As the world is being driven by digital technologies, filmmaking in Nigeria and indeed around the world equally should move with these inventions and innovations.”

Over 3,700 films have been received from filmmakers for both the competitive and non-competitive categories, while delegates expected stand at over 1,300.

Maduekwe is also impressed at the collaboration and partnership for the festival which includes the Embassies of Spain, Germany, France and the United States of America, Arsenal Film Institute, Goethe University of Frankfurt as well as NTA, NBC, NFVCB, NTDC, NAN, FRCN, Kapital FM, PRTVC, Jos, Google, Homevida, DSTV AfricanMagic, and many Nigerian universities.

Aside the recognition and reward for excellence, Masterclasses, seminars, roundtable discussions, business meetings, Emerging Talent Workshops will be undertaken by experts carefully chosen to address critical aspects of film production in Nigeria.

Highlights of the 9th edition of ZUMA also include the recognition of Nigerian filmmakers, including living and posthumous legends, whose resilience spurred the growth of the Nigerian film industry through the Nigerian Film Society, Rock of Fame.

Entries will be awarded in the categories of Best Cinematography, Best Script, Best Short Film, Bes Actress, Best Actor, Best Documentary, Best Foreign Film, Best Student Film, Best Picture,  and Best Indigenous Film.

Meanwhile, the briefing took place at the new, state-of-the-art NFC Cineplex, Lagos, which was unveiled to the public.

Chairman of NFC Board, Alhaji Abubakar Gambo, said that construction of the Cineplex by the corporation was as a result and determination of the board and management to help address the dearth of cinema viewing centres in the country. He assured that the board would continue to sustain its weight through the provision of policy advice to NFC to enable it deliver on its mandate. The new NFC Cineplex has all the trappings of a modern cinema and has 150-seater capacity.

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