Lights Camera Africa Film Festival

Lights Camera Africa Film Festival creates an avenue of opportunities for films that have created an impact to be recognized for their authenticity and hard work. The 6th edition of Lights Camera Africa!!! Film Festival themed “Music makes the people…”which started on the 30^th of September and ends on the 2^nd of October is an experience every Nigerian has to witness to step out of their comfort zone and experience the abundance of creativity Africa has to offer.

Amongst the lineup of 23 independent films from over 14 countries showing during the festival, these 3 caught our attention as they address social, political and cultural issues.

No Good Turn

In the light of a gruesome Boko Haram terrorist attack which has destroyed the bank, the police station and the market of a small town in Northern Nigeria, Dr. Gbenga who is in charge of the overcrowded ER and his staff are pushing their limits trying to provide medical attention. In the midst of the chaos, the primary suspect of this attack is brought in and the town’s Chief of Police demands immediate jungle justice but Dr. Gbenga must act as the voice of reason in this situation. So he tries.

Directed by Udoka Oyeka.

Country: Nigeria

Year: 2016

Duration: 17 min

Too Black to be French

This film casts a spotlight on race and racism in France as well as the impact of the French colonial past by Isabelle Boni-Claverie. This short documentary film has Isabelle explore these issues through her personal family history, interviews with historians and academics, and soliciting the aid of anonymous individuals, who speak on the daily experiences with race, class, discrimination and micro-aggressions. As a French-Ivorian who grew up in upper class French society, Isabelle shows how status and privilege did not shield racial discrimination.

Also featured in this film are interviews with acclaimed sociologists and historians including Pap Ndiaye, Eric Fassin, Achille Mbembe, and Patrick Simon to help contextualize racial history in France.

TOO BLACK TO BE FRENCH peels back the layers of race relations in supposedly institutionally colour blind France and starts an urgent discussion of French society’s inequalities and discrimination.

Director: Isabelle Boni-Claverie.

Country: France/Cote d’Ivoire

Year: 2015

Duration: 52 min

Green White Green

Set against the background of the new generation in Lagos, a group of young bohemian artists hang out and search for direction in the months that lead up to their life in university. Uzoma and his friends are conscious of the varied cultures of Nigeria’s Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba ethnic groups, but hold it no regard.

As painters and filmmakers, these artists hone their craft and join minds together with persistence and fearless ambition as their counter for their inexperience. These characters embody your average Lagosian.

Green White Green is richly textured, funny, and a bit cheeky as it presents a cityscape with vivid colours and vivacious inhabitants.

Director: Abba Makama.

Country: Nigeria

Year: 2016

Duration: 102 min