I-Represent International Documentary Film Festival Holds 22nd-25th March 2012

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iREP 2012 OFFICIAL POSTER

PRESS RELEASE

I-Represent International Documentary Film Festival Holds 22nd-25th March 2012 at Terra Kulture & Freedom Park, Lagos

The highly acclaimed I-Represent International Documentary Film Festival which debuted last year holds its second edition from Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th of March 2012, at Terra-Culture, Lagos, and Freedom Park Broad Street, Lagos Nigeria. It will feature screenings and discussions at Terra Kulture each day from 10am-5pm Thursday-Saturday and screenings at Freedom Park’s outdoor theatre from 7pm-11pm Thursday-Saturday and from 10am-10pm on Sunday at Freedom Park Only.

The festival is conceptualized on the framework: AFRICA IN SELF CONVERSATION, and it would explore the theme: DEMOCRACY AND CULTURE – THE DOCUMENTARY FILM INTERVENTION.

iREP 2012 OFFICIAL POSTER1

As would be deduced from the unprecedented and sporadic people’s mass action that attended the January 1, 2012 removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, a new sense of participation in governance is evolving on the African continent. It is thus increasingly becoming important to explore opportunities open to African filmmakers to bring better understanding and approaches to participatory democracy as a part of African political culture through the medium of documentary films.

The scope of the Festival would cover such areas as Democracy and Demonstrations, New media technology and participatory democracy, and The potentials of the Nigerian films to explore and exploit the documentary format in its production values.

A key subtheme in the 2012 iREP Documentary Film Festival is: IS NOLLYWOOD DOCUMENTARY? This will feature a conversation among filmmakers and their publics on the potentials of Nollywood films to embrace the Documentary ethics in its operation and outputs. A key area of discourse would be the need to explore the production and distribution potentials and schemes of Nollywood towards achieving documentary objectives.

We have the pleasure of Professor Jean Paul Colleyn (Director of Institute of African Studies, Paris) to deliver the Keynote Speech at the Festival opening ceremony on Thursday at 10am. Jean Paul-Colleyn is an Anthropologist, Filmmaker and Professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, France as well as Director of the Centre fod African Studies (Institute of African Studies). He has conducted extensive fieldwork research in West Africa; and currently engaged in a research project in Mali. He was a producer at Arte TV channel (1988-98); visting professor at New York University (1998-2001); Commissioned Editor of the series ‘The Art of the Myth’ (Arte, 2009-2010); Director of over 30 Documentary films and author of over 14 books and many scholarly essays on documentary films, Art and African Studies and Culture.

Also speaking at the Festival are luminaries with vast knowledge and relevant experience in filmmaking and the media. They include the Chairman of CHANNELS Television Mr. John Momoh, a veteran documentarist and award-winning journalist, Mr. EmekaMba, Director-General of the National Film and Video Censors Board and a reknowned authority on New Media channels for content management and distribution. The festival is holding this year in partnership with Goethe Institute and it will feature a host of International Filmmakers who are presenting films and conducting Training Workshops. Notable amongst them includeNigerian/German Filmmaker BranwenOkpakowho will be screening her internationally acclaimed film “The Re-education of Obama.” and other international filmmakers attending the festival include German Director Jens Wenkel, Kathrin Springer (Producer) Ulla Wessler (DokFEst Munich) and BärbelMauch (producer).

An important feature of this festival is a PRODUCERS’ ROUNDTABLE CONFERENCE featuring conversation on Strategies For International Co-Productionto be attended by Documentary filmmakers from Cameroon, Germany, Ghana and Nigeria. It will be Moderated by Ms. Katarina Hedren a key promoter of the Documentary Network Africa Initiative. Ms. Hendren is the former chair of the Swedish based film festival, CinemAfrica, and she works as a translator/interpreter, as well as discussion and workshop moderator/facilitator/designer, film programmer, film critic, and writer with South African producers and directors as well as organisations such as Tri-Continental Film Festival, People to People Conference, Encounters International Documentary Festival, The Goethe-Institut and FESPACO. She is the coordinator of the Mokolo project – an initiative that aims to create a virtual platform for web content relating to African audiovisual industries, thus improving the accessibility and visibility of African audiovisual content and professionals.

The Training Workshop of the festival which last year was attended by over 100 young Nigerian Filmmakers will be holding once again at the Freedom Park Venue on Friday and Saturday and it will feature Facilitators such as BarbelMauch from Germany, Veteran documentaristAlhajiArulogun, Filmmaker Tam Fiofori, and Festival Executive Director Femi Odugbemi

The festival will be screening over 20 films at both Terra Kulture during the day and from 7pm-11pm at Freedom Park each night. Notable films on the schedule include “LAGOS: Notes of a City” by Jens Wenkel, “Linking Africa” by Michael Grotenhoff, “RedHot Nigeria” by Sandra Obiago, “Espoir Voyage” by Michel Zongo, “And the Chain was Not” by Femi Odugbemi, “An African Election” by JarrethMerz, “DuniyaJuyijuyi” by AbdullahiYahayaSa’ad and “The Guantanamo Trap” by Thomas Wallner.

ABOUT iREP FESTIVAL

i-Represent International Documentary Film Festival is an annual film festival dedicated to promoting awareness about the power of documentary films to serve as a means of deepening and sharing social and cultural education as well as encouraging participatory democracy in our societies. The maiden edition held in January 2011, in Lagos, Nigeria, brought together a pool of veteran filmmakers, film scholars, critics, Arts enthusiasts, and students from different parts of the World.

We believe strongly that the 2012 Festival would provide completely invaluable opportunities for all participants to appraise cogent issues that are germane to the future of filmmaking in Africa, and indeed, the World. Activities at the conference have been carefully designed to cover a wide spectrum of knowledge areas and interest, and would include Paper presentations, Training and Workshops, Interactive panel discussions, film screenings, and Networking.
We look forward to the pleasure of having your presence at the festival
Thank you.

More Details at
www.irepfilmfestival.com

SIGNED:
Femi Odugbemi
Executive Director
For IREP FILM FORUM
9TH MARCH 2012.

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