Young Nigerian Director gets Hubert Bals Fund to make his Film
Kenneth Gyang who was once recognized as the youngest filmmaker in Nigeria years ago is one of the few filmmakers selected from all over the world to share the Hubert Bals Fund in Netherlands. Gyang was selected for his film Confusion Na Wa and has already secured a lucrative distribution deal for Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Confusion Na Wa has also been selected for the competitive Durban FilmMart of the Durban Film Festival next month July.
Gyang has patnered with the BBC as director on Wetin Dey. He produced and directed the Finding Aisha series for which he won the Young Producer of the Year award at the last Future Awards in Lagos.
The Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) selected twenty-nine projects to be given grants for script development, digital production, postproduction, distribution or workshops. In its Spring 2010 selection, the Fund gives 450,000 Euro to projects from twenty-two countries. (see full list below).
The line up of the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund Spring 2010 Selection Round in full:
Postproduction & final financing
A alegria (The Joy) – Felipe Bragança & Marina Meliande, Brazil
Agonistes, The Myth of Nation – Lav Diaz, Philippines
Cornelia At Her Mirror – Daniel Rosenfeld, Argentina
Harud – Aamir Bashir, India
Hawi – Ibrahim El Batout, Egypt
Ocaso – Théo Court, Chile
Tilva Roš – Nikola Lezaic, Serbia
Winter Vacation – Li Hongqi, China
Digital Production
Confusion Na Wa – Kenneth Gyang, Nigeria
Lukas nino – John Torres, Philippines
Marimbas del infierno – Julio Hernandez Cordon, Guatemala
Through the Windshield – Vimukthi Jayasundara, Sri Lanka
Script & Project development
Aral – Ella Vakkasova, Uzbekistan
Betok – Sherman Ong, Malaysia
Bull Down! – Gabriel Mascaro, Brazil
Germania – Maximiliano Schonfeld, Argentina
Ibn Battuta – Tariq Teguia, Algeria
Karma Police – Visra Vichit-Vadakan, Thailand
Melaza – Carlos Lechuga, Cuba
Past Love – Lee Chatametikool, Thailand
Straw Man – Peng Tao, China
La tercera orilla – Celina Murga, Argentina
Tormentero – Ruben Imaz Castro, Mexico
La última tierra – Pablo Lamar, Paraguay
Distribution
Chaque jour est une fête – Dima El-Horr, Lebanon, distribution in Lebanon by MC Distribution
Manuel De Ribera – Christopher Murray & Pablo Carrera, distribution in Chile by Jirafa
Special Projects
Directors Across Borders Script and Project Development Workshop – Yerevan Golden Apricot Film Festival, Armenia
Hubert Bals Fund Award – Durban FilmMart, Durban International Film Festival, South Africa
East Timor Film Production Workshop – East Timor
Kenneth Gyang is a director, writer and producer from Barkin Ladi, Plateau State. His work in film and television has gained recognition at home and abroad.
Inspired by listening to BBC World Service, Kenneth’s early ambition was a career in radio. However, shortly after completing school he came across a poster advertsing Nigeria’s National Film Institute, located in
the nearby state capital, Jos. He applied and was accepted.
Kenneth’s interest was initially in screen-writing only but, frustrated with seeing unimaginative interpretations of his work, decided to try directing one of his scripts. The result was the award winning short Mummy Lagos, a two-minute meditation on the African food that has been screened at festivals worldwide. Most notably, Kenneth presented the film at the 2006 Berllinale.
Following this early success, Kenneth has been working constantly as a director.
Highlights include being one of three directors of the groundbreaking BBC series Wetin Dey and writing and directing SoundCity’s drama series Finding Aisha. The former is widely acknowledged to have set new standards in West African television and was screened at the 2007 EMMY awards in Los Angeles. In recognition of the latter he won Screen Producer of the Year at the 2010 Future Awards.
Kenneth is currently preparing to direct his debut feature, Confusion Na Wa ●
