What is irep

(Being the opening remarks by Femi Odugbemi, Executive Director, iREP, at the opening of the festival on January 20 at the Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, lagos)


iREP is about promoting documentary films from Africa, by Africans and about the African experience. Beyond propaganda, irep is about providing a platform for the promotion archiving and distribution of documentaries about our culture, our peoples and our development.

Enough of the colonial narrative of Africa being only about wars and diseases and pain. Yes these stories exist sadly but it needs perspective. And what is usually missing in these narratives is that the facts don't always reveal the truth. The challenge is for African filmmakers to do more than entertain and to begin to educate and inform and protect brand Africa in narratives that are more true, more rounded and yes more to our economic and development advantage in the global information order.


iREP is also about archiving. Today it is incredibly difficult to get archival footage of any part of nigerias history on film without recourse to the libraries of the BBC or Reuters. The 50th anniversary of Nigeria was a case study. Hardly could we find anywhere images in video of the major conferences that led to Nigeria being granted independence. Virtually all our TV stations ran again and again the same few images of that era that was available. Irep will pursue aggressively support for more archival structures for documentary films.

Beyond archiving, documentary sells! iREP will seek distribution opportunities for documentary filmmakers both in broadcast and at the box office.

Finally iREP is about training and mentoring. We aim to provide as many training opportunities as possible for emerging filmmakers to take documentary production seriously and engage the necessary skills to make documentaries that have style and entertain and educate.

That is the commitment th we make beginning today. Its a commitment to which we invite the support of all of you and we hope that this festival is merely the beginning of our collective engagement of these ideas.

Thank you.















PHOTOS: CHARLES OKOLO


www.irepfilmfestival.com
3 Oguntona Crescent, Gbagada Phase 1, Lagos Nigeria. P.O. Box 36 Surulere.
T: +234 803 425 1963, +234 802 201 6495, +234 803 403 0646
E: info@irepfilmfestival.com