Who Is A Culture Minister?
By Segun Ojewuyi
TRUST me, the premise is simple. Artists are fueled by a burning passion to create art — expressive and qualitative art that conveys the ennobling power of deep thought and penetrating insight, balanced with beauty. Artists — Nigerian artists not excempted — also want to make a dignified living, the kind that respects and provides the sanctity necessary for creativity to flourish. Where there is talent, good training and tenacity of purpose, such a combination of critical artistic and commercial success, should not be hard to find. Often the artist just wants to be able to keep the creative work unhindered, maintain a responsible family life and foster good citizenship.
Opulence is not a requirement, but also not anathema. The artistic life is a cause not a curse, it is one of service not servitude, nobility not futility. It is a life that is just as worthy of every breath, every second and minutia of creativity and labour that the artist puts in, as well as every accolade and Naira that the recipient cohesive civic community invests. There are models of such partnerships and success stories in the developed world. Making art is and must be vital to the well-being of society, community and country, just as the sustenance of the artist is and must be embraced as a necessity for societal identity, prosperity and health.
iREPRESENT (iREP) is a touring film festival founded by three Nigerian culture figures to promote independent documentary films and global awareness about the role of documentary films in deepening participatory democracy.It stages a festival every year, and will run Training and Screening regularly.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
The documentary's last stand
MARK LAWSON - Jun 10 2011
Is this a good time for factual film-
making? It depends on your definitions of fact and film.
There are executives and directors who complain that there are too few documentaries on television these days, despite having large and enthusiastic audiences when they are shown. The problem is that what traditionalists mean by documentary is quite different from the star vehicles and "constructed reality" shows that are now popular.
The past decade has also seen a big increase in the number of documentaries made for cinema. The success of Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine (2002) and Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me (2004) began a phenomenon in which a format (the reporter-director) and subject matter (gun control, fast food) that would once have been restricted to television played in multiplexes. Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, James Marsh's Man on Wire and Sebastian Junger's Restrepo, which was co-directed by the late Tim Hetherington, have all been Oscar-nominated (Man on Wire won in 2009).
Does this mean documentary is now on an equal footing with mainstream, feature cinema? Or, given its largely indifferent box-office performance, is it simply flourishing in a soon-to-be-closed bolt hole -- a genre for which TV no longer has the time or money?
MARK LAWSON - Jun 10 2011
Is this a good time for factual film-
making? It depends on your definitions of fact and film.
There are executives and directors who complain that there are too few documentaries on television these days, despite having large and enthusiastic audiences when they are shown. The problem is that what traditionalists mean by documentary is quite different from the star vehicles and "constructed reality" shows that are now popular.
The past decade has also seen a big increase in the number of documentaries made for cinema. The success of Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine (2002) and Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me (2004) began a phenomenon in which a format (the reporter-director) and subject matter (gun control, fast food) that would once have been restricted to television played in multiplexes. Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, James Marsh's Man on Wire and Sebastian Junger's Restrepo, which was co-directed by the late Tim Hetherington, have all been Oscar-nominated (Man on Wire won in 2009).
Does this mean documentary is now on an equal footing with mainstream, feature cinema? Or, given its largely indifferent box-office performance, is it simply flourishing in a soon-to-be-closed bolt hole -- a genre for which TV no longer has the time or money?
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