Dear Friend in film,
We formally extend invitation to you to participate in
the 2012 iREP Documentary Film Festival, slated
for March 22-25, 2012. We invite you to propose any of
your films that you deem related to the theme of the festival, Democracy
and Culture: The Documentary Intervention for screening during the
festival (see attached poster).
Conversation during the festival will also be focussed on
this broad theme; and we request that you participate as a
speaker/discussant.
Prof. Jean-Paul Colleyn, director of Institute of
African studies, Paris, has agreed to give the KEYNOTE as well as conduct a
MASTER WORKSHOP during the Festival.
The Workshop session and a segment of
the Conference will, however, consider the potentials of the Nigerian films as
presently constituted to -- in their production scheme -- explore and exploit
the documentary format in its production virtues; hence the workshop is
schematised under the generic theme, IS NOLLYWOOD DOCUMENTARY? The
idea is also to explore the potentials and possibilities of theNollywood movies
to spur the vocation of documentary film making in Nigeria.
The unfortunate situation in the Nigeria
polity has grossly undermined the economic prospects of the
country and consequentially frustrated our ability to raise fund for
the purpose of the festival, but we are resolved to proceed with our plans
even as we continue to strive to get the support of potential
supporters for the project.
Kindly let us know if you would be available to participate at
the festival on the mentioned dates.
Sgnd: FEMI ODUGBEMI
Executive Director, IREP
THEMATIC FRAMEWORK
DEMOCRACY AND CULTURE – THE DOCUMENTARY FILM INTERVENTION
Emerging realities on the African continent indicate a shift in
the information order and definition of governance. The conversation is fast
becoming a dialogue on the experiences that had brought us here and how the
future can be shaped. A new sense of involvement and pro active participation,
on the part of the people, are becoming the indices of our democracy. How
documentary filmmaking can effectively contribute to this new development is a
critical point of discourse.
It is undeniable that this new sensibility is in large part,
made possible by a new generation of Africans who are finding new voices in the
possibilities that technology provides. Equipped with a new media device, new
voices are springing up with fresh perspectives to known issues, and impulsively
curating a reference for the future in ways that are completely participatory.
If participatory democracy must become a part of our
culture, it must be deliberately cultivated, and film as a popular art provides
a veritable medium with which this new energy can be given a clear direction.
How well is the African filmmaker conscientious to his/her role in creating a
wholesome understanding of these sporadic emerging realities? Can documentary
films help us find a pattern that can become a reference for the future?
Africa is taking a flight into new horizon. A never-before
charted path into a future that is characterized by good governance,
accountability, rule of law, justice, equity, true democracy, and responsible
leadership. Documentary filmmaking can help to midwife this process.
By Olanrewaju Olupona
Festival Project Director
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; www.irepfilmfestival.com
Thanks a million (I've waited a whole year for this!)...see you at iRep 2012.
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