7 March 2009
Lagos — A 30-man Nigerian delegation coordinated by Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, President of the Africa Movie Awards Academy (AMAA) joined thousands of visitors and tourists who poured into Ouagadougou, capital of the land-locked West African country, Burkina Faso to take part in the 40th anniversary of the Pan-African Festival of Cinema and Television of Ouagadougou, FESPACO.
Some of the headline visitors were Presidents Faure Gnassingbe of Togo and his Beninoise counterpart, Yayi Boni. They were received by President Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso. Also in attendance was Mr Cheick Modibo Diarra, Chairman of Microsoft in Africa, a major sponsor and special guest.
Spokesperson for the Burkinabe government and Minister of Culture and Tourism , Filippe Savadogo expressed the deep gratitude of the people of Burkina Faso for the massive response.
The theme for FESPACO 2009 was 'African Cinema, Tourism and Cultural Heritage'.
Savadogo said FESPACO has, "contributed to the emergence of new talent, better visibility of Africa and the diversification of communication media and cinematic expressions. Cultural heritage is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the film tomorrow."
Five Nigerian films were selected for screening during FESPACO 2009. The films were 'Changing Faces' by Farouk Lasaki (produced with the support of the Nigerian Film Corporation) which is also expected to debut at the festival; 'Trapped Dream' by Ubaka Joseph Ugochwuku; 'Oluronbi' by Buariu Adebayo Ogundimu;. 'Arugba' and 'Life in Slow Motion' both by Tunde Kelani. The official competition is exclusively reserved for African and Diaspora Films in the genre of feature films, short films and documentaries.
AMAA's Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe was joined by AMAA judges like Shuaib Hussein of Nigeria , Ayoku Babu from the US , while other members of the jury, including Steve Ayorinde, Editor of The Punch were also on hand.
At a news conference at the Azalai Hotel in Ouagadougou, she explained ìAMAA is, among other objectives, trying to bridge the gap between the Francophone film makers and their Anglophone counterparts in Africa ,î Anyiam-Osagwe said. ìThere is the need to reconcile the dichotomies. There is no need for division. Again, because AMAA is a continental awards, we are also using the occasion of the festival to announce nominations for AMAA 2009."
While adding that Bayelsa State Government is AMAAís major supporter, and UBA also a key sponsor, she explained that the academyís commitment to excellence and fairness made process for selection of films to be exhaustive and thorough.
This edition of the festival celebrates FESPACO's 40th anniversary, as well as that of another iconic African film institution, namely FEPACI (Federation of Pan-African Filmmakers).
Throughout FESPACO 2009, programmes were dedicated as tribute to Ousmane Sembene, doyen of African filmmakers and pioneer of FESPACO, who passed away on June 9, 2007.
Running alongside the festival is the 14th African International Film and TV Market (MICA), a platform for professional buyers and distributors to meet and view films and for the exhibition of film equipment.
FESPACO this year didnít hit with a bang. Many participants complained about the downturn of events, which was blamed on the global economic meltdown. Many of the sponsors expected did not quite live up to expectation.
Perhaps the hippest event at FESPACO was the nomination party at Hotel Libya organised by AMAA. It was a night of glorious fanfare supported.
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