the government is yet to realize the effect the film festival circuit contributes to the growth of the film business and Nigeria

The government is yet to realize the effect the film festival circuit contributes to the growth of the film business and Nigeria  Says Mrs. TEMITOPE DUKAR - EXECUTIVE DIECTOR  ABUJA FILM FESTIVAL

E.P: What is the idea behind the Abuja Film Festival?

Ans: The Abuja International Film Festival was born in 2004, out of the need to grow and expose the local industry here in Nigeria to the international Film community what do I mean by this sometime around this time in 2003, for the first I attended the Cannes Film Festival, for me it was mind blowing, for me I had never seen such a large turnout of people gathered for the event, the number of exhibition pavilion at the festival was impressive, the different screening cinema halls for different categories of film genres I was also excited and of course the numerous tourist from different parts of the world in attendance on the fringes just to have a glimpse of the favorite star walk the red carpet and I said to my husband who incidentally we had to work on every film project together this is do able back home. So that was where the idea of the festival was born. But beyond the glitz and glamour we realized that for the industry to grow and be boisterous there was need for a film festival to create an enabling environment for film makers to showcase their creative work on the big screen and also expose them to prospective distributors and the possibilities of co-production and collaborations basically to create an ambit for film makers to convene, exchange ideas, relax, unwind and expose their creative talent to the world.

E.P: How do you generate funding for the festival?

Ans: How do we generate funding for it? interesting enough the festival is in its 15^th year, It is still been mostly self funded, you see we are in a peculiar environment where government talks a lot about how the Nigeria film industry contributed the second largest GDP to the economy of this country. Yet, they barely invest in the industry or the government is yet to realize the effect the film festival circuit contributes to the growth of the film business and Nigeria at large, I keep saying government needs to take this sector seriously and partake in the growth of festivals Imagine having the kind of turnout you have at Cannes or Toronto or Berlin at our local festivals and the ripple effect on the economy would be mind blowing, but so far we have had little support here and there, but funding as mostly been from our personal purses and support from very few corporate entities over the years.

E.P: The Abuja Film Festival was the first award established solely for the industry but now Festivals are springing up everywhere what is your reaction to this Ma?

Ans: Yes Abuja Film Festival is the first Anglophone Film Festival in Africa but I must say most film festival are welcome, you see the more festivals available creates multi avenues for film makers to showcase their works as there are different genres of film making and if you have noticed some of the festivals are targeted at different genre. So it is a welcome development the more the merrier, as a matter of fact the film festival circuit can’t be saturated.

E.P: Tell us what to expect in this year’s Festival because every year we observe new and genuine innovations

Ans: Every year at the festival we have tried to infuse new things so this year we won’t be doing any different given that it is the 15^th year. We sure have soothing really new infused this year. You just seat back and watch. We shall unveil soon

E.P: Last year you train cinematographers and fashion photographers. What should people look up to and prepare themselves for?

Ans: One of the core values for us at the festival is capacity building Yes we have had master classes for filmmakers in the area of directing, cinematography for established film makers and first time film makers and likewise in the area of acting. This year we will be having trainings in script-writing, acting amongst other things this year, Also like the festival is usually crowned on the last day with award ceremony and this is where you have all the highlights of the festival, where film makers express emotions. The festival generally witness about 3000 attendees over the four days of the festival. Thank you.