NFC announces date for 2018 ZUMA Film Festival as Adesanya chairs jury

With theme, Archiving For Creativity, the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), has announced that the yearly film festival ZUFF will take place from December 1 to 7 in Abuja, the nation’s capital and traditional host city.

Managing Director, NFC and Chairman, Organising Committee of ZUFF, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, disclosed this to the media.Maduekwe said all that needs to be put in place to ensure a successful international film festival have been effected, adding that ZUFF 2018 will be used to further show Nigerians and stakeholders in the industry that Nigerian film can compete with others globally.

The NFC boss is also hopeful that as part of the strategies put in place for the festival, key partnerships and collaborations with relevant agencies including government, organisations and private individuals would be retained and expanded.He said: “This 9tth in the series will again provide the platform to sustain the recognition of Nigerian film makers who have or are adding the needed value in the development of the art and business of filmmaking.”

Maduekwe pointed out that this year’s theme will reignite in the consciousness of the filmmakers and other stakeholders the important role of films — audio visual archiving of creative works and its posterity values. According to him, it is a paradigm shift to protect and preserve several thousands of films that have been produced in Nigeria, in the past decades.

He stressed that different pieces collections of audio-visual and film materials are being lost due to non-preservation. “In some ways, ZUFF 2018 is set to redefine the need and potentials of audio visual archiving in Nigeria, and NFC through this festival seeks to bring to the front burner the need to preserve Nigeria’s memory for future generations,” he said.

Entries are expected for the following categories: Best Cinematography, Best Script, Best Animation, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Documentary, Best Foreign Film, Best Student Film, Best Picture and Best Indigenous Film.

Entry for ZUMA Film Festival opened March 1 and would close on September 30, 2018. Entry forms can be downloaded from the festival and NFC websites: www.zumafilmfest.gov.ng; www.nigerianfilms.gov.ng.

Filmmaker and member of the 1992 Nigerian National Film Festival Commttee, Mr. Afolabi Adesanya will chair the Jury, ZUMA Film Festival. Adesanya has also served as managing director of NFC.