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BB Sasore’s Breath of Life is AFRIFF 2023 closing film
The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) has announced Breath of Life, an inspirational story about life and destiny as its closing night movie. The selection made known by AFRIFF’s Founder & Festival Director, Chioma Ude, aligns with the organiser’s bid to promote more indigenous movies to a global audience that will grace the festival’s closing night hosted in partnership with Prime Video in Lagos, Nigeria.

Ude had announced Lonzo Nzekwe’s Orah as the festival’s opening film. Written and directed by BB Sasore and produced by Eku Edewor, Breath of Life portrays the story of a former clergyman who loses everything he holds dear including his faith and goes on a journey of self-transformation when his life is taken over by his Christian houseboy. The film spotlights veterans and key characters led by Wale Ojo, Sam Dede, Tina Mba and Eku Edewor. Speaking on the movie selection as a choice for the closing night, Director and Screenwriter, BB Sasore said: “Breath of Life is a testimony to how a person’s cause in life can change in the twinkling of an eye. It speaks to living a life of purpose and the need for it to be fulfilled. We believe AFRIFF and Prime Video audiences will enjoy the film and learn from the character’s experiences”. Breath of Life launches globally on Prime Video on December 15, as part of the streaming platform’s effort to showcase Nollywood at its best, by telling authentic homegrown stories in a range of genres to Prime Video customers around the world. The film highlights the story of a man who has lost his sense of purpose until an encounter with a young man who changes his life and destiny. Breath of Life is produced by Nemsia Films co-founded by Derin Adeyokunnu and BB Sasore. The movie which is set in the 1950s was shot in Nigeria’s historic city of Ibadan. The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) is an international film showcase in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos. The festival opens on November 5 and ends on November 10.

Preparations hot up for Kano international indigenous language film festival
The 2023 Kano Indigenous Languages of Africa Film Market & Festival (KILAF) will hold in the city of Kano as from November 21 to 26. The festival, which is in its fifth edition, is an initiative of Abdulkareem Mohammed-led Moving Image Limited. The festival, which will feature film screening, panel discussion, workshops and networking sessions, aims to promote films produced in indigenous languages of Africa while encouraging their cross-border sales. According to the festival founder and President Abdulkareem Mohammed, the festival is for every voice, content or shade of opinion. “The KILAF spirit will hopefully ignite African spirit and enterprise to melt into the brewing pot of globalisation as a strong and formidable player. The wisdom therein is to inspire and nurture African video movie practitioners to live up to the challenges of representing the continent in their respective endeavours,” Mohammed said.

Berlinale Spotlight: World cinema fund ‘at around the world in 14 films’
FOR the fifth time since 2018, the Berlinale initiative World Cinema Fund (WCF) will be one of the guests, with a Berlinale Spotlight, at the international film festival “Around the World in 14 Films”. At its 18th edition (December 1 to 9, 2023), “Around the World in 14 Films” will present an all-day Berlinale Spotlight: World Cinema Fund on December 3 with four of the WCF entries in the ‘14 Films’ competition. The fifth WCF-film is being presented as part of homage. The selection made by the festival together with the WCF will focus on works by filmmakers from Argentina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malaysia, Mongolia and Tunisia. The film debut of Augure by Belgian-Congolese star rapper, Baloji, is about belief in witches and wizards in Africa; it won the New Voices Award at Cannes Film Festival 2023.  Amanda Nell Eu from Malaysia was awarded the Grand Prix of the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes for her debut Tiger Stripes, a fascinating mix of coming-of-age film and fantasy. A further highlight is Four Daughters by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania. The extraordinary documentary Four Daughters, as well as Augure, City of Wind and Tiger Stripes have been nominated by their respective countries for ‘Best Foreign Film’ at the Oscars 2024. The festival is screening the 5th WCF film in its “Homage Lisandro Alonso”: Eureka, a new work by the renowned Argentine director. Comprising four chapters, Eureka interweaves various ethnic groups in the USA, Mexico and the Amazon region between the years 1870 and 2019. Vincenzo Bugno, head of the WCF, will introduce the Berlinale Spotlight at “Around the World in 14 Films” on December 3: “Thanks to this excellent, productive cooperation, Berlin audiences will be granted another opportunity to see some exceptional films from this season, realized with the support of the WCF, and representing the WCF’s outstanding versatility. “Around the World in 14 Films” will take place from December 1 to 9, 2023. More information and the programme are available at: 14films.de/en/