All Set For 2023 Zuma Film Festival
All is set for the hosting of the 2023 edition of Zuma Film Festival (ZUFF). The festival is regarded as Nigeria’s premier film festival and this edition, which is themed, Cultural Convergence, is scheduled to hold between December 1 and 8, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. The Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) jointly host the festival. The 2023 Zuma Film Festival is the 13th in the film festival series, and will be attended by professional and emerging talent film delegates from across the country, the diaspora; diplomats, foreign embassies in Nigeria, film commissions and delegates from other African and European countries, including South Africa which has already activated the Nigeria- South Africa Audio-Visual Cooperation Agreement, which was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) and his South African counterpart, Matamela Ramaphosa, under the Bi-National Commission in 2021. During a recent courtesy visit by the festival organising committee to the Minister of the FCT, the Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure described the partnership between the FCTA and NFC as apt, and having the potential to exponentially transform Nigeria’s film industry and by extension the tourism sector into vibrant economic tools for tackling youth employment, wealth creation and sectoral development and growth. Earlier, the Managing Director of the NFC Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, had informed the Minister that the NFC as the lead agency in the management of the nation’s film assets has remained tenaciously resolute in going into strategic partnerships that are capable of making the achievement of national objectives seamless and realisable. Madueke maintained that the collaborative partnerships by other federal government agencies such as the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) were predicated on the FCTA/NFC ZUFF partnership. Also speaking FCTA’s Permanent Secretary Mr. Adesola Olusade, noted that ZUFF has demonstrated its strength and achieved its purpose, with the potential ability to become more impactful, given the operational joint partnership of Ten (10) years.
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Deadline For Submission For Hot Docs 2024 Is December 14ONLY two weeks LEFT To submit documentary entries for the 2024 edition of the Hot Docs Festival. The festival takes place in Toronto from April 25 to May 5 2024. Hot Docs accepts Canadian and international documentaries of all lengths and subject matter. Late deadline is December 14. Contact [email protected] for details.

Language, Common Language And Film Language Is Theme of Berlinale Talents 2024
LANGUAGE, ‘Common language, Film language’ is the theme of the 22nd edition of the talent development initiative Berlinale Talents. With English as a generally common basis for exchange, the initiative has been building communities for many years, proving that people can understand each other globally and with great diversity across language barriers. Film in all its variety of expressive possibilities connects people. It is therefore worth exploring more fully the languages used in film and about film, word by word, image by image, and highlighting the commonalities in this diversity. The Berlinale Talents management duo, Nikola Joetze and Florian Weghorn, said: “Surprisingly, it has taken more than 20 years for Berlinale Talents to take a closer look at the phenomenon that is actually always present when we meet in Berlin for our talks and discussions between Talents, guests and the audience. These many voices aim for nothing less than a new understanding and comprehension.”

In their key visual, the Berlin-based graphic design duo Ada Favaron and Imad Gebrael take the motto “Common Tongues – Speaking Out in the Language of Cinema literally in the sense of the current Berlinale Talents focus theme ‘Language’. Berlinale Talents is the talent development initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival and will take place from February 17 to 22, 2024 at HAU Hebbel am Ufer in Berlin. It is one of the most important forums for up-and-coming filmmakers and offers yearly 200 selected creative professionals from the fields of film and series networking opportunities and access to a global community of almost 10,000 Talents. In addition to internal workshops and think tanks, Berlinale Talents offers around 16 public events with festival guests from the international film industry. Also, the international network of Berlinale Talents alumni grows from year to year – the former participants present their work at all renowned international festivals and also in 39 of the films are currently submitted for the Academy Awards.

Also, ten alumni were involved in a total of ten nominated films at this year’s European Film Awards. The collaborative interplay of all film disciplines and the involvement of the cinema-loving festival audience have been the most important features of Berlinale Talents in Berlin from the very beginning. The initiative regards each of its 14 represented film disciplines and their representatives as equal in the artistic process and continues to promote this vision of a diverse and fair cultural sector worldwide throughout the year. Berlinale Talents is a Berlinale Pro initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival.
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