Guardian Life  

Edo International Film Festival awards outstanding creatives with $26,000 grants

By Editor

09 September 2022   |   12:03 am

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The Edo State International Film Festival (ESIFF) ended in grand style as outstanding creatives were rewarded with a total of $26,000 grants. It was sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development Corporation (SDC) and the German Government (BMZ). With over 1,500 films from 94 countries, 200 movie screenings, elevating masterclasses, and training, ESIFF 2022 closed…

The Edo State International Film Festival (ESIFF) ended in grand style as outstanding creatives were rewarded with a total of $26,000 grants. It was sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development Corporation (SDC) and the German Government (BMZ).

With over 1,500 films from 94 countries, 200 movie screenings, elevating masterclasses, and training, ESIFF 2022 closed beautifully with an award ceremony on Sunday, September 4 2022 at the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub, Benin City, Edo State.

It served as an avenue to promote creative skills development and create job opportunities for the residents of Edo State.

The festival was facilitated by Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and Managing Director, Edo State Skills Development Agency (EDOJOBS), Mrs. Ukinebo Dare, in partnership with SDE and BMZ through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) SKYE Programme. It brought together movie makers, investors, distributors and industry enthusiasts from around the world.

The award ceremony hosted by Rex Nosa and Linda Osifo marked the finale of the successful 4-Day festival with a colourful night filled with dance, spoken word, and standup comedy performances from local talents.

In his remarks, ESIFF Convener and Co-Chairman Ukinebo Dare appreciated the partners and guests for “a fantastic event, including the veterans and filmmakers who shared their talent and creativity with us.

“We would like to invite filmmakers, and producers to employ the services of the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub. We have world-class equipment that you need here to help you produce the best quality films.”

The film entries were assessed by the official Jury panel, with winners from 15 categories emerging. $10,000, $5,000 & $5,000 was awarded by governor Obaseki, for ‘Best Feature Film (overall)’, ‘Best Film shot in Edo’ and ‘Best Indigenous Film’ respectively.

“In Edo State, we have the most creative people in the world, and our history reflects this. We are also the most creative Africans on the continent. The talents we are celebrating tonight have emerged from a long and strong heritage of creativity,” Obaseki said. “This award is to show appreciation for their work and how they choose to tell our stories”, said the Governor while presenting the award for Best Feature Film (overall).”

Three other categories were also awarded a cash prize of $2,000 each by Phoniex, for ‘Best Use of Technology Film’, ‘Best Cellphone Film’ and ‘Best Student Film’.

The award ceremony honored and celebrated Edo State’s indigenes who have consistently shaped the creative industry with a special award segment titled ‘HeartBeat of our Time’.

While presenting a special award to participants and winners of ‘The Rural Photography Training’ commissioned in the rural areas by GIZ Skills Development for Youth Employment (SKYE) Programme and EdoJobs, the Head of Programme, Tobias Wolfgarten said, “Our partnership with Edo Jobs and ESIFF has been rewarding. I’m therefore delighted to present these awards to four winners from the photography competition. Beyond this, GIZ Skye will also be offering entrepreneurship training to the winners whilst also exhibiting their works to help raise funding which will go directly to the winners.”

The rural photography training in rural areas featured 24 entries and 4 winners were rewarded with N50,000, N75,000, N100,000, and N150,000 respectively. In addition, GIZ SKYE launched an eLearning platform called Edo State Academy to help young citizens of the state scale up with soft skills training.

Following the success of the maiden edition, the host and convener are scheduled to announce a date for the next ESIFF in the coming weeks.

Key notable personalities in attendance are the First Lady of Edo State, H.E, Betsy Obaseki; Commissioner for Arts, Culture, tourism and Diaspora affairs Hon. Bamidele Olaitan, Desmond Eliot, Yvonne Jegede, Etinosa Idemudia, Angela Eguavoen, MC EdoPikin, Charles Inojie, Mercy Aigbe, Lasisi Elenu, Lillian Agbefai and host of others.

The winners are Tare (short film) (Best Short film); On these mountains (Best Indigenous Language Film); The Funeral (Onaiwu (Feature Film) Best Student Film); Battle of the West (Best Use of Technology Film); Zara (Best Cellphone Film); Palm for Crude (Best Documentary); On these mountains (Governor’s Award for Best Indigenous Feature Film); Omoatama (short film) (Governor’s Award for Best Film Shot in Edo State); Onaiwu (Governor’s Award for Best Feature Film (Overall); Onaiwu (Best Director); Benjamin Olaiye Jnr (Best Actor (Male); Victory Idahosa (Best Actor (Female); Onaiwu (Best Film (Costume) Funeral Best Film (Makeup); and After a while (Best Film (Cinematography).