Frontline female filmmaker and festival director of African Cultural Film Festival (AFFRICUFF), Emem Isong-Misodi, has announced dates for the maiden edition of the African Cultural Film Festival.

The film festival is scheduled to hold from October 26 through to October 29, in Houston, Texas. It will feature screenings in and out of competition, panel discussions, workshops, networking and award ceremony. Already over 50 films comprising of feature length movies, short films and documentaries have been submitted to the festival secretariat. Winners of the different award categories of the festival will be decided by a jury, chaired by foremost film journalist and creative industry expert, Dr. Shaibu Husseini.

Other members of the jury include filmmaker Obi Emelonye, writer Bola Aduwo, President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), Dr. Victor Okhai, and journalist and former Commissioner of Culture in Lagos State, Steve Ayorinde.

Emem Isong-Misodi had hinted that the festival aims at encouraging a vibrant exchange of ideas and promotes a deeper appreciation for cultural diversity. Emem, who is currently based in the United States, said the passion she has for the promotion and preservation of the black cultures and traditions, inspired her decision to host the festival.

According to her, “the 4-day Afrocentric film festival focuses on celebrating African films, short films and documentaries in the bid to unveil the cultural and artistic richness of the black race to a global audience.

AFFRICUFF also aims at highlighting the dynamic and evolving landscape of Africa and films from other parts of the world that are rich in cultural content. The four-day festival has the likes of Dr Cathy Archibong, Ijeoma Onah, Bode Ojo, Teejay Hakeem Olaleye, and Divine Ighovie, among others as organising committee members and advisors respectively.

…Light out on foremost film production designer, Pat Nebo
Light has dimmed on foremost film production designer, Pat Nebo. News of the death of the veteran scenic designer shook the entire Nigeria motion picture industry on Thursday.

A terse statement shared on ‘Filmic,’ the elite Whatsapp forum for creatives, on the demise of the production designer who reportedly has been bedridden for ‘months now’ read thus: “I heard Pat Nebo has moved off this mortal coil. An absolute giant of the industry. May he rest in peace and may his legacies endure.’

It took that post for tributes to rain on Pat Nebo who has signed some of the industry’s biggest television and movie productions as production designer or as art director.

Films like ‘October 1,’ ‘76’, ‘Citation’, ‘Being Mrs. Elliot’, are some of the films that benefitted from his expertise as a production designer. Notable filmmaker, Femi Odugbemi, who described Pat Nebo as a reliable friend and colleague said he is ‘broken’ at the news of the death of the ace production designer who occasionally finds a role in some of the movies he designs. “I am broken. He was a brother. Gave me great support in the early days of both of my production companies. A truly strong artist and a reliable friend.”