Six movies have been selected for honours at the final of the 2019 UK Nollywood Film Festival (UKNFF), organised by the UK Nollywood Producers Guild.
The festival, scheduled to hold between Oct. 4 and Oct. 5 in London, is aimed at empowering and showcasing the work of independent filmmakers, especially those from the African descent.
Marc Adebesin, Publicity Director of UK Nollywood Producers Guild, in a statement listed the films by different directors as “Dear Bayo by Inoh Umoren”, “Nimbe by Seun Dania”, “The Birth by Abbey Lanre” and “Last Request by James Abinibi“, “A date with my husband by Okey Zubelu” and “Kissing Shadow by Chinedu Omorie”.
Adebesin quoted President of the Guild, Malcolm Benson as saying that the festival, in its 2nd edition, was to appreciate and highlight the resilience shown by Nollywood filmmakers and other stakeholders in the industry.
“As a community, we need to remember where we come from, how we started and look forward to where we are going.
“It will take discipline, courage, consistency and enthusiasm amongst other things to build an industry. Though it may seem far fetched, rough and rugged, it is by no means inevitable,” he said.
According to Adebesin, awards will be presented in four categories – best African Feature Film, Best African Indigenous (Native Language), Best African Documentary and Best African Short Film.
Benson said CEO of Benalex Media, a film production company based in the United Kingdom would also be honoured at the event.
Benson has produced a number of films such as “Phantom of Fury”, “Forget The Pact”, “Ortega and His Enemies”, “Gold Dust Ikenna”, “Shenanigans”, “Return of The Don” and “Lads in The City.”
“His most recent film, “Return of The Don”, was screened at Cannes (Mache Du Film) and also hit no. 23 on UK Box Office chart,” he said.
According to him, the film has also won five Film Festival Awards, including the Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival Award of Recognition, Canada International Film Festival Award of Excellence.
Others are, “Depth of Field International Film Festival Award of Exceptional Merit”, and “Accolade International Film Festival Award”.
He further disclosed that “Return of The Don” received over 40 Film Award nominations so far, including “the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards” and “Festival International De Film du Cannes.”
Others are; “London Independent Film Festival“, “NAFCA Awards“, “ZAFAA Global Awards“, “CA Awards, BEFFTA Awards“, “Cameron Film Awards” and “African Film Awards”.
Benson had also been nominated for many individual awards such as “Best Producer” by the Los Angeles based NAFCA Awards, “BEFFTA Awards, ZAFAA Global Awards and African Film Awards in 2016 Awards seasons.
He has won “Best Producer at the African Film Awards” in 2016 and 2017 consecutively.
“The 2019 UKNFF” would screen multiple selected films from across the world over two days with special workshops at different venues.
