The Story⚡
Day 3 of the 13th AFRIFF, themed Co-production Day, featured talks on the importance of co-production in the industry, while the day wrapped with the successful screening of Phoenix Fury.
Tell Me More
The day started with Panel 1, moderated by Ronya Man. Titled Global Co-Productions: Bridging Cultures and Markets and Success Stories, the session had BB Shahore, Asurf Oluseyi, Guyot Axel, and Francis Nebot in attendance as panelists. The panelists highlighted reasons why filmmakers should consider co-producing their film products.
According to BB Shashore, Africa has a lot of potential when it comes to co-production. Similarly, for Asurf Oluseyi, “Nigeria has a lot of amazing talents. So, for you to shine here, you’d need to do very well and partnership cannot be left behind in this.”
The second panel session was titled Funding and Financing C0-Productions: Unlocking Opportunities, and it was moderated by Prudence Kolong. It had Boye Pape, Cougnaud Denis, Laronze Jean Marie, and Filson Ali as panelists. During the session, the panelists talked about the essence of treaties between countries in making co-production an easy reality in filmmaking. In the words of Cougnaud Denis, “In co-production, especially between countries, there are treaties which spell out how things should be done.”
For Filson Ali, while co-production is good and should be fought for, investment in relationships shouldn’t be spoken less of.
The third panel session, Above the Line vs Below the Line: Navigating Talent Representation in Co-Productions, explored the hows and whats of talent representation in the context of co-production. Likewise, the fourth session, Co-Producing for Global Recognition: Tactics for Oscar Success, looked at how filmmakers can make movies with global recognition by partnering.
That day, the psychological thriller Agemo was screened to the thrill and acceptance of the audience. Directed by Moshood Abiola Obatula, the film tells the story of a corps member posted for her national youth service in a village where the human sacrifice of corps members is routine. The audience warmly received the flick as it kept them in a suspenseful and gripping mood throughout.
Later that evening, Ifeoma Chukwuogo’s Phoenix Fury was shown and welcomed with open hands by the audience. The film starred Richard Mofe-Damijo, Ama K. Abebrese, Ijeoma Grace Agu, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, and many others.
The film was accepted due to its intriguing and suspense-filled narrative technique, which tells the story in the past and present.
Earlier before the screening of Phoenix Fury, Ifeoma Chukwuogo’s Dynamite had been shown. The one-hour musical, which some members of the audience commended for its compelling cinematography, colour grading, and narrative, tells the story of a young married songstress who finds herself in a love triangle after falling in love with a bassist in her band. This will force her to make a difficult decision.
In Summary
The Co-Production Day of AFRIFF 2024 reflected the need for more co-productions in the industry. This does not have to be within the country alone. It can also be beyond borders.
