Nigeria Content Online

The fourth annual
Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC) Film Lecture Series will hold on
Thursday, May 5 at Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos at
10am.

Femi Shaka, a
professor of film in the department of creative arts of the University
of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, will be delivering this year’s lecture,
titled ‘Nigeria’s Cultural Explosion through Film’.

The vice chancellor
of the Osun State University, Sola Akinrinade, delivered the maiden
lecture in 2008, while Newton Jibunoh, an environmentalist, and Abdalla
Uba Adamu, a professor of science education and curriculum studies at
Bayero University, Kano, headed the next two lectures in the series.

A statement from
Brian Etuk, the head of corporate affairs at the NFC, disclosed that
this is the first time the lecture will hold outside Abuja. “The 2011
edition of the lecture series underscores the commitment of the NFC to
ensuring that the growth of the motion picture industry is sustained,”
he added.

Honouring talent

Anuli
Agina, Vivien Torbunde and Jonathan Eze, the winners of the 2010/2011
NFC film essay competition, will receive cash prizes and certificates
during the event.

Two veterans of the
movie industry, Ita Isuaudono Okon and Aliyu Garba Kankara, will also
be honoured with lifetime achievement awards while prizes will be given
to the box office’s highest-grossing Nigerian movie and the best
distributor of Nigerian movies.

Etuk said Okon and
Kankara were being honoured “for their tremendous contributions in the
development of Nigeria’s motion picture industry.”

Okon, a film
editor, worked with the defunct Federal Film Unit and the NFC before he
retired from public service in 1994. Some of his productions include
‘What a Man Can Do’, ‘Black Heritage (FESTAC 77)’, ‘Kulba Na Barna’ and
a ‘Nation’s Path to Greatness’, amongst others. He is a member of the
British Cinematographic, Sound and Television Society and the Nigerian
Guild of Film Directors/Editors.

Kankara, from
Katsina State, is a broadcaster and film editor. He had a stint with
the National Broadcasting Corporation, Kaduna, in 1973 as a continuity
announcer/newscaster and retired as permanent secretary, Katsina State
Ministry of Information in 2008. Some of his productions include ‘Shehu
Umar’, ‘Durba’, ‘Kowa ya Kwana Lafiya’ and ‘Noma Arziki’. He is a
member of the Nigerian Film Society.

Silverbird Cinema is partnering with the NFC for this year’s
lecture, which is expected to be graced by academics, motion picture
professionals and film buffs. It is also open to interested members of
the public.