FESTIVAL NEWS
The Pan African Film and Television Festival of
Ouagadougou (FESPACO)
FirstDawn Arts is proud to inform the general public
that its movie Seasons of a life has been
selected to participate at the 21st edition of the Pan
African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou
(Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de
Ouagadougou or FESPACO), which will take place in
Ouagadougou, the capital of the West African country of
Burkina Faso from 28 February to 7 March, 2009. FESPACO,
as it is commonly called, is the largest African film
festival, held biannually in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The festival is the biggest regular cultural event on
the African continent and it mostly focuses on the
African film and African filmmakers. It is hugely
successful.
The
festival is for African film industry professionals
offering them the chance to establish working
relationships, exchange ideas and to promote their work.
FESPACO's stated aim is to "contribute to the expansion
and development of African cinema as means of
expression, education and awareness-raising". Since
FESPACO's founding, the festival has attracted visitors
from across the continent and beyond. FESPACO features
movies with political and socially relevant themes and
presents awards that symbolise African cultural identity
that lives on through the creation of African filmmakers
who use their talents to effectively tell our story.
Seasons of a life has been short-listed for the
official competition in the Video/TV Film category.
Shemu
Joyah and all those at FirstDawn Arts are overjoyed that
their first-ever film has not only been invited to this
prestigious festival but also has been selected for
official competition.
For more
on FESPACO, log on to
www.fespaco.bf
For
FirstDawn Arts, contact Gloria Jumbe +265 8 331 240
|
KENYA
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
FirstDawn Arts is
proud to inform the general public that its movie Seasons
of a life was selected and participated at the Third
Kenyan International Film Festival, which took place in Nairobi,
Kenya, from the 22nd of October to the 1st of November 2008.
Seasons of a life was screened at
three different venues, namely, the Alliance Francaise
Auditorium, National Theatre, and the Goethe-Institute
Auditorium. Over 200 films participated in this year`s festival,
and Seasons of a life was shortlisted in the best
film category. The director, Mr. Shemu Joyah, attended the
festival and was overwhelmed by the response the movie got from
both the audience and fellow film directors at the festival. One
of the interesting moments was when the movie was screened at
the National Theatre to approximately 400 film students from
several universities and colleges. Afterwards, the director was
engaged in a Question and Answer session with the students.
Initially scheduled for thirty minutes, the session lasted for
almost 2 hours due to the popularity of the movie.
Shemu Joyah also
had the privilege of attending the Eastern African Film Maker’s
Forum, which took place at the Nairobi Safari Club. Here, the
members discussed some of the challenges faced by filmmakers in
the region and how these can be overcome. At the end of the
workshop an Eastern African Filmmakers Union was formed and he
was incorporated as a member.
CAIRO
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Seasons of a life has also been
selected to participate at the 32nd Cairo International Film
Festival in Egypt, which will take place from the 18th to the
28th of November 2008. Seasons of a life is one of
the fourteen films that have been shortlisted in the
International Competition for Feature Digital Films. Besides
Malawi, other countries represented in this category are the
United States of America, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Egypt,
Turkey, Croatia, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon,
South Africa, Nigeria and
Pakistan. Earlier on Seasons of a life
had been shortlisted in the main international film competition
but was changed to the digital category because the film was not
on 35mm print.
The film will be
premiered at the Good News Cinema on Wednesday 25th November at
7:00pm. Shemu Joyah has been scheduled to hold a press
conference after the screening of the film.
Cairo
International Film Festival is listed as a category one festival
by FIAPF (International
Federation of Film Producers Associations). There are only 12
festivals listed in category one in the whole world, and Cairo
is the only one in Africa on the list. Therefore Shemu Joyah and
all those at FirstDawn Arts were greatly surprised that the
first film they have ever produced has got recognition at such a
highly ranked film festival. Regardless of the outcome of the
competition, the fact that Seasons of a life from
Malawi was ever thought worthy to be listed amongst films from
some of the greatest filmmaking countries in the world is
something to be proud of.
For more
log on to
www.cairofilmfest.org |
|
Zanzibar
International Film Festival (ZIFF)
FirstDawn Arts is proud to inform the general public
that its movie Seasons of a life has won
two awards at the 12th Zanzibar International Film
Festival (ZIFF) in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The first award,
The Verona Jury Award for the Best African Film, is
given to a film deemed by the Verona Jury as the best
African feature film in competition. This means that the
film shall be shown at the African Film Festival of
Verona, Italy. It will also be shown at two other
Italian film festivals.
The
other award, The ZIFF Chairman Golden Dhow Award, is
given by the ZIFF Chairman to the film that has the
widest audience appeal.
The
festival took place from 27th June to 4th July 2009.
ZIFF is a unique initiative for the sustained
preservation and development of the region's rich
cultural heritage and the work of contemporary artists.
ZIFF's main activity is the organisation of the annual
Festival of the Dhow Countries that takes place around
the first two weeks of July and its mission is to
promote internationally and to develop film and other
relevant cultural industries as tools for social and
economic growth in the region, as exemplified in
Zanzibar.
Shemu Joyah and all those at FirstDawn Arts are
overjoyed by this achievement.
For a full
list of winners, click on the image below.
|
For
FirstDawn Arts, contact Gloria Jumbe on + 265 8 331 240
|