The iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival (iREP) has announced its 2019 programme. The ninth edition of the popular annual festival, which is the biggest on the West African coast, a statement said, is scheduled to hold from Thursday, March 21st to Sunday, March 24, 2019 at Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos, and the Nigerian Film Corporation, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria.
According to the statement, “the 2019 festival is conceived on the traditional framework of Africa in Self-conversation and will explore the theme ‘Storylines’”.
The programme for the 2019 edition will include: Film screenings featuring over 30 documentaries, iREP/ITPAN Documentary Film Pitch Forum, and Paper Presentations and Panel Discussions. Other highlights will be Training/Workshop and the IREP Cocktail, which welcomes the festival’s international guests and serves as a platform for networking.
The theme of the 2019 festival, the statement said, arises from current realities about imagery and perspectives.
“Technology is constantly redefining the impact of human experiences and challenging us to tell our story as a means of engaging the world with our identity, individuality and personal experiences.
“Every human being is a story and we are constantly in pursuit of tools to advance and promote alternative facts about ourselves and how we wish to be seen. The contention between what is real and what is preferred is shaping the currency of human exchange.
“The ability to construct and reconstruct stories by anyone with a social media account is challenging the traditional story form. How would people own their stories without compromising the truth? How would documentary films respond to this reality? The festival theme is conceived on the traditional framework of Africa in Self-conversation,” said the statement.
This year’s guests include: Prof. Awam Amkpa, who is former Senior Lecturer of Drama and Television at King Alfred’s University College, Winchester, England, and Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at Mount Holyoke College; Prof. Niyi Coker the E. Desmond Lee Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Media Studies at the University of Missouri, Saint Louis; and Theo Lawson, who studied architecture at the Architectural Association School, London between 1978 and 1985, where he experimented with both traditional African and High-tech design styles.
Others are Dr Paul Ugor, Assistant Professor, Illinois State University; Professor Jonathan Haynes of the English Department, Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York; Dr. Tunji Azeez, an Associate Professor of Theatre and Film Arts, and Fellow, American Council of Learned Societies at the Department of Theatre Arts & Music, Lagos State University (LASU); Tolulope Olamide Ajayi, an accomplished and knowledgeable creative professional with a wealth of experience in advertising, broadcast production and filmmaking.
iREP was initiated with the objective of promoting independent documentary filmmaking in Nigeria and on the continent of Africa. The Festival places emphasis on training and skill development to the benefit of the young, aspiring and practising filmmakers in Nigeria, especially for those with flair for documentary films.
The annual iREP Film Festival is conceived as a celebration of the best works in the world of documentary films while providing an intense learning environment for young and aspiring filmmakers. iREP is conceptualised to also create a platform of awareness and expression for filmmakers who are creating socially relevant films to positively impact our world. The festival features hands-on training and skills development workshops facilitated by an array of the most experienced practitioners in the field of documentary film making across Africa.
The festival was co-founded by the trio of Femi Odugbemi, who serves as its Executive Director, Jahman Anikulapo and Makin Soyinka, who are both directors of the festival with Theo Lawson.
*The pictures are taken from some of the films expected to screen during the festival
