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By Akintayo Abodunrin
This year’s iRepresent International Documentary Film Festival (IREP) will go ahead as scheduled from March 16 to 19.
ORGANISERS of the iRepresent International Documentary Film Festival (iREP) have disclosed that the gubernatorial and house of assembly elections shifted from March 11 to 18 will not affect the 2023 edition of the festival.
The 2023 iREP themed ‘Documenting the Underserved: Agenda for Nigeria 2023’ was scheduled to hold from March 16 to 19 before the Independent National Electoral Commission shifted the last set of elections. But the shift notwithstanding, the IREP board and programme directorate have announced that the festival will proceed as scheduled.
A statement signed by Programme/Communication Officer, Damilola Chinedu, explained that “as it stands, only the Saturday programming content will be adversely affected. This means that the scheduled plenary sessions (all virtual) and screenings will run as planned; only the screenings on Saturday evening at the various designated centres will be affected.”
Though Freedom Park, Lagos Island, is the main festival venue, there are satellite screening centres in Bariga, Ajegunle, Ejigbo and Ikorodu as organisers try to make it more accessible to Nigerians.
The detailed statement from the organisers also explained why iREP’s generic theme, ‘Africa in Self-conversation’, has changed to ‘Nigeria in Self-conversation’ for the first time since its inception.
“As self-explanatory, the edition will focus more on films produced by Nigerians, about Nigeria, and for Nigerians, in particular those in the suburb communities of Lagos where public amenities such as schools, health, water, power and hygienic/environmental services etc. are usually in short supplies,” it noted.
They also gave a lengthy explanation of the theme ‘Documenting the Underserved: Agenda for Nigeria 2023’. They said it “has been strategically designed to address compelling issues in the national polity, which essentially is about enthroning responsible political system that insists on good governance and participatory democracy – two ingredients that have been lacking in Nigeria’s chequered 24-year-old democratic journey which began in 1999.
“Part of the objectives of the theme is to direct the attention of mainly young people to the power of documentary films in empowering them to be active participants in the discourses in their socio-political, economic and cultural environment.
“Specifically, the theme, as would be reflected in the choice of films to be screened and discussions at the minimised plenary, is to spotlight the powerful tool the young people have in their hands through their smartphones and other electronic gadgets, through which they could expose the needs of their communities for the benefit of their elected representatives, who hopefully would be assuming their various offices with a fresh mindset of serving the interest of their people.”
Like previous editions, the 2023 iREP will feature screenings and panel discussions, with the opening cocktail on March 16. Two films, ‘Oso Afia’ and ‘Boys on the Brink’, will be screened at the opening, featuring speeches and wining.
‘Oso Afia’, directed by T. Nwaiwu, is a close look into the traditional entrepreneurial system developed by the Igbo to connect customers and traders with the help of a middleman in exchange for a commission. ‘Boys on the Brink’, directed by Peter O. Okeand Rume Renee Onosode, is a coming-of-age subject-driven documentary focusing on six young males across six communities in Lagos. These are Epe, Tarkwa Bay, Lagos Island, Victoria Island, Orile and Ajegunle. They are the boys that form a unique demographic that has often been ignored, underestimated and even disregarded.
Other films for screening during the festival include ‘The Black Museum’, ‘Awon Boys’, ‘Black Deutschland’, ‘The Plight of the People of Ndi Inya Abam’, ‘Extra Time on Kondo Street’, ‘Ode to Heroines’ and ‘The Gifted Steppers’. ‘Concrete Under Water’, ‘Afterlife’, ‘Jimmy Show’, ‘Genius in Disguise: Demystifying Dyslexia’, ‘Djembe in the 13 Streets’, ‘Please Darling, Don’t Die Before Me’ and ‘Her Story: Educate a Woman, Educate a Nation’ will also be screened.
The themes of the plenary sessions include ‘Documentary for Inclusivity’ with ‘Political Inclusivity’ and ‘Financial Inclusivity’ as sub-topics. Managing Director of O’Pay, Olu Akanmu and the Chief Executive Officer of Edfin Microfinance Ltd, Ms Bunmi Lawson, will speak on the latter.
Another plenary, ‘Prospects & Challenges of deploying art to serve the Underserved’, will feature keynotes by inner-city screening partners, including Segun Adefila (Bariga), Jelili Atiku (Ejigbo), Eric Obuh (Ajegunle) and Eriata Oribhabor (Ikorodu).
The 2023 iREP will end with the art stampede themed ‘Art, Media & Fate and fortune of the Underserved.’
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