FILM experts, producers and critics who are billed to participate in the second edition of Africa's foremost documentary film festival, i-REP International Docu-Film Festival will arrive in Lagos today.The festival begins tomorrow, Thursday, March 22, and runs till Sunday, March 25 at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island and Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos.The robust list of headliners within and from abroad has been the strength of the docu-film feast, which promises a lot of fun, excitement to all and a moment to reflect on docu-film as a tool to critically examine society.The festival is conceptualised on the framework: Africa in Self Conversation, and it would explore the theme: Democracy and Culture - The Documentary Film Intervention. A sub-theme of the film fest is tagged, Is Nollywood Documentary' According to the festival's Executive Director, Femi Odugbemi, the sub-theme is to open new vistas of production opportunities to the Nigerian film maker.Specifically, iREP 2012 will feature screenings and discussions at Terra Kulture each day from 10am-5pm (Thursday to Saturday) and screenings from 7pm-11pm (Thursday to Saturday); and from 10am-10pm on Sunday at Freedom Park's outdoor theatre only.The festival will screen about 30 films in its four-day duration and stage workshops and training in Production, camera works, scriptwriting among others.It will also give the iREP HALL OF FAME Award to four eminent Nigerians who have contributed to the discipline of documentary filmmaking in the country. Details can be found at www.irepfilmfestival.com.This year's festival is in partnership with Goethe Institut and AG DokumentarFilm (German Association of Independent Producers), both ofwhich are facilitating the participation of a host of international filmmakers who would be presenting films, conducting training workshops and participating in a forum of producers.Aside members of the AG DOK (who would be participating in the Forum, there will also be members from the association of independent producers from Cameroon called APIC. The visitors from the two international bodies will be attending the Forum where they will share experiences with select Nigerian producers.The core objective is to devise strategies towards international production and distribution cooperation among producers from the participating countries. The Forum will be observed by the Democracy Network Africa, DNA, which is being represented by one of its coordinators, Katarina Hedren from South Africa. iREP is DNA's representatives in Nigeriaand much of West Africa.LEADING the team from Germany and coordinating the Producers Forum is Barbel Mauch, a vastly experienced producer, who in October 2001 founded the Babel Mauch Film with intention to co-produce films at an international level. The company also offers consulting agency services for production, distribution and for film festivals, especially from Germany, France and Africa.Since 2006, she has been a consultant at Berlinale Talent Campus and expert for talents from Africa and the Middle East.Between 2008 and 2009, she coordinated the SHOOT! workshops on documentary film production for the Nigerian Film Corporation in Jos, Nigeria; and in 2009 coordinated workshops for the festival Lagunimages in Cotonou/Benin.From 2009 to 2011, she was chairwoman at the African-German co-production meeting during the festival Ecrans Noirs, Cameroon, organised by AG Dok and APIC in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Yaound. She also served 2009 Expert at the Nigeroon/Cameria workshop in Bamenda, Cameroon, organised by the Goethe-Institut.Jens Wenkel is a Berlin-based filmmaker and medical doctor. As a doctor and researcher, he worked for Doctors Without Borders in different countries of Africa for three years. Recently, he finished a documentary film about urban every day life in the megacity of Lagos, which was premiered at the IDFA in Amsterdam. Together with Matthias Luthardt he organised a documentary workshop entitled Spirit and Spirituality under the umbrella of the Goethe-Institut Lagos. Wenkel has done so much research and cinematic work in Lagos.Katarina Hedren: A key promoter of the Documentary Network Africa (DNA) initiative, Ms Hedren is former chair of the Swedish based film festival, CinemAfrica. She works as a translator/interpreter, as well as discussion and workshop moderator/facilitator/designer, film programmer, film critic, and writer with South African producers and directors as well as organisations such as Tri-Continental Film Festival, People to People Conference, Encounters International Documentary Festival, the Goethe-Institut and FESPACO. Branwen Okpako was born in 1969 in Lagos, Nigeria. She studied Political Science in Bristol, England, followed by studies in Film Direction at the German Film & Television Academy Berlin, Germany. Her films include: the shorts: Probe (1992); Vorspiel (1994); Landing (1995); Searching for Taid (1997); Loveloveliebe (1998); and the features: Dirt for Dinner (winner of the Bavarian documentary film prize The Young Lion and First Prize at the Dubrovnik Documentary Film Festival in 2001); Valley of the Innocent (2003); and The Education of Auma Obama (winner of the AFRIFF Audience award 2011 and the PAFF Founders award 2012).Katrin Springer: The Berlin-based FILMKANTINE (www.filmkantine.de) in early 2009 by Katrin Springer and Volker Ullrich to develop and produce documentaries for cinema, television and other distribution channelsfor the German and international markets.Both have been working in the film and TV business for more than 20 years.Springer was born in 1969 in Halle, Germany. She studied Theater Arts, Film, Russian Studies and Media Consulting in Erlangen and Berlin and finished with a Masters Degree in Media Consulting. In 1990, she started working as a location manager and assistant director to continue as line producer and executive producer for national and international film productions. In 2002, she began producing films. She lectures film production at the DEKRA Hochschule in Berlin.Born in 1954, Thomas Frickel has distinguished himself as writer, director and producer of numerous short films, television productions and feature-length documentaries. He has been chairman and general manager of the German Documentary Association AG DOK since 1986. In this function, he is also a member of the board of directors of the German Federal Film Board FFA, the collecting society VG Bild-Kunst, a delegate for the copyright holders of the collecting society VG Wort, on the advisory board of the German Social Security Fund for Artists, the German Film Database, and a representative for the Film/Media section of the 'German Cultural Advisory Council.' Co-founder and until 1999 member of the board of directors of the European Documentary Network (EDN).Thomas Plenert: Born 1951, in Nauen, studied at Hochschule fr Film und Fernsehen 'Konrad Wolf' in Potsdam and at the famous film school in Lodz, Poland. With his camera work for highly-praised documentary films such as Jrgen Bttcher's Rangierer (The Shunting-Station Workers) and Die Mauer, Plenert soon made a name as one of the most accomplished cinematographers of German cinema.In 1988, he worked for Volker Ko epp's short documentary film 'Feuerland' ' which marked the beginning of a longtime collaboration. Since then, Plenert has filmed nearly all of Koepp's films and has significantly contributed to its poetic images.Furthermore, he has won the German film award for his work in Koepp's film Kalte Heimat ('Cold Homeland'). Although he mainly became famous for his camera work in documentary films, Plenert has again and again worked as a cinematographer for feature film productions.Ursula Weler: Born in 1950, she studied political science and French. Since 1986, Ursula Weler is secretary of an association called Filmstadt Munchen, which is a union of film initiatives in Munich. In the same capacity, she is as well co-organiser of the Internationales Dokumentarfilmfestival Mnchen 'DOK.fest' (International Documentary Film Festival Munich) from its very beginning 26 years ago. Furthermore she is working as programmer and coordinator in the copy and guests section.Wolfgang Bergmann: Born in Paderborn, Westphalia in 1946, Bergmann studied Journalism, Art and Philosophy in Hamburg and Munich between 1967 and 1972; and worked as assistant of director for fiction: Geissendrfer, Stckl, Furtwngler und Kotulla from 1971-1974.From 1975 -1982, he was director of film distributions. Since 1982, he has been a filmmaker and producer. He established Lichtfilm, a production company with a track record for well-made, artistic long and short films.The company's films depict purposefully direct encounters with people from all backgrounds: visionaries, victims and high-flyers, and others. He says, 'We present the protagonists as they really are, speaking out in their own idiom.'COMING from the neighbouring country, Cameroun are Eloi Bella; Lambert Marie Ndzana Ndzana; and Cyrille Masso.Director and journalist, Eloi Bella Ndzana was trained at the School of Television in Cameroun in 1997 before joining the training courses of Media Master's Degree and that of RAI TV, Italian national TV(98-99).While studying German at the University of Yaounde in 1991, he collaborated with the CRTV (Cameroonian Television) to conceive and realise a multi-bloc magazine for the youth (Youth TV).Lambert Marie NDZANA NDZANA is a communicator, audiovisual and multimedia expert with over 15 years experience spent in content development, training, designing and implementing of media programmes and projects.He has also worked in the field of design, development and production of audiovisual projects (film presentation, corporate films project report, adversting and creative documentary. He acquired technical expertise in film working on two videos in French and English in Cameroon and Central African Republic.Regarded as pioneer in Camerounian Independent Cinema milieu, Cyrille Masso is one of the youngest film makers who has influenced his generation since 1995. After his secondary education, he did training in cinema in many institutions while going at the same time to the National Television Training Centre. His formation at the FEMIS in Paris in 1998 became a major turning point in his career.He created the Malo Pictures in 1999 and later on produced many fictions and documentaries, of which some won prizes in prestigious festivals around the world. Other exploits include short films, pop videos, advertisements and reports on request. In 2007, he won the Special Prize of Jury Fiction at Fespaco with his feature film, Confidences.THE trio of Mikail Isah bin Hassan; Nasiru Bappah Muhammad; Musa Abdullahi (Sufi) are bringing their experience of Kannywood, a coinage for moviemaking enterprise in Kano, northwest Nigeria, to bear on iREP fiesta.Mikail Isah bin Hassan: Producer/director, program designer, script writer and actor with eleven years of experience in using media communications for social advocacy and development through behaviour change. In 2008, he directed Fatana, a feature film on the stigmatisation of HIV sponsored by BBC World Service Trust Nigeria in collaboration with DFID. As a speaker, he took part in the interactive session 'Experiences of FESPACO ' inspirations for Kannywood' organized by Goethe-Institut Kano in 2011.In the last 10 years, Nasiru Bappah Muhammad has worked as a production manager, director, writer and actor in more than 50 feature and short films. As production and general manager, he worked for the Moving Image Limited, Kano till 2009 before he became chief executive officer at Spectrum Studios in Kano. Mr. Nasiru was also the trainer and script consultant for the Almajirai in the documentary drama project 'Duniya Juyi Juyi' organized by Goethe-Institut Kano in 2011.From 1995 to date, Musa Abdullahi Sufi has been part of various developmental, non-governmental and voluntary activities paying emphasis to environmental, health, education, youth, women empowerment in the areas of capacity building through training and facilitation, advocacy, research and networking.In 2002, he was one of the founders of the Kano based NGO 'Women and Youth Coalition' serving as its Secretary General from December 2002 to date. Musa is a seasonal artist and filmmaker. At the moment, he is working on a documentary on the Occupy Nigeria movement in Kano.
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