Iyke Bede
Five short films selected as finalists at this year’s Accelerate Filmmaker Project (AFP), premiered at the recently concluded Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF).
‘Last’ (Olabisi Akinbinnu), ‘If Only’ (Alfa Faruk Umar), ‘Scars’ (Miriam Dera), ‘Black Monday’ (Adetola Adetayo), and ‘Blast’ (Tosin Ibitoye) are debut productions of the five finalists to premiere at the annual film festival. Collectively dubbed ‘The Mindset series’, it was showcased to a select audience that comprise industry insiders, family and friends of the filmmakers for the first time on the Accelerate day of AFRIFF.
AFP which offers a platform to local, young filmmakers to gain a foothold in Nollywood is currently in its third edition. This year, the project witnessed an increase in the number of contestants admitted by 25 per cent. Compared to last year, the figure rose from 20 to 25 contestants.
On impact, Accelerate Head, Colette Otusheso acknowledged the role of the project in promoting Nollywood to the rest of the world whilst investing in young talents.
“We love what we do, and we want to continue to open the doors and give young people the opportunity to learn, grow and make their own impact in Nollywood, African, and global film industries, and continue to tell their stories while changing the narrative. Not everyone gets to make the short film with us, but every filmmaker that has gone through the project has gone on to start their career in the Nigerian film industry,” she said.
For a week, contestants were under the mentorship of movie industry experts like Seyi Babatope, Kunle Afolayan, Kemi Adetiba, Victor Sanchez, and Niyi Akinmolayan, who tutored them on the cinematic principles of cinematography, directing, production, special effects, and scriptwriting, etcetera.
The end product of this process required each participant to work on the specific theme of mindsets, and how it influences and reflects values on society at large. Although, tasked with aptly representing this singularly theme in their work, all five finalists took direct routes to imbed this element into their works.
For instance, Ibitoye leveraged the power of comedy in ‘Blast’, to describe secret admirers. Umar and Adetayo highlighted the power community norms wields in ‘If Only’ and ‘Black Monday’ respectively. The only females – Akinbinnu and Dera – to make the list, projected mental health in relation to familial influences.
“I want to tell Africa’s untold stories of our myths, inner fights, and insignificant things that happen around us that we never get to talk about in the most relatable manner,” explained Dera enthusiastically.
The five short films will be available from December 1, 2019 on Accelerate TV platforms.
