By Azuka Ogujiuba
Producer and Founder of Africa International Film Festival, Chioma Ude has announced a 50-50 partnership in Morocco’s Oasis Studios, a thriving production hub that they aim to use as a launching pad for African filmmakers. The partnership is with Khadija Alami, a Moroccan producer who has produced many Hollywood films.
Since founding the Africa International Film Festival in Nigeria in 2010, Chioma Ude has transformed it into one of the continent’s leading showcases for African cinema. As one of the most influential women in Africa, She believes that this studio will birth the new film Narrative she describes as “The African Global Cinema”, a blend of Filmmaking where African talents will synergise skills with the best of International techniques.
Sitting on the fringes of the Sahara Desert, the sprawling Oasis facility hosts over 12,000 square meters of built sets, a 300-square meter sound stage, studio, post-production facilities and production offices. Since opening in 2010, the studio has attracted the likes of Terrence Malick’s “The Way of the Wind,” the U.S.-Moroccan actioner “Redemption Day,” starring Andy Garcia, and “Baghdad Central” for the U.K.’s Channel 4.
Principal photography has wrapped up the first two productions to come out of the partnership, with two more currently in development. Also underway is a writing lab and residence that’s hosting five Moroccan and six Nigerian filmmakers, who are looking to conceive and develop additional scripts.
The duo believe the partnership will encourage greater collaboration between African filmmakers, who frequently turn to Europe and North America for production and post-production. Morocco and Nigeria signed a co-production treaty in 2018.
