By Charles Mgbolu
African movie stars and filmmakers have been receiving international recognitions and awards since the start of the 2023 award season.
The latest additions came earlier this week hitting art and entertainment news headlines.
Toyin Elebe, a Nigerian documentary filmmaker, has won the award for the Best Voiceover category at the Cannes World Film Festival for his work in the documentary Vote true.
Vote true has already won the Grand Jury Award at the New York International Film Awards and is nominated as a finalist at the Boden International Film Festival in Sweden and the Lisbon Film Rendezvous in Lisbon, Portugal.
A year for African filmmakers
South African films such as Ninja Moon Showdown, The Omen, Extravagant Ways To Say Goodbye, The Last Days of Elizabeth Costello, Riel and Moments of Dying were given special recognition in this year's festival.
Egyptian filmmaker Amjad Al-Rasheed's Insha'Allah a boy won the Gan Foundation Award and the Rail d'Or Award for feature film during the closing ceremony of Cannes’ Critics Week.
AFRIFF gears up
Meanwhile, organisers of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) are set for a 12th edition, which runs from November 5–11, 2023.
Organisers have announced that the thriller movie Orah by a Nigerian-Canadian filmmaker will open the festival.
AFRIFF is an international film showcase that presents an immersion into the world of filmmaking, with participation from all over Africa and the diaspora.
Organisers say the festival is an opportunity to exchange ideas, production connections, and business relationships that deliver value, build capacity, and create wealth.
The high point of the festival will be the awards segment, which is evaluated by experts and a jury.
Áfàméfùnà: A Nwa Boi Story, Tarella: Princess of the Nile, and All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White are some of the movies already in consideration for different awards and recognitions.
