By Dipo Olowookere
The 2021 edition of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) may have gone and gone, but the memory of the prestigious lingers in the minds of participants.
It was a moment African filmmakers had the rare opportunity to hear directly from key stakeholders from the make-believe industry on the continent, including Mr Theo Ukpaa, an award-winning filmmaker and contract lawyer, who moderated one of the panels.
From Sunday, November 7 to Saturday, November 13, 2021, people from different parts of the continent converge on Lagos for the global event.
This year programme was themed Africans for Africa and it highlighted the journey of AFRIFF from its first year to the 10th anniversary, culminating in mutually beneficial partnerships with global film superpowers.
The roundtable panel discussed how filmmakers can access creative industry grants and those who spoke on this vital issue were Mr Madison Conoley, the Cultural Affairs Officer of the US Missions in Nigeria; and Mr Victor Mark-Onyegbu, the Grant Director at Africa no Filter.
The hour-long session involved in-depth discussions on the dos and don’ts of the grant application for filmmakers and key take always included how to apply for grants and how not to apply.
While moderating the panel, Mr Ukpaa asked the panellists some relevant questions, triggering the submission of relevant information by the guest speakers.
The session was very enlightening and engaging, covering aspects of accessing grants including the type of grants, who should access them, doing proper research before application and creative ideas that can pass approvals easily.
According to Mr Ukpaa, the session was aimed to empower and equip participants on the best ways to access grants, which is very vital to the creative industry.
He said every year, millions of dollars are made available for filmmakers through several grant programmes but a very few people are able to access them.
But he expressed optimism that through the session, a lot of filmmakers are now equipped with the necessary tools to scale this huddle.
AFRIFF was founded by Ms Chioma Ude and the platform is a world-class showcase that presents a complete immersion into the world of filmmaking.