The 2024 edition of the iRepresent International Film Festival (iRepresent) will spark intergenerational conversations between young Africans and their elders, about the present and future of the continent, particularly in the wake of a recent season of political anomalies and leadership failures.
Structured around the concept of Africa In Self-Conversation – which encourages the exchange of ideas and development aspirations amongst the diverse people of Africa and the global black family, the theme of the 17th edition Righting The Future will feature the screening of over 45 films at the real-tual event scheduled for March 21 to 24, online and at the Freedom Park, Lagos Island and the Alliance Francaise, Mike Adenuga Center, Ikoyi.
The films both short and long features, are drawn from largely Nigerian filmmakers and their counterparts from 25 countries in four continents, in addition to some specially curated award-winning films selected to screen at the festival.
iREP is further marking the 90th birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate, Professor Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka, who embodies the values and virtues the festival aims to spotlight and celebrate as an assurance to Africans ‘that they can hold on to their beliefs and convictions without being railroaded by the mob’.
“He (Soyinka) embodies the virtues of the quintessential ‘citizen activist’ with the clarity of vision and passion for the betterment of our collective humanity needed to hold power. Over the past six decades and more, he has consistently deployed his intellectual acumen and personal resources to defend human values and the fundamentality of the freedom of the individual to resist oppression.
“He is renowned for having also displayed a high degree of patriotic zeal to clamour for good governance and participatory democracy by citizens of the country, even at grave risks to his personal comfort and career. For his tenacious hold to his convictions, he has sometimes run into problems with consecutive state authorities and certain sections of the society. But he remains steadfast in his self-imposed battles to always right the wrongs he perceives in his social, cultural and political environment,” said filmmaker and iREP Executive Director, Femi Odugbemi.
The Soyinka section will span two days of the four-day event at the Alliance Francaise, and will feature keynote addresses from Professor Manthia Diawara of the New York University (NYU), and Professor Awam Amkpa, Dean of Arts and Humanities and Vice Provost at the NYUAD. Both keynote addresses will be followed by panel discussion and the screening of films related to Soyinka’s career.
Founded in 2010, iREP has the overarching objective of raising awareness about the documentary format’s potential to deepen and share social/cultural education, while also fostering participatory democracy in our societies.
