CHUKWURA, OGUNJIOFOR, DIKE, OTHERS FOR LIFF IGBO FILM CONFERENCE

•Okey Ogunjiofor
The organizers of the annual Lagos International Film Festival (LIFF), recently announced plans to host the first ever Igbo Film Conference.

The conference, which seeks to reposition and re brand the Igbo filmmaking industry, according to the president of LIFF, Madu Chikwendu holds on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 in Lagos. Holding under the theme, Igbo Film:  Where we went wrong, the conference will critically examine the tragic history of the Igbo film and seek means for its revival and survival.

The 1992 blockbuster movie, Living in Bondage produced by Okey Ogunjiofor for NEK Videos Limited and widely credited with popularizing the direct to video system of distribution was made in the Igbo language. The film was vital to the emergence of Nollywood as a movie industry and its ultimate ranking by UNESCO as number two in the world. The Igbo language is spoken by the Igbo people of South Eastern Nigeria. While Igbo expressions like 'Igwe' (king) and 'Tufiakwa' (abomination) had been popularized by Nollywood movies and experts insist that the Igbo language is a dying language.

Speaking further, Chikwendu who also doubles as the CEO of LIFF, explained thus;

'This conference is the first of its kind in the region and is the first in a series of cultural interventions by LIFF targeted at reclaiming the cultural identity of Africa with emphasis on that of Ndigbo.'

Confirmed speakers for the conference include: veteran actress, Clarion Chukwura ,  pioneer actor, Ifeanyi Dike, Founder/President Omenigbo Filmmakers, Amayo Uzor Philips , Living In Bondage Producer and CEO TAVA Awards, Okey Ogunjiofor. The conference at the end of the day will issue a communiqué on the way forward.