INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND SYMPOSIUM:
NOLLYWOOD
RISING: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE NIGERIAN FILM INDUSTRY
June 13-17 / Hilton Los Angeles / Universal City,
www.nollywoodconventionusa.com
In recent years the Nigerian Film industry has grown
rapidly to become the third largest film producing industry
in the world after the renowned Hollywood of the United
States and the prolific Bollywood of India.
With the production of over fifty (50) movie titles
per week, Nollywood, as the Nigerian film industry has
come to be known, is
beginning to command global attention by its size and
work rate and is arguably one of Nigeria's positive
cultural contributions to the international community.
Also, the industry has not only transformed the way
Nigerians see themselves, it has also become one of
the major sources of employment in the country with
over 5,000 guild members in 2004. However, the industry
needs encouragement to ensure sustainable growth, and
both foreign and local film industry experts agree that
there is an urgent need to expose Nollywood to more
technical depth and professionalism.
In recognition of this need to examine the impact
and nature of this unique development in new media,
Gemafrique, a firm of International Meeting and Events
Planners and Finnu International Productions will host
the 1st International Convention and Symposium on Nollywood
titled Nollywood Rising: Global Perspectives on the
Nigerian Film Industry from June 13th -17th 2005 at
the Hilton Los Angeles, Universal City Hotel USA. The
project is coordinated in the USA by Dr. Sylvester Okwunodu
Ogbechie, Assistant Professor of Art History at UCSB;
and in Nigeria by Chike Maduekwe, Gemafrique Inc., Lagos
(please see website for contact information: www.nollywoodconventionusa.com)
The Nollywood Convention USA 2005 investigates the
emergence of new media in Nigerian film and visual culture.
The digital video recording of Nollywood is a leap forward
that accurately prefigures the future of film industries
worldwide. Nollywood was created wholecloth in Nigeria
and is rapidly becoming the first true mass medium for
continental and expatriate Africans in the 21st century.
This achievement is great in itself. The accompanying
symposium will feature presentations on topical issues
in the industry by film experts, academics and celebrities.
Highlights of the educational trip to California by
the Nollywood Delegation includes executive meetings
between Hollywood and Nollywood top stars, a guided
tour of the Universal Studios and Warner Bros Studios
as well as Nigerian Cultural performances at a Gala
and Award reception. The Governor of the state of California,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, has been invited to open the
event.
The Convention and Symposium is jointly sponsored
by various departments and institution of the University
of California Santa Barbara (including the Interdisciplinary
Humanities Center-IHC; the Center for Film, Television
and New Media; the Department of History of Art and
Architecture Department--whose support is limited to
the Symposium on June 15--and the Center for Black Studies).
Other sponsors include TANTRUM RECORDS of Montecito.
It is also supported by the Federal Government of Nigeria
and a consortium of major Nigerian Film Industry Companies
led by GEMAFRIQUE Inc., Lagos Nigeria.
For further information and sponsorship opportunities,
contact:
Dr. Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie University of California
Santa Barbara
email: ogbechie@arthistory.ucsb.edu
Phone: 805-407-6554
Chike Maduekwe
Gemafrique
Phone: +234 (0) 1 2703467, (0) 805 268 4690
email: gemafrique@yahoo.com
