Scholars and seasoned film makers such as Professor Onookome Okome, Otunba Sola Fosudo, Alhaji Abdukareem Mohammed, Femi Odugbemi, Gab Okoye, Joke Silva, Tunde Kelani amongst others are billed to headline this year’s edition of the Festival of Indigenous African Films, which holds soon at Owena Motels, in Akure, Ondo State capital, the organisers have disclosed.

Okome, a professor of Film and English at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, will be delivering this year’s keynote address under the theme “Film, Economy and National Development.”

The lecture, to be discussed by a team of seasoned film makers will flag off the week long festival, which is expected to draw participants from across the country.

Announcing the hosting of the festival at a press parley held at the Feminar Café of the LTV8, Agidingbi, Lagos, the Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer of Remdel Optimum Communications Limited, organisers of the yearly festival, Pastor, (Mrs) Biodun Ibitoye, who is also the director of the festival noted that the festival strives to revamp the apparent relegation of the African cultural heritage in favour of foreign ideas, concepts and cultures which undermine our innate potentials for growth, progress and development.

According to her, this year’s festival which runs from October 2 through 5, will mobilise film makers and the entire stakeholders in the entertainment industry to focus attention on their economic well-being within the context of our cultural realities.

“Here is the time when we should combine traditions, which, according to her, are unique to our culture with available modern economic, scientific and technological resources for the necessary development that the country desire.

“Film makers must seek to optimise our cultural potentials for our economic well-being. We must emulate the merging prosperity in East Asian countries where people hold on to their values and at the same time earn for themselves higher living standards that surpass those obtainable in some industrialised nations.”

The festival director further disclosed that this year’s festival will be all-encompassing as it features series of activities ranging from Karakata forum, which will consist of two sessions to be presided over by the Director General of National Film and Video Censors Board, Mr Emeka Mba. There will also be an advocacy workshop on employment/investment opportunities in the film industry, and a masters class on script writing, which will run throughout the festival and sponsored by the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation.

Other activities of the festival are presentation of awards to appreciate those who have supported and contributed towards the successful hosting of the yearly festival.

According to the festival director, the advocacy workshop is the beginning of a concerted effort to make the Ondo/Ekiti axis a film friendly production community. The total effect is to create an economic development plan around the area and also ensure that film amkers have better and easier access to film production.