By Ben Njoku
The glamour and festivity that usually greet the prestigious African Film Festival,TAFF, which yearly holds in the beautiful city of Dallas, the United States may be missed this year, as the organizers have announced plans to host the 2020 edition online due to ravaging corona virus pandemic.
Announcing the development in a statement made available to NollyNow, the festival director and founder, Mr Kelechi Eke said the 4-day event will kick off on Tuesday, June 2 through Saturday, June 6, with film screenings, online workshops and training sessions, and TAFF Awards ceremony.
TAFF will showcase one of a kind African independent films that either promote African culture; address issues affecting Africa; or explore African landmarks and historic leaders. This festival strives to “Bridge cultures through films” by inviting a diverse audience to celebrate some of the best films from and about the African continent.
Eke, a popular film maker and software engineer, said the attendees for this year’s festival will have the privilege of watching the festival selections in the comfort of their own homes as well as on demand. The film portal ROOTFLIX, according to him, will showcase the selected films and the awards ceremony.
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Currently, trailers of the selected films and full featured films from previous festivals are ready for viewing on www.rootflix.com.
Recall that on the 15th of April, the organizers commenced the tradition of highlighting each selected film daily with the “Trailer of the Day” spotlight though its website and social media handles:
“TAFF 2020 attendees will be treated to an exploration of the African continent through the global lens and voices of talented filmmakers. This edition will be accessible worldwide,” says the festival director.
Explaining the idea behind the decision to host this year’s edition online, Eke said “There was much optimistic desire behind the scenes to reschedule the event due to the corona virus pandemic. Instead, we opted to host it online and stream it globally. With so much uncertainly amid COVID-19, and, since no one can accurately predict when it might actually be possible to host the event in a safe and responsible manner and I personally would not feel good about putting hundreds of people in an arena any time this year.”
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