FOUNDATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF DOCUMENTARY FILM IN AFRICA
The Foundation for the Promotion of Documentary Films in Africa (FPDFA)is a vital force in nurturing and amplifying the voices of African storytellers. Founded in Lagos, Nigeria, the FDPA champions documentaries across their lifecycle, from funding and production to distribution and archiving. The annual Irepresent International Documentary Film Festival Lagos serves as the FPDFA’s flagship event, providing a platform for established and emerging filmmakers to showcase their work. Through the monthly IREPXchange program, filmmakers gather to share resources, offer constructive feedback, and build a network of support.
Recognizing the financial hurdles faced by filmmakers, the Foundation actively seeks partnerships with local and international donors to fund promising documentary projects, with a particular focus on empowering young storytellers. The FPDFA commitment extends beyond production. The foundation understands the importance of preserving the rich tapestry of African stories and actively promotes the archiving of historical materials that serve as invaluable resources for future generations of filmmakers.
FPDFA stands as a cornerstone for African documentary filmmaking, fostering a vibrant community of storytellers and ensuring that their narratives find their rightful place on the global stage. “Documentary cinema is that nexus between fact, opinion and point of view. It offers narratives that document and open up new spaces, inspire new ideas and create social movements. And that is really because documentary is not a deliberate form. It starts from questions, not answers. That, in a nutshell, is why we founded the iREP Documentary Film Festival because we believe that the creative revolution in Africa, provides a unique opportunity for documentary filmmaking.“
BOARD MEMBERS
The Conceptual framework of iREPRESENT Documentary Film Forum is AFRICA IN SELF-CONVERSATION, and it is designed to promote awareness about the power of documentary format to serve as a means of deepening and sharing social and cultural education as well as encouraging participatory democracy in our societies. iREP is conceptualized to create a platform of awareness and expression for aspiring and practising filmmakers who are creating socially relevant documentary films to positively impact our world. To fully engage an array of trans-cultural creativity, iREP will provide a forum for everyone’s ingenuity to be showcased without prejudice to style or subject. iREP celebrates the ever-expanding world of documentary films by inviting talents from across the globe to share ideas on trends and technological advancements in the format.
AWAM AMKPA
(Associate Professor, New York University)
Chairman
PROFILE
A dramatist, documentary filmmaker, scholar of theatre and film and a curator of art and cultural practices, Amkpa has a PhD in Drama from Bristol University, UK. He is a Professor of Drama at the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Sciences. He is also a Global Network University Professor and, co-founder and co-curator of the annual Real Life Pan-African Documentary Film Festival in Accra, Ghana, dedicated to African and African Diasporic filmmaking. He is a curator of the photographic exhibition ‘Africa: See You, See Me’ and co-curator of photo exhibition “They Won’t Budge: Africans in Europe”. Amkpa curated annual Highlife Music festivals in Accra, Ghana as well as an online exhibition on the drummer, Kofi Ghanaba. He is the curator of the exhibition ‘ReSignifications’. His documentary films include ‘Very Very Short Story of Nollywood’ ‘Accra Re-Inventions’ and feature film ‘Wazobia!’ Professor Amkpa has performed, written and directed plays and toured around Africa, Europe and North America. He is the author of Theatre and Postcolonial Desires and several articles on the African and Black Diasporic and postcolonial theatre, film, art and photography.
JANE MOTE
(Media Consultant)
Advisory Borad Memeber
PROFILE
Jane Mote, a former senior vice president of global channels for BBC Worldwide and director of factual and lifestyle for UKTV, left the multichannel broadcaster to head up factural channel Current TV in 2001. She is currently the Media consultant for TV channels and digital media companies including Turner Broadcasting , Discovery, BBC Worldwide ,London Life, The Africa Channel, whickers World Foundation and One World Media.
Niyi Coker
(Writer, Theatre & Film director, Scholar; and Professor, University of Missouri)
Advisory Board Member
PROFILE
Niyi Coker, Jr. is the E. Desmond Lee Distinguished Professor of Theatre and Media Studies at the University of Missouri, Saint Louis. He has directed over 50 major stage productions around the world. He is the founding artistic director of the African Arts Ensemble in NYC, and has served as Artistic Director-in-residence for several theatre companies ranging from the National Theater of Nigeria; K3 Theatre in Malmo, Sweden; Black Box Theatre in Hamilton, Bermuda. He received a British Council commission to write and direct, “Endangered Species”, which toured Great Britain in 1995. In 2010 his play “Preemptive” opened at the Shaw Theatre in London, England and was covered by NNC Strand in England. The production went on tour in the Caribbean and West Africa. He recently directed the musical “Mama Africa” on the life and career of the legendary South African singer and activist, Miriam Makeba, which toured Cape Town and parts of the USA.
Sandra Obiago
(Filmmaker, Arp Promoter)
Advisory Board Member
PROFILE
Sandra Mbanefo Obiago is an art curator, photographer, poet and award-winning filmmaker and founder and artistic director of SMO Contemporary Art, curating art exhibitions in non-traditional gallery spaces to promote the best of African art. She started her career in 1988 as a technical director and video editor at the European Business Channel in Zurich, Switzerland. Two years later she joined environmental group, WWF International, and covered environment and development projects in sub-Saharan Africa as a photo-journalist for eight years. In 1998 she founded Communicating for Change (CFC), a media for development social enterprise based in Lagos, which became an important content provider for local and international television stations. Her award-winning films and radio programs focused on human rights, women’s empowerment, HIV and AIDS, environment, democracy and good governance, as well as art for development. She is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s African Leadership Initiative for West Africa (ALIWA).
Barbel Mauch
(Film Producer)
Advisory Board Member
PROFILE
An experienced film producer, Barbel Mauch has considerable experience in production, distribution, and as publicist with Iskra in Paris. Among her production credits is FARO-Lamreine des eaux- Goddess of the waters. Between 2008 and 2009, she coordinated the SHOOT! Workshop on documentary film production for the Nigerian Film Corporation in Jos, Nigeria. In 2009, she coordinated workshops for the festivals Lagunimages in Cotonou, Benin. Barbel has extensive experience in project coordination across the continents. She is coordinator of the Ag.Doc delegation to iREP, as well as a coordinator of the “Producers’ Roundtable”- the Festival’s platform for filmmakers’ networking, collaboration, cooperation and co-production possibilities. She is also an avid trainer of young filmmakers and a well-heeled workshop conductor and leader.
Marc-Andre Schmachtel
(Culture Administrator and Film Producer)
Advisory Board Member
PROFILE
He studied Anthology, Spanish Literature and Francophone Studies with advanced degree in Intercultural Communication. He was a programmer at the Kino Achteinhalb (Sep 2000 – Jan 2008), and Programme Assistant at the Goethe Institut Cameroon (Feb. 2008- December 2009) and Language Advisor (January 2010-November 2010). He then served as the Director of Goethe Institut Lagos (November 2010-June 2016), during which he initiated a lot of culture-related programmes, including film-related projects, that have become watershed in the Nigeria culture sector. He is currently Head of TV and Radio section at the Goethe Headquarters Film Department in Munich
Emeka Mba
PROFILE
A LEADING expert and visionary especially on the intersection between government policy and technology in shaping the trajectory and growth of media and entertainment industries, Emeka Mba has served in various roles across media, technology and entertainment, as well as in regulatory policy management. He has about three decades of experience serving as chief executive and lead strategist in various organisations. He served two terms as the Director General of the National Film Video Censors Board (NFVCB), and later served for two and half years as Director General/CEO of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). In 2015, Emeka was awarded the African Regulator of the year for his ground-breaking work in the sector. He also was managing director of Phillips Media Entertainment Ltd, a specialized media entertainment consulting service of Phillips Consulting Nigeria, and was for eight and a half years, Regulatory Affairs Manager for MultiChoice Nigeria, responsible for Regulatory strategy and Policy. He is CEO of AFIA tv, Enugu.
Femi Odugbemi
(Fimlmaker, Writer, and Photographer)
Trustee & Executive Director, IREPRESENT Film Forum
PROFILE
An award-winning filmmaker, writer, photographer and a respected voice in the arts and culture circuits of Nigeria and around the continent, Odugbemi’s critically acclaimed film Bariga Boy won Best Documentary prize at the 2010 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMMA). He also received the 2010 Afropop Prize sponsored by the National Black Programming and Consortium in the United States. Other highlights of his career include Bar Beach Blues (Best Director, Zuma Film Festival 2006); Mama Put (Best Film, Abuja International Film Festival 02009). His other well acclaimed documentary works include Ibadan: Cradle of Literati (2008); Oriki (2010); …And the Chain was Not (2011). Femi was the founding Producer of Tinsel, MNET Africa’s acclaimed soap opera. He was President of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (2002-2006). He has been a juror for the Emmy Awards in New York, the TACA Awards in Lagos, The African International Film Festival, and has served as head judge for the Afrinolly Short Film competitions, as well as the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.
Ilemakin Soyinka
(Media Consultant)
Trustee & Director, IREP Film Forum
PROFILE
He has worked extensively in the field of documentary through his company Barollo Production, a film TV, Radio and Arts Producing and Promotion Company, which he founded in 1993. Before this he had served as associate producers (with Auric Goldman) on such project as Raw Material and Resources in Nigeria, 6omins documentary on Nigeria’s natural resources, Lagos (1992). He served as programme consultant to Africa Express: Channel 4, London (1996-1999), and CBC TV, London (1996-1999). His TV documentaries includes: Technological Exposition: Nigeria’s potential (Asst. Producer) (1992); The Courier is the Killer (Producer, 1993); Stolen Heritage, Trade in Antiquities, BBC 2; researcher,1997, Stolen Goods: National Treasures, BBC 2 (researcher, location manager), 2001; The Murder of Damilola Taylor, BBC 1; Black Heritage Festival/Badagry Slave Routes-film commissioned by LSWTC/UNESCO: 2002/2003.
Theo Lawson
(Architect, Designer, and Film Enthusiast)
Board Member & Director, IREP Film Forum
PROFILE
Theo Lawson founded Total Consult Ltd, Lagos in 1991, and since 2001 has been a partner of the Lawson+Odeinde Partnership, Lagos Among his notable projects are the redesigning of the old Broad Street Prison to a theme park, now known as Freedom Park; the redesigning of the residence of the legendary Afrobeat artiste, Fela Anikulapo-kuti into a museum named Kalakuta Museum. An astute patron and support of various artistic projects, he has been the chairman of Felabration Organizing Committee since 2008; and is a member of the board of the art advocacy group, Committee for Relevant Art, CORA. He is also a member of the Nigeria Institute of Architects (NIA), Creative Intelligence Agency (CIA), Lagos Chamber of Commerce among others. An astute Felaist (believer in Felaosophy – political contentions of Fela), Theo recently made his debut as a film maker with the production of FREE FELA, which will be premiered at the iREP 2017.
Jahman .O. Anikulapo
(Artist, Culture Communicator and Curator)
Trustee & Director, IREPRESENT Film Forum
PROFILE
He studied Theatre Arts with a specialty in Directing, Dramatic Theories and Criticisms at the University of Ibadan. He worked as an Arts and Culture Journalist for 25 years, writing mostly on the Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Film, Literature and Cultural Affairs. He worked with The Guardian in following capacities: Reporter (1987-1990); Asst. Arts Editor (1990-1993); Arts and Media Editor (1993 -1999); Deputy Editor (1999 -2003); and Editor, The Guardian on Sunday, 2003-2013. He has presented Nigerian films at the Milan African Film Festival (Italy); French African Film Festival (Stuttgart, Germany – where he also served on the international jury); Ecrans Noir (Cameroon); FESPACO (Burkina Faso) among others. He is part of the travelling seminars on African Film on the platform of African Screens, which has held sessions in Portugal, Germany, Belgium and New York. He has been Associate Producer on two documentaries Rolling Dollar: A Legend Unplugged and DO Fagunwa: Literature, Language and Literalism (both directed and produced by Femi Odugbemi). He is the current Programme Chair of CORA; and Executive Programme Director, Culture Advocates Caucus, CAC; and Chairman of the CORA-Arterial Network and West African Representative of the (continental) Arterial Network.
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ALLIANCES
AFRICA WORLD DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL (AWDFF)
The Africa World Documentary Film Festival (AWDFF) is an annual event that celebrates the rich cultural diversity of Africa through the medium of documentary filmmaking. Established by Prof. Niyi Coker, a distinguished figure in the realm of film and academia, AWDFF serves as a platform for filmmakers to showcase their works, fostering dialogue and understanding about the continent’s myriad stories and perspectives. In partnership with the IREPRESENT International Film Festival Lagos, AWDFF extends its reach and impact, engaging with filmmakers and audiences alike to promote the art of documentary filmmaking and highlight the social and cultural issues facing Africa and the world at large. Through the vision and dedication of Prof. Niyi Coker, AWDFF continues to be a vital force in amplifying African voices on the global stage..
AGDOK
AgDok is Germany’s largest film association! with about 900 members, filmmakers of all professions and genres such as directors, producers, authors, editors, sound and cameramen are organized and enjoy a professional network with rapid mutual support and efficient foreign distribution of German documentary films, presentations of German documentary films at foreign festivals and trade fair participation.
WEST AFRICA DOCUMENTARY FILM FORUM (WADFF)
The West African Documentary Film forum is an outfit dedicated to the production, post-production, archiving and distribution of documentary films. The forum seeks to encourage the emergence of new voices in documentary filmmaking and new scholarships on the medium.
DOCUMENTARY NETWORK AFRICA (DNA)
About 150 documentary filmmakers from across Africa came together in October 2001 at the People-2-People Documentary Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa, and decided it was “time for African filmmakers to do things for themselves”. A joint resolution that emerged after the three-day conference created a new organization, Documentary Network Africa (DNA), and the participating filmmakers agreed “to work together to create a network and process to empower both our own storytelling and each other”. The vision of Documentary Network Africa is “to promote the importance of African documentary in the genre, and to use this to promote our view of Africa”
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