Pic-Mr. Afolabi Adesanya,NFC Boss
THE postponed international summit of the Movie Reporters’ Guild of Nigeria, MORGON, tagged Nollywood Our Nollywood, will now hold elaborately on Thursday, November 20, 2008 at the prestigious Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos, with several dignitaries as Guests Speakers.
National President of the body Mr. Azuh Amatus in a recent press statement explained that the Nollywood summit is among other plans being put in place by MORGON to reposition the thriving nation’s movie industry globally called Nollywood.
“MORGON was established in the first place to assist in the repositioning process of Nollywood, after the postponement of the earlier date, which was as a result of some technical hitches, the executives recently came together and agreed on the new date.”
Already, a sub-committee to source for sponsors for the event was recently inaugurated at O’jez Restaurant, Surulere, Lagos, over the weekend. The mandate of the sub-committee is to get a title sponsor as well as other sponsors for the epoch summit.
Pic-Mr Kene Mkparu, GM Odeon Cinemas, UK
“Gone are the days whenpeople would not want to associate with Nollywood, the industry has come of age, practitioners are gradually getting things right, but it is not yet time to climb to the top of the mountain and shout. That is the essence of the Nollywood Summit and other events that will help shape the sector. As people who cover and monitor activities of the industry, we have watched it evolve from nothing into world reckoning, and we are extremely proud of Nollywood,” added Justin Akpovi-Esade, the guild’s Vice President.
Azuh, further described movie reporters and Nollywood practitioners as “partners in progress,” adding that the forthcoming event would be the biggest in Nollywood. “As partners, we expect the same cooperation from Nollywood practitioners such as the one given to us during our investiture ceremony/launch, where over 500 star actors, producers and directors turned up.”
Among dignitaries already billed to deliver topical papers at the historic summit are: Mr. John Odey, the Minister of Information and Communication, Mr. Afolabi Adesanya, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation, Mr. Emeka Mba, the Director General of the National Film and Video Censors Board and renowned businessman, politician and academic Prof. Pat Utomi.
Coming from the UK to also deliver thought provoking papers at the summit are the duo of Kene Mkparu, the first black General Manager of Odeon chain of Cinemas and Magnus Mbanu, a BBC trained film maker alongside Marc Wishengrad, a leading Hollywood filmmaker, coming from the US.
Meanwhile, Mr, Andrien Gbinigie, the CEO of Atlantic Overseas and the Life Patron of MORGON, would be the Special Guest of Honour at the grand gathering.Mr. Odey, according to MORGON’s spokesman, Uche Olehi, is expected to deliver the Keynote Address.
He called on corporate bodies to support the initiative: “We tagged the Summit Nollywood, Our Nollywood because actually the industry is purely a Nigerian creation, so we all have to put hands on deck to help it grow. For corporate Nigeria, the era of paying lip service to Nollywood is over, this is the time to come and back an initiative that will make the sector grow to match the much-talked about international standard.”
President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, popular actor Ejike Asiegbu, alongside the Nigerian Film Corporation and the National Film and Video Censors Board, in separate letters to MORGON, all endorsed the forthcoming event. According to Mr. Asiegbu, organizing something like this would definitely go a long way in helping to redefine and reposition Nollywood. “The Actors Guild of Nigeria is totally in support of the forthcoming Nollywood Summit. I wish MORGON all the best,” Asiegbu submitted.
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