Culture and Tourism

Cultural Boost, As Face Of Epic Africa Pageantry Launched In Abuja

Published

4 years ago

July 7, 2021

Joel Ajayi

A contest aimed at celebrating diverse cultural endowments of African countries and also to showcase their uniqueness to a global audience has begun formally in Nigeria.

Also, the organizers say the contest is to bring back the lost glory of African culture and exhibit their innate and outward beauty.

The face of epic Africa pageantry 2021, the premier edition, which kicked off over the weekend to a grand finale date, come November this year , is already generating waves among young, beautiful girls across Africa, with many jostling to contest for honours at the event.

Speaking at the press conference, on Sunday in Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer CEO Face of epic Africa 2021, Mr Ojo Anthony, said the project is envisioned to encourage young African girls between the ages of 18 and 28 to showcase their culture, intelligence, family values and knowledge on African culture, as well as other unique values.

He said the contest will go a long way in bringing back the lost glory of Africa’s culture to the continent.

Mr. Anthony revealed that face of epic Africa pageantry is a rare platform uniquely packaged to enable young African girls display their beauty, elegance, artistic skills, intelligence, leadership qualities and deep knowledge of cultural heritage.

According to him, we want to teach them the value of Africa, we are looking at the cultural aspect of Africa, where we have the Zulu of South Africa, Asantee of Ghana, three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, amongst others, to promote our culture.

“We want an event that will make the contestants independent even after the contest. The winner, 1st and 2nd runners up will work with our company for one year to have more knowledge about self-esteem.

We are doing this, just to bring back the African culture, the western culture has eaten into us that we have forgotten the Africa culture, the damage European life has done to us is more than good.

On her own, the pageantry communicator of face of epic Africa, Eneh Gold, while giving hint on the modality of the event, said: “there are arrangements to camp the contestants for ten days and its open to all Africans ladies from 18-28 years, we are going to train and groom them on how to become a queen.

“We are expecting close to 20 contestants, and in every beauty pageant there is always a star prize, we have everything in place, we intend to give a car and other prizes for 1st and second runner up and also, we have consolation prizes for all our contestants.

When asked how to communicate with other African countries? She replied: “We have social media to communicate with them, a platform to get them registered with a N5000 registration fee.”

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Creative Industry

Stephanie Linus, Juliet Ibrahim 8 others Appointed Jury Members For Zuma International Film Festival

Published

3 months ago

November 13, 2024

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

Ten-member 10 jury of reputable Nigerian and foreign filmmakers to adjudicate on all entries in the competitive category of the Zuma international film festival, 2024, scheduled to hold in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital from December 1st to 5th, which is jointly being organized by the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has been announced.

Announcing the constitution of the ten-member jury through a statement issued in Abuja (on Monday, November, 11, 2024); Brian Etuk, NFC’s Director of Public Affairs, said “the jury is most critical to the selection of winning entries and composition of the jury reflects the premium and niche of ZUMA International Film Festival, as one of the continents fastest growing international film festivals and market events”.

He said, this explains why membership of the jury includes both Nigerian and foreign film stakeholders who have in the recent past promoted authentic Nigerian and African resonate stories, and continue to contribute immensely to the growth of inclusive global film production.

Stephanie Okereke Linus, an A-list Nigerian actress, filmmaker, activist with lead appearances in over 100 movies, including an Afro-Hollywood, USA Filmmakers Award for Excellence, Reel Awards for Best Actress, and recently, the AMVCA Award for Best Overall Movie in Africa as well as recipient of the AMAA Award for Best Nigerian Film for her impactful work DRY was named as the Chairperson of the Jury.

Other members are Kenneth Gyang- director of This Is Lagos, Mojisola as well as Oloture Netflix’s Original from Nigeria; Aisha Halilu Abdullahi – a docu-drama and documentary specialist; Ishaq Sidi Ishaq – an actor, writer and producer of “Kamilu”,‘‘Wasila’’; Charles Novia – an avant-garde Nollywood ﬁlmmaker, scriptwriter, producer, director and creative entrepreneur; Hakeem Kae Kazim – a supremely talented actor, producer, director of great cinematic portrayal of George Rutugunda in the Oscar-nominated Hotel Rwanda, as well as playing leading roles in The Librarian.

The Triangle, and knack for creating feisty and deeply thrilling characters; Sihle Hlophe – director with multiple awards and over 15 years of experience; Ronya Man – an acting coach and creative arts specialist with handles on Lahira, SIN.

The Johnsons, as well as Juliet Ibrahim – a bilingual (French and English) speaking multiple award-wining producer, director, entrepreneur with over 100 movie appearances. Zaiyanu Tanko Waziri, a veteran filmmaker and broadcaster with over two decades of professional experience was also named as member of the jury.

In the statement, Dr. Ali Nuhu, NFC’s Managing Director & Chairman, Festival Organising Committee, on behalf of its partner, the FCTA, congratulated Stephanie Okereke – Linus for emerging as Chairperson of the Jury. Dr. Nuhu said that the Jury Chairperson and her team’s roles are critical to the overall success of the Film Festival brand, which no effort has been spared in its organization in terms of content, attendance and participation. NFC; Nuhu averred, remains committed to achieving the objectives of sustaining the positive narratives that Nigeria with a huge creative economy, is indeed the hub of film production in Africa.

Zuma International Film Festival 2024, the 14th in the series and themed: Digital Renaissance: Embracing The Future takes place December 1st – 5th at Chida Event Centre, Abuja Nigeria. Meanwhile, Etuk added that the online registration portal of the film festival has opened, and intending participants can register through the link :- https://zumafilmfest.com/zuff-2024-registration.

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