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Rita Okoye
The city of Dallas in the United States was brought to a standstill at this year’s edition of African Film Festival (TAFF).
Held at Dallas City Hall from June 27 to 30, the festival, in its fourth edition, showcased films made by Africans, as well as a few made by non-Africans, but centred on issues important to different regions of the continent.
Speaking in an interview with Voice of America (VOA), the organiser, Kelechi said his idea was to encourage African filmmakers and to present a true picture of Africa and Africans, to counter the distorted image often created in mainstream commercial films.
“We wanted to incorporate our culture and films and share them with the rest of the world, and why not Dallas?” he retorted.
Kelechi said further that other African film festivals in the United States tended to either showcase Hollywood films about Africa or films made by African Americans. “But this festival is centered on Africa, with films that tell deeply rooted cultural stories, as well as spotlighting problems facing many parts of the continent.”
At the event hosted by Patience Ozokwor aka Mama G, a film from Mali, Nogochi, won the Best Narrative Film award, while Golden Fish, African Fish, a film from Senegal, won award for Best Documentary Film.
