THE JURY

Chairman of the Jury

Professor Femi Okiremuette Shaka

Professor Femi Okiremuette Shaka studied at the Universities of Benin and Ibadan, respectively in Nigeria. In 1991, he won the prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship for his doctorate degree in Film Studies at the University of Warwick, Coventry, England. After his studies in the U.K, he took up appointment at the University of Port Harcourt where he helped to pioneer the Film & TV Studies programme of the University which was upgraded to the status of the Department of Film and Multimedia in 2021 as part of NUC’s unbundling of the Department of Mass Communication in Nigerian Universities. In 2001, he won the Fullbright Senior African Fellowship which enabled him to teach and conduct research at the Africana Studies Program, New York University. The fruit of that one year residency was the publication of his book, Modernity and the African Cinema: A Study in Colonialist Discourse, Post-Coloniality and Modern African Identities (2004), Lawrenceville, N.J: African World Press. He is also the co-editor [with M.A. Omibiyi-Obidike] (2012) Music and Theatre Arts in Africa, Ojo: Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations, Lagos State University.

He is a widely read scholar whose articles have been published in reputable international and local scholarly journals, and a well-known strong advocate of the cinema as a tool for national development. In this respect, he has regularly mounted campaigns for the establishment of Departments of Film & TV Studies across the geopolitical zones of the country to help professionalize the teaching and practice of both sectors of the creative industries. He has served twice as Head, Department of Theatre & Film Studies; Dean, Students Affairs; a two tenured Dean, Faculty of Humanities; as well as two tenured member, Governing Council of the University of Port Harcourt.

As a strong advocate of the cinema as a tool for national development, he has dedicated the better part of his career to training manpower for the Nigeria movie industry. In this regard, he has supervised 21 PhD degree holders and 24 Master degree holders in his discipline of Film & TV Studies/Production. Among the PhDs which he supervised, 5 are already full Professors, of which one is an Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Africa, at Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State. Two of the PhDs are Associate Professors on their way to becoming full Professors. The choice to stay in Nigeria and train manpower for the movie industry has been a challenging one full of personal professional and financial sacrifices. But two incidences helped to mitigate the regret of this choice. The first was when I was appointed Nigeria’s first Professor of Film Studies in October 2009, and the second occurred in 2019, when my former students gathered together and published a Festschrift in my honour, appropriately titled, Nollywood Nation: On the Industry, Practice and Scholarship of Cinema in Nigeria, edited by the world renowned Nigerian film scholar, Onookome Okome, and Innocent Uwah and Friday Nwafor. Professor Nwafor, my former student is now my Head, Department of Film and Multimedia, University of Port Harcourt. A thing of great pride to me. Besides being a renowned film scholar, he is also already building a rich portfolio in the practice of documentary production.

Professor Shaka is happily married to his lovely heartthrob, Dr. Esther Uchenna Shaka, a specialist in Corporate Accounting, and the marriage is blessed with three kids, two young men and a young lady.

Member

Prof. SADDIK BALEWA

Filmmaker / Ass. Professor / Consultant
BA / MA / ANFTS, Drama / Film.
Ahmadu Bello University (NIGERIA), The National Film & TV school (UK). Working Experience: Senior Cultural officer at the Center For Nigerian Cultural Studies (CNCS), Junior lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Senior Producer at Nigerian Television Authority, Film Researcher at Commonwealth Insitute / Africa centre, Pioneer Resource person at National Film Institute, Senior Lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Ass. Prof. in Communications & Multimedia Design at the American University, Yola., CEO of Jakadiya Picture company. Some Activities and Societies – past and present: BOT of DGN, BOT of MOPPAN, BOT of ITPAN, BOT of AFVI, Member of Academic board of NFI, BOT of SONTA

Member

PAT IMOBHIO

Pat is a Director, Producer and an accomplished creative professional with experience spanning more than two decades in broadcast production and film making.

Her journey began as an intern with Zeb Ejiro Production as a young graduate from the University of Jos, where she bagged a degree in Theater Arts with a major in Film Production.

This as since evolved into a robust career that is both of heartfelt passion and professional achievement has made her highly sought after and perhaps one of the Busiest director in Nollywood.

Pat directed THREE WISE MEN: Comedy Film.(cinema 2017) Starring RMD, Zack Orji, Victor Olaotan, Ebele Okaro among others.
She directed Wale Adenuga Productions big budget comedy flicks KNOCKOUT: Comedy Film. (Cinema 2018).
She directed “Fracture”and “Ivie” (2022) both movies are expected to hit the cinemas later this year.

Member

Sylvie Bringas

Sylvie Bringas is a UK-based educator, director and producer of independent animated productions. Her films have been funded by Channel 4, the Arts Council of England and the BBC, and have received worldwide exposure and international awards. She is currently engaged as a lecturer at the Royal College of Art and the University of Westminster in London. Her educational and research interests include animation and creative documentary practices in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria.

Member

Prof. Ahmed Yerima

Ahmed Yerima is a playwright, Play Director, Actor, Cultural Administrator, and Lecturer. He attended the University of Ife, University College, Cardiff, and the Royal Holloway College, University of London for his Doctorate degree. Presenly, he teaches at the Redeemer’s University where he has served as the Deputy Vice Chancellor and Ag. Vice Chancellor. He was the Director-General of the National Theatre and National Troupe of Nigeria. He was also the Director-General of the Abuja National Cultural Carnival. He has written and published over eighty plays and academic books and papers. He is also an award winning playwright. His play, Hard Ground won the 2006 Nigerian Prize for Literature. He presently serves on the Advisory Board of the NLNG Prize. And his recent plays are Aremu, Sanusi, and Sardauna. The Gadfly is his most recent creative work. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, (NAL) National Association of Nigerian Theater Arts Practitioners. (NANTAP) and Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists. (SONTA).

Member

Ebele Okoye

Ebele Okoye is Africa’s first female animator, a pioneer of the Animation industry on
the continent, an Animation entrepreneur and multimedia creator with over 20 years
of industry experience. A two-time winner of the Africa Movie Academy Award and
the prestigious Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), Ebele also has recognitions
and prizes from organizations and bodies like The DEFA Foundation, Focus Features,
Robert Bosch Foundation, The California State Legislature, and the United States
Congress, as well as from the German arm of Amnesty International. She has led
international co-productions between countries like Germany, Bulgaria, Nigeria, USA
and has taught animation in universities including the Bauhaus University, Weimar.

Ebele, is also a sought-after jury, instructor, speaker and panelist in industry events
globally, and has founded numerous animation training programs, starting from the
“smedLAB2013”, Nigeria’s first Animation course, to “Motion to the Sound” and “Ani JollyGIRLS Special Training.”

She is also the founder and CEO of Jolly Squid Media and SpunkyToonz, an
animation/EdTech brand dedicated solely to audio-visual materials that shape
healthy, social, and eco-friendly mindsets in preschoolers and young children.

Member

Isa Muhammad

Isa Muhammad Abuja.Nigerian Film Corporation.1973-2006. Cheif Sound Recordist;Production Department.NFC.B.TECH.MOTION PICTURE PRODUCTION. ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA UNIVERSITY BAUCHI. 2005/2006.Associate in Arts.Columbia College.Los Angeles.California.USA.1984. Diploma Sound Recording in Motion Picture.Overseas Film And Television Venter.London. Resource Person National Film Institute.2004/2006.Best Screenplay.2005.National Film Institute.2005. Directing for the Screen.National Film Institute.2005.