This must be happy times for movie maker, Roger Ofime, whose action thriller, Oloibiri, has been selected as the opening film for The African Film Festival (TAFF), which kicks-off Friday, June 30, in Dallas, Texas.
According to a statement from the organizers, while Oloibiri will be screened as the opening film, Uganda’s award-winning film, Remand, will close the festival.
Also, screening during the festival is South African crime thriller, Call Me Thief.
Commenting, Festival Director and founder, Kelechi Eke said: “We are leaving no stone unturned in our bid to record a successful outing this year. Not less than 200 filmmakers from over 40 countries are expected to storm Dallas for the festival which climaxes on July 3 with an awards night.
“My expectation is to have a better festival than last year’s with more filmmakers and African movie fans in attendance and with more media coverage globally. We received better films this year, and some from very well-known film makers.”
Explaining why he established the festival, Kelechi said it was to give Africans in the Diaspora a sense of belonging as well as promote the continent’s culture.
“The African film industry is growing by the day. New creative filmmakers are emerging; better quality film production is on the rise. Yet, we do not have enough platforms to showcase African films and celebrate our filmmakers. There are several other challenges that African filmmakers face and it could be quite discouraging. But the passion and drive that many of us have continue to push us to not quit. Good quality films need a large budget for production and marketing just like we observe from our Hollywood counterparts where millions of dollars are spent in making just one film,” he added.