Nollywoodweek Set for France

Thursday 5 June to the 8th of June in Paris France, three AMVCA winning movies, Rita Dominic's The Meeting, Michelle Bello's Flower Girl and Ashionye Michelle Raccah's Journey to Self will be showcased at this year's Nollywoodweek in France at

the Cinema l'Arlequin.

The event, in its second year, was announced at a well-attended soiree at the French embassy in Lagos and is being billed by the organizers as the "first and only Nigerian film festival offering French audiences an opportunity to discover Nigeria's best and most recent films."

The four day screening will feature an opening and closing night ceremony, seminars and workshops to be attended by international professionals.

NollywoodWeek is a film festival organized by the French-based association Okada Media, headed by Serge Noukoué, Nadira Shakur and Shari Hammond. The three co-founders started the festival after they realized the absence of Nigerian cinema in the French market.

"France is the birthplace of cinema and Nigeria has the second largest film industry in the world- it just made sense", Executive Director Serge Noukoué stated. "And this year, we have the pleasure to announce that the director of the winning film, voted by the audience, will be offered top-of-the-line equipment for their next production."

"We want to bring the best of Nigerian movies to the French audience," said Serge Noukoué, programme coordinator for NollywoodWeek.

NollywoodWeek announced the official selection of this year's film festival, took place during a private VIP cocktail hosted by Mr. Francois Sastourné , the General Consul of France in Lagos, at his private residency last Thursday.

The event was well attended by top Nollywood actors, directors, producers as well as the press, international investors and Nigerian creative. Directors and actors whose films were selected for this year's festival as well as veteran festival directors were in attendance including the director Kunle Afolayan whose film Phone Swap won the festival's Audience Choice Award last year.

The multi-award winning film Confusion Na Wa by Kenneth Gyang was among the films selected including the highest budget Nigerian production to-date, Half of a Yellow Sun by Biyi Bandele. The French audience will also get to experience a nouvelle vague in Nigerian film making with Daniel Emeke Oriahi's dramatic thriller, Misfit.

Guests at the event included Ashionye and Carl Raccah, Rita Dominic, Charles Novia, Mahmood Ali Balogun, Omoni Oboli, Steve Ayorinde and Jahman Anikulapo,. Other guests were Lola Shoneyin, Ayodele Morocco Clarke, Debby Edwards, Bolanle Austen Peters, Eku Edewor, Wana Udobang, Ugoma Adegoke and many more.