By Effa Tambenkongho And Goreh Glory
The first edition of the Cameroon Film Festival, CAMIFF, ended recently in Buea.
The maiden Cameroon International Film Festival, CAMIFF), held recently for six days in Buea, gathering filmmakers, actors, script writers, cinematographers, sound engineers, editors and light engineers from Cameroon, India, Angola and America. The festival was geared at training and empowering Cameroonian filmmakers by giving them the opportunity to network with international colleagues.
According to CAMIF’s Chief Executive Officer, Agbor Gilbert, the Cameroon film industry is ready for international film festivals because stakeholders have been working hard and it was time the network looked for marketing opportunities abroad. He added that CAMIFF serves as bridge between filmmakers and content buyers. Speaking at a press conference in Mountain Hotel, Buea, the CAMIF CEO appealed to government to partner with the local film industry by allocating land for the construction of a film village.
He also called on government to take action against cable operators who promote the piracy of movies. Agbor Gilbert solicited the support of journalists to project Cameroonian actors and State subventions to support the film industry. CAMIFF Ambassador and Nollywood star, Ramsey Noah, said film actors and makers need not compromise, explaining that it is viewers who determine what is good enough and what is not. He added that filmmaking is a gradual process, saying films done so far by Cameroonians have been fairly good. Ramsey Noah called on filmmakers and cinematographers to go out and hit the international market.
Cameroon’s film actress, Solange Yijika, on her part admitted that there so many corrections to make, given that it was the first time CAMIF was organising the international festival. She said the number of people who turned out showed that the public appreciated the idea of holding the festival. The maiden Cameroon International Film Festival was also attended by actors from Bollywood, Cote d’Ivoire, USA, among others. Agbor Gilbert expressed hope that the avenue created by Afric-Nolly will benefit filmmakers, given that the outfit is the biggest content collector of movies in Africa.
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