THE 8-day Eko Theatre Carnival, ETC, opens its third day offerings today with ace filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, leading the Seminar event, which would be staged both Live and Virtual.
The multi-awarded filmmaker and founder CEO of fast rising KAPHub, who has also become the poster boy of successful Nigerian creative entrepreneurship, would be speaking on The Economics of Pop Culture at 2pm at the ETC main arena, Crown Art Factory, on Awobodu Street, Shomolu, Bariga.
Virtual audience are advised to join via: https://zoom.us/s/99766650642
According to the Founder-Director of the carnival, Segun Adefila, Afolayan’s talk is designed to pass useful motivational hints and instructions to the corps of young creatives that form the patrons of the festival; it would therefore be followed with direct engagement of the lecturer in Q &A by the audience both live and online. After this would be the screening of one of Afolayan’s few documentaries, Orisa, a 40-minute flick at 4pm a same venue.
But Afolayan’s talk and film screening are only a tip of the rich line-up for the day of ‘feasts’ as the festival’s programming content is designed.
Other feasts, as outlined by Adefila, are:
3rd Feast
At Chef: Green Arrow Arts.
Menu: Journey.
Genre: Dance.
Duration: 20 minutes.
Time: 4pm.
Venue: Art Factory.
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4th Feast.
Chef: Crown Troupe.
Menu: Dancing With Fela.
Genre: Dance.
Duration: 40 Minutes.
Time: 5:30pm.
Venue: Art Factory.
The presentation is Crown Troupe’s performance dedication, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Fela’s transition, stated Adefila, himself a multi-skilled die-in-in-the-wool art-ctivist (art activist) with a rich repertoire of socially-conscious artistic pieces.
Director of the community-moblisation carnoval Segun Adefila, introduced Afolayan thus:
“Kunle Afolayan is one of Nigeria’s foremost filmmakers and son of the highly-respected Adeyemi Afolayan (Ade-Love).As a multi-award winning actor, producer, and director, his works have transcended the boundaries, producing a fresh crop of new Nigerian cinematography that raises the bar with regards to what the world expects of the Nigerian Film Industry.
“In his commitment to self-improvement and professional excellence, Afolayan enrolled at the New York Film Academy in 2005, and thereafter began his first full-length movie, Irapada, which gave credence to the unique ability and versatility of Kunle Afolayan as an Actor, Producer and Co-director. He has shown great tenacity by paying great attention to details, giving creative interpretation to African stories.
“The works of Kunle Afolayan have garnered acclaim and set box office records to unprecedented proportions. Through his production outfit (Golden Effects Pictures and KAP Motion Pictures), Afolayan has gone to produce successful and widely acclaimed feature films, namely Irapada (Redemption), The Figurine: Araromire, Phone Swap, October 1, the chart-topping blockbuster film The C.E.O, Omugwo, Roti, The Tribunal, Mokalik, and Netflix original movie, Citation. Most of which have been featured and showcased widely at international film festivals across the globe with the recent one being the Netflix original, Swallow.
“Kunle Afolayan’s Phoneswap; the first and only Nigerian film to premiere at the first edition of the Cinema Africa International Film Festival in Tokyo, is now a reference point for discussing and analysing Nigerian economic indices in Japan.
“His film,Citation, topped the chart as the 6th most watched movie in the world on Netflix and generated local and international positive reviews and accolades.”
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Day 2 Recap:
…Of engaging seminar and dance of the ancestral masques
By Segun Adefila
DAY 2 of ETC 2022 has come and gone. The menus of the day did not only look promising, they also kept their promises. It started with a slight technical hitch that was soon forgotten when it eventually kicked off. It started with the much anticipated virtual seminar that was led by the erudite professor of literature, Professor Olu Obafemi. This lecture was slated to kick off by 11am but did not till about 30 or more minutes later – because Yours Truly found the virtual space a riddle. Frantic calls were made to friends and colleagues who instantly rose up to the challenge and just like it never came up at all, the problem vanished. The trio of Canada based Kayode Sodunke and Wole Oguntokun as well as the theatre scholar and Carnival expert and university lecturer, Cornel Onyeka-Best who moderated the seminar without prior notice saw to that.
As expected, Professor Olu Obafemi spoke to the topic of the day: Securing the Social Stage: Theatre and the Nigerian State. His knowledge and eloquence did not shock those who know him and my people say ‘Ìròyìn ò tó àdojúbà’ loosely meaning ‘seeing is believing’, click on the link below to have a taste of the feast:
After the engaging and enlightening seminar came the dance of the ancestral masques. The masquerades added the required traditional touch to the festival and set the performance ball rolling. To have a glimpse of this, click on the link below. Erm… may I hint that the audio visual quality may not do justice to the quality of the physical performance. I take full responsibility for that.
Ijolomo Dance Company’s conceptual dance performance titled ÀKÓKÒ (Time) came up soon after. It was an intensely enrapturing piece that highlights the existentialist nature of humans being the creator of their own fate through their choices. A solo dance piece that ended with dancer, Rasheed Ibrahim, brandishing his PVC as he exits the stage.
The amazing kids of Kings and Queens Art Academy took over the stage afterwards with their humorous and engaging piece titled ÈMILÓKÀN. The piece x-rayed our sociopolitical terrain in a fashion that bellied the age of the children who kept the audience spellbound with their performance. They treated the appreciative audience to a beautiful blend of poetry, music, dance and drama.
Day 2 of ETC ended with the screening of 2 films: Belinda Yanga-Agedah’s ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY and TOJ Studios’ BÀBÁ ÀGBÀ.
