Professor Duro Oni, Haynes & others appointed jurors for Zuma film festival

Prof. Duro Oni

Towards ensuring a successful outing for the sixth edition of ZUMA Film Festival which was formally called "National Film Festival", the organizers are already working round the clock with various stakeholders.  The latest is the release of the names of jurors who are expected to adjudicate on all entries for the festival.
The jury, which is made up of five members, is to be chaired by Prof. Duro Oni, one of Nigeria’s finest and astute experts in theatre and film studies, a one time Director of Centre for Nigerian Cultural Studies, University of Ibadan and also a former Director/Chief Executive of Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC).
Others include, Jonathan Haynes, a Fulbright senior scholar, at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Ibadan, and a Professor of English at the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University in New York, the USA and Molara Woods, a United Kingdom trained writer, editor and journalist.
Anouk Batard, a Masters Degree holder in journalism from the Journalism and Communication School in Marseille, France, and co-author of “Who killed Lolita” the Best European Radio Documentary for the Year 2010; and Samuel Achibi Dede, a well known Nigerian film maker and lecturer, with decades of screen and theatre performances, and currently the Director-General of Rivers State Tourism and Development Board.
In a release by the film festival secretariat, members of the jury were carefully selected based on their vast experience in motion picture matters which span several years.  “Cutting edge activities and their contributions to the sustainable development of the Nigerian motion picture industry”, the statement added, also gave rise for their selection.
With the jury in place, festival attendees and fans of cinema are assured of the very best of film screenings and awards in all categories, at the film festival scheduled to take place in Abuja, Nigeria from May 6 to10, 2012.
Meanwhile, Pan African Film Festival (PAFF), Los Angeles, USA has indicated her willingness to partner ZUMA Film Festival (ZFF) in ensuring that there is indeed a growth in film activities within Black film cultures across the globe.
Ayoku Babu, Executive Director of PAFF stated this during an interaction with African participants at the 20th edition of the festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles, USA, which ended recently.  According to Babu, PAFF and ZUMA, would leverage on their large networks and strengthen film production activities especially in the area of exhibition, distribution, marketing, and development of themes, co-production and the co-hosting of film festivals both in Nigeria and in Los Angeles.