The 5th edition of the iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival started on Thursday, 19th March, 2015 with the screening of UNFORGIVEN, a Rwandan-German documentary by Lukas Augustin. The opening screening of Chameleon, a Ryan Mullins' 2014 documentary film was deferred owing to technical hitches.
The opening ceremony commenced with a welcome address by Femi Odugbemi, the Executive Director of iREP, who thanked the festival's staff, volunteers, partners, sponsors and individuals who had supported the festival from inception five years ago. His welcome address was followed by the keynote speech.



In his speech, captioned ‘New Values for Audience Development in a Digital Space', the Managing Director of Multichoice Nigeria Limited, Mr. John Ugbe, observed that the response to the right content is no longer subject to a 6-month research or survey, but is now immediate because two screens are available to the audience in the digital age - one for watching content and the other for giving feedback to the content provider on social media: Twitter, Facebook, etc. This second screen, he remarked, is usually a phone.
Ugbe asserted that quality content was paramount in the digital space, stating that it did not matter where content was produced: a bad story remains a bad story. He added that even with top-notch technical quality, if a story was not compelling, it would not make the desired impact.

unforgiven:rwanda trailer from Augustin Pictures on Vimeo.

In his own remarks, Marc-André Schmachtel, the Director of the Goethe-Institut Lagos, expressed his happiness that iREP offered the opportunity for German documentaries to be screened and was delighted by the privilege offered by non-fictional films, which he believes promotes a people's history and culture.

Wendy Mitchell, Film Programme Manager, British Council, London, delivered a short speech from Ojoma Ochai, Director, British Council, Lagos, who was unavoidably absent. Ochai stressed that, "we need to tell our own stories better." Mitchell also informed the audience of about 15 new programmes and grants initiated by the British Council.

by Amarachukwu Iwuala

First published in iREP 2015 Newsletter - Day 1, with support of iRep FilmFest and Goethe-Institut Nigeria.