For 2019, organisers have said nothing will be different as the film festival kicks off on March 21, 2019, till March 24, 2019, at Freedom Park, Broad Street; and Nigerian Film Corporation, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Here are the five 5 activities to watch out for at 9th iREP documentary film festival.

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This year marks the ninth edition of the festival which has been acclaimed the biggest documentary film festival in West Africa. The festival usually opens with a cocktail so what this means is that you will be networking with both local and international documentary filmmakers who will be on the ground to share insights on their works.

Over 30 international documentary films have been carefully selected to screen at this year’s festival. Each of these films is relevant to the festival’s theme of Africa-in-Self-Conversation, thus you will be exposed to diverse cultures and views on the Africa continent. Also, the selection of the film is also in conjunction with the Africa World Documentary Film Festival, AGDOK, and German documentaries.

iREP in partnership with the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria will host a pitch forum for documentary filmmakers at this year’s event. It doesn’t matter if you are a young or old documentary filmmaker; all will be given equal opportunity to present their non-fictional film project ideas with a special focus on social/cultural developments in and around Africa before a selection panel. The proposed pitching forum seeks to grow and encourage a spirited generation of factual filmmakers.

Ever wondered how to effectively tell a story or direct a documentary? There will be a training opportunity for 70 young and upcoming filmmakers on the ‘Basics of Storytelling’ and the ‘Vision of Directing’. The training is in partnership with the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC).

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Keynote speeches and presentations at the iREP Film Festival are important events not to be missed. This year, the conversations will go further, as leaders of thought in filmmaking and film theory will be in conversation with the community of filmmakers present at the festival. It would be an in-depth interaction that goes beyond the top-down approach of paper presentations.