The Real Time International Film Festival kicked off it’s third edition on Sunday 24th March, 2018, at the Ikeja City Mall, Lagos. The red carpet session, which included interviews and a cocktail, saw in attendance local and foreign filmmakers, actors, dignitaries, animators, media practitioners, advertising agencies, and film enthusiasts.
According to the festival producer, Ronya Mangertzman, this year had over 1,200 films submitted from 154 countries. Among these, 137 films were selected to screen from the 24th – 30th of June, with nine films were selected to open the festival. These include Tolu, A Thousand Kisses, Daylight, Hide and Seek, Out of Sight, Cup of Tea, The Broken Circle, Girl Fact, and The Perfect Girl. Day 1 ended with closing remarks from the artistic director and an after party.
The festival will be featuring advantage sessions in directing (by Steve Gukas and Moses Inwang), cinematography (by Nodash and Uzo Okpechi), screenwriting (by Sanchez and Yinka Ogun), acting (by Israel Wekpe, Bimbo Akintola, and Ronya Man), sports casting (by Tola Badekale), film reviews (by Babatunde Onikoyi), music directing, and audition interludes.
Asides mentorship sessions, painting exhibitions, art conversations, fashion shows and musical performances, there would be content and tech exchange sessions led by Femi Odugbemi, Patrick Lee, Efeturi Doghudje, Jide Martin, Koye Shotade, and Uche Anisiuba. The annual event will come to a close on Saturday with the screening of six realtime-challenge short films, a feature film – Kupal (Dir. Kazeem Mollaie), and the presentation of awards.
Founded by Stanlee Ohikhuare and described as “innovative and unique”, the Real Time Festival aims to become the biggest and most acclaimed technology-driven and remotely accessible festival in Africa. The platform was set up to champion an artistic baseline where equity and openness is enhanced among creative artists, filmmakers and movie enthusiasts.
With a catalogue themed ‘Stories That Touch‘, the event will continue in its use of current technology to achieve its real-time attributes. This would ensure that participants in Lagos and those from across the world can interact and share ideas via tele-presence, video conferencing, and live streaming.
It’s a festival for filmmakers, by filmmakers! Make it a date to attend.
