ABUJA, 16 March 2022 - Two Filipino filmmakers were nominated at the inaugural Women’s International Film Festival Nigeria (WIFFEN) 2022 organized by Nigerian non-government organization Girls’ Voices Initiative on 4-5 March 2022.

Choice Elise Israel, a graduate of the University of the Philippines with a degree in Fine Arts-Visual Communication, was nominated as Best Cinematographer for her work in the 20-minute short film “Ola” while Kristine De Leon, a graduate of Miriam College with a degree in Communication, was nominated as Best Documentary Short for her work in the 45-minute documentary film “Alab ng Kapayapaan (Sparks of Peace): Women Peacemakers in the Philippines”. The two films were both produced in 2020.

“Ola,” written and directed by Mijan Jumalon, depicts the Gawad Urian-winning story of a grieving painter who is haunted five years on by the death of her daughter, demonstrating how art and madness can transform and transcend grief and tragedy.  “Alab ng Kapayapaan,” which was helmed, scripted, and edited by de Leon, features stories on the beginnings of the Philippines’ National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security; women and peacebuilding at the grassroots level; and stories of WePeace, including the 12-women training team, and ever diverse community stories from Kalinga, Quezon Province, North Cotabato, and Surigao del Sur. 

Choice Elise Israel was nominated as Best Cinematographer for her work in the 20-minute short film OLA, part of the official selection for WIFFEN 2022 on 5 March 2022

The two films were among 120 works evaluated by an international jury from 3,067 entries from 130 countries for the festival, the first of its kind in Nigeria, which was organized by Girls’ Voices Initiative’s chief executive officer Carolyn Seaman to globally celebrate outstanding women in film, raise awareness, and inspire film standards for female filmmakers.

“Alab ng Kapayapaan (Sparks of Peace): Women Peacemakers in the Philippines,” directed by Kristine De Leon, was nominated as Best Documentary Short at WIFFEN 2022 on 5 March 2022 at the Executive Hall at the Abuja International Conference Centre.

Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General Roderico C. Atienza attended the WIFFEN Awards Ceremony on 5 March 2022 at the Executive Hall at the Abuja International Conference Centre. The five-member jury from France, South Africa, Canada and Nigeria chose winners for 16 competitive categories that pitted feature films against short films for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Editing, and Best Sound Design. In addition to the awards, Best Student Film was given a €1000 cash prize by the French Embassy while the Best Lighting winner was granted lighting equipment valued at €3,000.

“Carol of the Bells,” a 122-minute Ukrainian film that tells the story of Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish families sharing a large house in the Soviet city of Stanyslaviv (now known as Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine) in the 1930s and 1940s, won as the Best Picture.

Rafael Pont, Head of Co-operation and Culture in the French Embassy in Nigeria, stand on stage together with ambassadors and representatives from European Union member countries to receive the award for Best Picture on behalf of winner “Carol of the Bells,” a Ukrainian film directed by Olesya Morgunets-Isaenko, from the festival’s showrunner, Stephanie Odia, at the Women’s International Film Festival Nigeria (WIFFEN) Awards Ceremony on 5 March 2022 at the Executive Hall at the Abuja International Conference Centre.

The festival, which was held to mark International Women’s Day and Women’s Month, was sponsored by the French Embassy’s PISCCA Programme and TSTV Africa, the Congo Embassy, Zenith Bank Plc, Aero Contractors, and a host of other partners. PISCCA, which is French for Innovative Projects by Civil Society and Coalitions of Actors, is a funding program set up by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and managed locally by French embassies.

Nollywood, the nickname of Nigeria’s local film industry, is said to be the second largest in the world, surpassing even Hollywood in the US and placing just behind Bollywood in India. The numbers are remarkable: Nigeria produces more than 1,000 films a year, generates $600m yearly and employs more than one million people, making it second only to agriculture in the list of largest employers in Nigeria. -END