African and Caribbean Cinema

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Nollywood Conference

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AND SYMPOSIUM:

NOLLYWOOD RISING: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE NIGERIAN FILM INDUSTRY
Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City, June 13-17, 2005

www.nollywoodconventionusa.com

News : African and Caribbean Cinema

CINEMA - VIDEO GAMES: Smash hit video game BioShock goes to Hollywood

'Pirates of the Caribbean' director Gore Verbinski will make a movie out of the award-winning videogame 'BioShock,' a futuristic underwater utopia gone disastrously wrong. (webremix.info)

CINEMA: Guinean cinema is universal

Cheick Fantamady Camara is a director from Guinea in West Africa. His film "Clouds over Conakry" has already won several awards and has been shown at movie festivals around the world. (webremix.info)

Cinema, Audio-Visual Attract Support in ACP States

Member states of the African, Caribbean and the Pacific Group of States (ACP), including Nigeria, are to receive support for the restructuring and development of audio – visual and television industries in their countries and across the globe through a new partnership support programme with the European Union (EU). (webremix.info)

Africa: No Space for African Films, We Serve Hollywood

It is a classic case of absurdity. Whether in Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa or even in Kenya, there are several idle cinema theatres on one side, and so many African films seeking exhibition space on the other. (webremix.info)

CINEMA: Film festival honours North African cinema

A festival showcasing films from 'Mahgreb' countries in North Africa opens Friday in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis. The event will feature some twenty unreleased films from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. (webremix.info)

South Africa: Cinema Nouveau Opens in East Rand

The reach of art cinema is expanding to Gauteng's East Rand with the opening of the new six-screen Cinema Nouveau Bedford on 18 April 2008. (webremix.info)

Mears is Jason in New Friday the 13th

Derek Mears, who recently starred in The Hills Have Eyes 2 and has done stunts for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films and the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , will reportedly play Jason Voorhees in New Line Cinema and Platinum Dunes' new Friday the 13th movie. (webremix.info)

African Film Festival

The 15th New York African Film Festival takes cinema from all genres throughout Africa and the African Diaspora to weave a story of the present--reaching backward into time and forward into the unknown. via Film Comment

(webremix.info)

South Africa: More Threats to 30-Sec TV Spot

New software capable of stripping ads out of TV programmes seems to be yet another nail in the coffin of the die-hard 30-second TV commercial. A US company, VideoReDO, has developed a product called TV Suite that can strip content from television and cinema. (webremix.info)

Lenovo Announces New IdeaPad Line

With a focus on the consumer market, Lenovo has announced their new IdeaPad line of notebooks, featuring touch sensitive controls, Dolby Home Theatre Systems, frameless screens, VeriFace for facial recognition, and unique paint textures. Of particular interest to GottaBeMobile readers is the new IdeaPad U110, an 11 inch widescreen ultra-portable weighing 2.3 pounds, SSD support, and utilizing Intel’s low voltage Santa Rosa platform and Merom processors. Unfortunately, no pen or touch support.

Pricing on the IdeaPad Y510 (15.4 inch) is $799 and will be available in January at BestBuy.com, MicroCenter, NewEgg.com, Office Depot, and Tiger Direct. The IdeaPad Y710 ( 17 inch ) is $1199 and will be available in January at Tiger Direct. Pricing on the IdeaPad U110 has not been set yet, but will be available in April.

Follow the Read More link for the official press release.

Lenovo Enters Worldwide Consumer PC Market with New "Idea"Brand

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – January 3, 2008 – Lenovo today announced its entry into the global consumer PC market with the launch of a new line of notebook and desktop PCs. Lenovo’s new consumer-oriented IdeaPad notebooks and IdeaCentre desktops complement Lenovo’s business-oriented ThinkPad notebooks and ThinkCentre desktops. The new PCs will be initially offered in multiple countries including the U.S., France, Russia, South Africa, India, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, China, the Philippines and Singapore.

A trio of IdeaPad notebook PCs - the IdeaPad Y510, Y710 and U110 - will be sold in the U.S. The notebooks, powered by Intel® Centrino® processor technology, combine cutting-edge and easy-to-use technologies such as facial recognition, Dolby Home Theatre surround sound and dedicated gaming controls. They also make a bold design statement with frameless screens, touch-sensitive control surfaces and unique textures. The new IdeaPad Y510 notebook will be available initially at BestBuy.com, Micro Center, Newegg.com, Office Depot and Tiger Direct, and the IdeaPad Y710 will be available initially at Tiger Direct.

According to IDC, the worldwide consumer PC market is expected to grow by an average of nearly 10 percent annually through 2011.¹ In 2007, Lenovo created a new consumer business unit to address the consumer market, which represents over 40 percent of all PCs sold¹.

“Our ThinkPad notebooks are well-known around the world as the best engineered computer for business -- for quality, reliability and thoughtful design,� said Liu Jun, senior vice president and president, Consumer Business Group, Lenovo. “We’re now bringing Lenovo’s expertise in design and engineering to consumers with our Idea-branded PCs. We are confident we will grow our consumer business by blending innovative technologies like facial recognition with stylish designs to enhance the way people use technology in their personal lives.�

Lenovo also announced its new “Ideas� marketing campaign to introduce consumers worldwide to the latest PCs and the company. Using the new campaign, Lenovo will illustrate the power of individual ideas and how the Idea brand of PCs helps people to capture and transform those ideas. The campaign will include web-based promotion, merchandising, point-of-sale, as well as traditional media advertising.

IdeaPad Notebooks
The IdeaPad line delivers notebooks designed for a variety of lifestyles with features integrated across the line such as:

Convenient log-in and authentication: Users can make their face their password with VeriFace Face Recognition,™a new, convenient way to log into the PC and a host of applications. The combination of the VeriFace software and an embedded camera can recognize a user’s face for log-in and help eliminate the need to remember passwords.

Fully-loaded entertainment & multimedia: The notebooks are equipped with Dolby® Home Theater, which delivers exceptional surround sound for movies, videos, music and games and offers a cinema-style experience for listeners through the PCs multiple speakers (most models have five speakers). Lenovo’s Multimedia Control Center provides an excellent multimedia experience with easy-to-use software to play movies, listen to music and view photos. With touch sensitive controls, users can quickly select among multimedia choices, volume and equalizer.

Distinctive look and design: Lenovo notebooks set the trend for stylish design with blue, red or black and with smooth, weave or raised textured top covers. Frameless screens provide a unique viewing experience.

In addition to these shared innovations, each notebook offers a number of extra features intended to maximize the experience the notebooks were designed for, such as:

IdeaPad Y710
Lenovo designed the 17-inch widescreen IdeaPad Y710 notebook PC for users who desire a high level of performance for entertainment. Distinctively designed with a smooth, blue, metallic finish, the notebook also comes equipped with halo lighting, accenting the top cover and backlit Lenovo logo. Select models include a second, hot-swap hard drive to easily store and transfer data as well as Game Zone functionality. Game Zone includes enlarged directional buttons for enhanced game play, four user-customizable buttons and a secondary display showing system information such as CPU speed. It also includes a performance control switch with Turbo mode for maximum power, including CPU overclocking, and Quiet mode for energy savings. Equipped with Intel® Centrino® processor technology, ATI graphics, WLAN connectivity, five speakers including a subwoofer as well as an optional Blu-ray DVD reader, the IdeaPad Y710 notebook caters to the entertainment enthusiast.

IdeaPad Y510
Designed for customers looking for a versatile, all-in-one notebook, the 15.4-inch widescreen IdeaPad Y510 notebook PC has a black, textured, linen-like top cover. In addition to the features shared by the IdeaPad line, it comes with technologies to enable a variety of computing tasks - from word processing to photo and video editing. It comes equipped with Intel® Centrino® processor technology, integrated graphics, WLAN connectivity, five speakers including a subwoofer, an integrated camera, battery life indicator and a DVD-RW optical drive.

IdeaPad U110
The IdeaPad U110, an ultraportable 11-inch widescreen notebook PC, weighs only 2.3 pounds and is 0.7 inches deep. The textured design embedded in its red aluminum alloy top cover blends style and durability. Ideal for highly mobile users, the powerful notebook provides extensive computing time with an additional battery and the performance of optional solid state flash drives. Lenovo also equipped selected configurations with its Active Protection System, an air-bag like device that parks the hard drive to help protect data during a fall.

“We are pleased that Lenovo has selected Intel as its global processor provider, helping to provide consumers worldwide innovative and inspiring new notebooks in sleek new form factors,� said Erik Reid, marketing director, Intel Mobile Platforms Group.

Pricing and Availability²
Select configurations will be offered at various retailers. Recommended pricing for the IdeaPad Y510 and Y710 starts at $799 and $1,199, respectively. The IdeaPad U110 notebook will be available in April. More information on the notebooks can be found at www.lenovo.com/ideas.

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Can your PC keep up? Introducing the 1 lb OQO model 02 with the full computing power of a Windows Vista® PC. View OQO model 02 Demo

(webremix.info)

Prodigal Son Returns Home to Primedia

The media industry has been taken by surprise this week with the revelation that Trevor Ormerod, COO of CNBC Africa, is going back to Primedia to head up its cinema and print division in the new year. "It is almost like returning home," 'prodigal son' Ormerod told Bizcommunity.com yesterday, Thursday, 6 December 2007. (webremix.info)

South Africa: Amplifying the Effects of Radio

5FM recently launched "The Power of 5", its new brand campaign across TV, outdoor, cinema and print. Created by Network BBDO, it is all about the effect 5FM has on the world around you - amplifying listeners' everyday experiences, adventures and senses into larger-than-life explosions of reality! (webremix.info)

A welcome break from Africa's role as TV news fodder

Television has a near-monopoly over images from Africa. These audiovisual representations can be on the monotonous side, as the media tends to be drawn to stories about war, famine, civil unrest and the like. The French Cultural Center in Lebanon proposes a five-night respite from the monotony with its "Coup de Projecteur sur le Cinema Africain." (webremix.info)

South Africa: Eurobest Juries Announced

The organisers of the 20th Eurobest Awards, one of Europe's leading advertising competitions for TV/cinema, print, outdoor, radio, interactive, direct, integrated - and new in 2007, sales promotion (within direct) - and media, earlier this week announced this year's jury members. (webremix.info)

South Africa: Mulitplex Cinemas for Soweto

A new, eight-screen, Ster-Kinekor Junction cinema will open at Soweto's Maponya Mall on Thursday, 27 September 2007 - just a short distance from the locations that provided the backdrop for South Africa's 2006 Oscar winner. The 1400-seat venue will offer cutting-edge design and some of the latest screening technology. (webremix.info)

South Africa: Three Continents, Four Cities And a Conference

The fifth annual Tri Continental Film Festival, hosted by Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson, will present provocative, cutting-edge contemporary cinema from Africa, Latin America and Asia during September and October 2007. Also happening this year is the People to People: International Documentary Conference. (webremix.info)

DVDs dooming cinemas in Africa's filmmaking pioneer

"A football match shown on a giant screen attracts more people than a movie"

Senegal's movie business, home of some of the continent's first black filmmakers, is in the throes of crisis with cinema theaters downing shutters as cheap and mostly pirated DVDs flood the markets. via Sunday Times

(webremix.info)

South Africa: Popcorn Increases Digital Footprint

The digital footprint at Nu Metro Theatres countrywide has increased by 30 screens, bringing the group's national footprint to 63 screens. Including the state of the art technology at four of their larger independent cinema complexes, Popcorn now represents 67 digital screens around the country. (webremix.info)

Ghana: Boxing - South Africa Loses 0-2

GHANA'S LARTEI Lartey and Kpakpo Allottey demonstrated great boxing skills in their various divisions to defeat their visiting South African opponents before home crowd at the Globe Cinema in Accra in the early hours of Sunday. (webremix.info)

Filmmaker Wins Dutch Film Grant

The Ethiopian director of photography, Abrham Haile, received an award of 10,000 euros from the Hubalt Bals Fund, founded after a Dutch filmmaker who had a dream that the future International Cinema hub would be Africa. (webremix.info)

Hollywood, Bollywood, Haitiwood? Haiti's movie industry blossoms despite hard times

"Despite all the political chaos and economic problems, Haitian cinema keeps growing"

PRINCE, Haiti: Even in hard times, Haitians go to the movies. Now they're also making them in record numbers - about 10 feature films a year - rivaling Cuba as the Caribbean's biggest movie producer and often ... via International Herald Tribune

(webremix.info)

Film Industry Blooms in Volatile Haiti

"Unless we start making better movies technically ... Haiti's film industry could die in the womb"

Even in hard times, Haitians go to the movies. Now they're also making them in record numbers _ about 10 feature films a year _ rivaling Cuba as the Caribbean's biggest movie producer and often outselling better-financed imports.

The ultimate dream? To transform the impoverished, politically volatile country of 8 million into a cinema powerhouse _ Haitiwood _ following the lead of India and Nigeria.

While most Haitian industries are stagnant, show business is booming, driven by plunging production costs and an appetite among Haitians at home and abroad for movies shot in their native Haitian Creole. Read more

(webremix.info)

FESTIVALS GALORE TO REVEL IN - OR AVOID !

July/August rhymes with a festival-feast throughout much of the world. Mondomix will be present at several, including far-flung corners like Malaysia, the Reunion Island and Morocco. But there are some places one can avoid…

Well, it’s the summer season in the West, and as usual, world music journalists are offered a plethora of festivals to flock to. July and August are vital months for promoters and festival directors, vying to entice the relaxed and enthusiastic music fans with a whole smorgasbord of international artists. Along the French Mediterranean coast alone, there are almost 400 music festivals to choose from. This proliferation is threatening the survival of several among them, as much-needed public funding is being squeezed, and artist fees continue to go spiralling up.

To the north, things are not much easier : “People are sacrificing the luxury of a concert or festival,” sighed one promoter as we discussed her realities. “The prices are not going down and we’re all feeling the economic pinch.” She was working on an unpretentious and enjoyable festival a couple of hours drive south of Paris called Tous sur le Pont. It had just pulled off a tour de force by programming the ageless Iggy Pop and The Stooges for their first French gig featuring their new album The Weirdness. What a wild and whacky evening that was in the courtyard of the Blois Castle. I mean, what would Louis XII have made of this sexagenarian writhing like an iguana to his madcap lyrics, as he looked down from his regal horse ? It was an occasion of endless fun.

Les Nuits Atypiques, southeast of Bordeaux, is another gathering worth checking out. Between July 26 and 29, it invites a rich smattering of quality artists, headed by the gifted Jubran Brothers (Palestine), Romano Drom (Hungary) and the Miyazaki Trio (Japan). The festival has been hard-hit financially in the past few years, yet it continues to pull out an original and challenging programme. Their mixture of music, debate, cinema and theatre aims at reshaping our Euro-centric vision of the world and its socio-cultural realities. Behind this 16th edition is a dedicated group of individuals who have also set up the plucky music label Daqui.

Such manifestations deserve public support for keeping prices reasonable and offering help and services with the right balance of efficiency and friendliness. The lack of both is what keeps me away from festivals like Sud à Arles, Africa Festival and WOMAD. Their smug confidence in a routine turnout of the masses has made them unpleasant hang-outs for music fans keen on discovering new and unusual names in a congenial atmosphere. (I’m sure I’ll be receiving a few letters after that comment, but this Editorial space is also here for me to give my half-cent’s worth. Your reactions are welcome). So much choice out there, so little need to waste one’s energy with aggressive people more set on their own egos than on creating a convivial atmosphere around quality music.

By just Googling “world music festivals 2007”, you come up with over 100 million references. On the first page you’ll fall on summer gatherings in California (Frogtown!), Namur, Budapest and the island of Borneo. The latter is where I’m off, once I return from the exciting fourth edition of the Timitar festival in Agadir, Morocco. The Rainforest World Music Festival, in the Malaysian part of this remarkable island, is celebrating its tenth year in 2007. This is a wonderful occasion to explore the little-reported Malaysian music scene on the world’s third-largest island. It will also be interesting to see how Tarika Be, Huun Huur Tu and the a capella group Black Umfolosi, from Zimbabwe, make out in this stunning setting.

Then I hop onto another island, this time in the Indian Ocean. La Réunion is the paradise setting for the fourth edition of Sakifo. The five days of festivities are programmed for August 1 to 5, and they have a mouth-watering list of artists which include Ayo, Ismael Lo, Winston MacAnuff, Neneh Cherry and Jamika. Behind this flurry of musical exchange is again a dedicated group of music lovers who have spent much of their lives promoting the cultural wealth of the island. It is largely thanks to them that the likes of Daniel Waro, Ziskakan, Baster and René Lacaille have been able to export their Reunion Island music so successfully. They continue to groom emerging talents like Jaboticaba, a folk-blues trio that so impressed the audience at the last Printemps de Bourges festival. Without such devotion, websites like this one would be all the more impoverished.

Back in September !

July 2007 (webremix.info)

Art Cinema Chain Expands

A new five-screen Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson (CNSJ) complex will be opening in the new Cedar Square development in Fourways, Johannesburg on 13 July 2007. A further two CNSJ-complexes are scheduled to open in Bedfordview and Lonehill, Johannesburg, early next year, bringing the total of complexes dedicated to art cinema across South Africa to eight. (webremix.info)

South Africa: Nu Metro Blinks First in Ticket Price War

THE cinema tickets price war that broke out in 2005 between Ster Kinekor and Nu Metro has come to a grinding halt, with Nu Metro owner Johnnic Communications throwing in the towel on the experiment yesterday. (webremix.info)

South Africa: Cinevation Takes Home Fourth Media Lion

Karen Bailey and Marisa Torrani, joint directors and brand activation gurus at Cinevation, is bringing another Media Lion home from Cannes. The Johannesburg-based company's entry, Xbox Live, secured them a Cannes Media Lion in the Best Use of Cinema Category earlier this week. (webremix.info)

Ousmane, Father Of S...

"He was someone who went to the very end of what he sought to do."

Sembene Ousmane, the father of Senegalese cinema and one of the pioneers of the art in Africa, died at his home over the weekend after a long illness. via CFRB

(webremix.info)

Ousmane, Father of Senegalese Cinema, Dies

Sembene Ousmane, the father of Senegalese cinema and one of the pioneers of the art in Africa, died at his home over the weekend after a long illness. He was 84. (webremix.info)

A Filmmaker Who Found Africa's Voice

"What was unique about Sembene was he began to challenge the dominant figure, Senghor"

Ousmane Sembene , by consensus the father of African cinema, was nearly 40 when he started making films. via New York Times

(webremix.info)

Ousmane Sembene, 84, the Dean of African Cinema, Joins the Ancestors

"He really is the most important African filmmaker. The one that all subsequent filmmakers have to be measured against."

June 11, 2007 Ousmane Semb ne, 84, Dies; Led Cinema's Advance in Africa By A. O. SCOTT New York Times Ousmane Semb ne, the Senegalese filmmaker and writer who was a crucial figure in Africa's postcolonial ... via Pan-African News Wire

(webremix.info)

Director Sembene, Father of African Cinema

Ousmane Sembene was one of the most important writers of sub-Saharan Africa. He was also, arguably, its most important filmmaker. Sembene's novels and short stories gained international acclaim, but since many of his own people could not read, he started making movies. (webremix.info)

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