Enjoy this look back at +234 Connect: A Celebration of Nigerian Creativity.
Archived film previews, masterclasses, conversations with filmmakers, and artist talks as we highlighted the art of Nollywood, engage with African creativity and expression, and engage the global African diaspora. Inspired by the museum’s exhibitions Iké Udé: Portraits of Nollywood and Before Nollywood: The Ideal Photo Studio.
Living in Bondage
Okey Ogunjiofor (producer/writer), and Muhyi Ali (moderator) discuss Living in Bondage (1992) and how it sparked the beginnings of Nollywood. Excerpts of the film will be used as points of reference. We encourage you to watch the full film Living in Bondage on YouTube before joining the conversation.
Seeing Ourselves: African Beauty, Identity, and Representation
Join visionary leaders transforming the imagery of African art, photography, and film as they explore the nuances of representation. This robust conversation considers the importance of representing African identity through art.
Panelists (L – R)
- Ngaire Blankenberg (moderator), director, National Museum of African Art
- Iké Udé, multimedia artist
- Yolanda Okereke, costume designer and stylist
- Mimi Bartels, executive producer, Obara’m and head of production, Filmone
Short Film Screening + Conversation
Join emerging filmmakers Akinola Davies, Boma Iluma, Orire Nwani, and The Critics in conversation after viewing four short films. Moderated by Muhyi Ali.
Akinola Davies
Boma Iluma
Orire Nwani
The Critics Company
Post-screening conversation
Naked Woman
A single mother’s mistrust and projection of her life mistakes on her daughter culminate in a powerful confrontation that could create an irreparable rift between them. Directed by Orire Nwani.
Ogun Óla: War Is Coming
Óla, a brash teenager who discovers he is the reincarnation of a demigod, spirals into destiny unprepared for the events that come as a result of this discovery. Directed by The Critics Company.
Comfort
After an ICE raid, a Nigerian immigrant father must tell his son why his mother is not coming home. Directed by Boma Iluma.
Lizard
An 8-year-old girl with an ability to sense danger gets ejected from Sunday school service. She unwittingly witnesses the underbelly in and around a Mega Church in Lagos. Directed by Akinola Davies.
Black Mail Film Screening + Conversation
Based on real life events and as a poignant allegory for the present, Black Mail centers on an actor and family man whose internet history is used against him by Russian criminals in a game of cyber cat and mouse that takes everyone to the edge of destruction. Screening followed by a conversation with director Obi Emelonye and actor O.C. Ukeje; moderated by Torell Shavone.
Obi Emelonye
O.C. Ukeje
Global Africa & Nollywood Conversation
Join trailblazing women revolutionizing the industry for a compelling conversation about the global impact of Nigerian film industry on art and stories of Nollywood.
Panelists (L – R)
- Tope Oshin, director of Here Love Lies
- Chioma Ude, entrepreneur and executive director of AFRIFF
- Ngaire Blankenberg, director, National Museum of African Art
- Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, renowned Nollywood actress
Nollywood in Focus Film Screening + Conversation
Nollywood in Focus is an intriguing portrait of Nigeria’s burgeoning film industry, which has emerged into prominence as the second largest producer of film content globally. Directed by renowned photographer and artist Iké Udé, over 40 Nollywood personalities—from established actors and directors to emerging stars—share their views on the challenges and opportunities in the Nigerian film industry. The film is a celebration of an industry that has, against all odds. gained global recognition as an independent, self-sustaining film industry run by Africans for Africans. Followed by a conversation with the filmmakers, Iké Udé and Osahon Akpata.
Invasion 1897 Film Screening
Igie Ehanire is a research student who becomes more perturbed as he learns about the injustice of the British invasion of Benin. The film re-enacts the historical events that culminated in the February 1897 invasion, destruction, and looting of the ancient West African kingdom of Benin, and the deposition and exile of its once powerful king. Directed by Lancelot Imasuen.
Lancelot Imasuen
Restitution and the Benin Bronzes Conversation
Join thought leaders as they discuss the evolution of restitution and the Benin bronzes.
Panelists (L – R)
- Ngaire Blankenberg, director, National Museum of African Art
- Abba Isa Tijani, director general of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments
- Lancelot Imasuen, director of Invasion 1897
- Victor Ehikhamenor, multimedia artist, photographer and writer
