Tosin Clegg
Nollywood actor Kalu Ikeagwu, who starred in an Ugandan collaborative film “Kafacoh” has won the Best Actor Award at this year’s African Film Festival,TAFF. Other winners includes, Cameroonian actress, Stephanie Tum who won the Best Actress Award for her role in the film “When the Levees Broke.’
The Best Narrative Feature Film award went to “Crystal – Countless Misfortune” from Uganda; while the Best Documentary Feature was “Mamody, The Last Baoba Digger” from Madagascar. The festival which showcases African films in diaspora recently held it’s 8th edition in Dallas, Texas, the United States. It held between June 1 and 3rd at Dallas College-Richland Campus and witnessed screening of 50 films submitted for this year.
As usual, in attendance were filmmakers from different African countries and the United States who celebrated the exploration of Africa and its diaspora through the global lens and voices of talented filmmakers. Participants enjoyed culturally rich narratives, documentaries, short stories among other activities that made this year’s festival an experience of a life time.
Meanwhile, the highpoint of the festival was the awards ceremony, which held at SMU – Dallas Hall on Saturday night, June 3. The show kicked off with fashionable red-carpet appearances captured by many paparazzis. Anchored by US-based comedian, Edo Charles, the show featured performances from Nigerian-born Lanre Teriba, Naira Ali of Uganda, and NaturalVybz of St. Lucia.
A total of fourteen awards were presented by a host of nationals from Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Gambia, Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, and the United States. In addition, honorary awards were also presented to local leaders including Dr. Opal Lee, who received the TAFF Legend Award for 2023.
In his speech during the awards show, the Founder and Director of The African Film Festival, Kelechi Eke, congratulated colleagues and filmmakers for the relentless effort in telling the African stories.
He urged them to continue the good work they are known for, and ensure that African stories is not being told by outsiders. He also thanked the Dallas African community for the support they have continue to give the festival and filmmakers that showcase their work on the platform each year. Eke, however, promised to continue in his desire to bridge cultures through films and to keep shining the spotlight on African films. He also announced that receiving of entries for the 2024 edition has begun in earnest.
