Celebrating Nigeria and America’s Growing Cultural Ties

Nollywood and creative industry stars were treated to an elegant reception at the home of the US Consul General recently. The occasion was to celebrate the U.S Mission’s continuous support to the recently held Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) and the burgeoning cultural ties between Nigeria and America.

Amidst noshes and music, the contributions of the US mission to AFRIFF’s 10th anniversary was rolled out. It included a grant to conduct two workshops, one for young animators and another for post-production creatives, in collaboration with the American Film Showcase and Global Media Makers. Also, Smithsonian National Museum for African History and Culture participated in the festival and announced that the Nigerian-American artist Ike Ude’s Nollywood Portraits will be opening in Washington DC. The project will be in three parts according to Project Director Osahon Akpata. It will feature an exhibition, a coffee table book and a documentary film. Other U.S. entertainment companies that participated in the festival include Amazon, Macro and Paramount.

In her remarks, Ambassador Mary Beth Leonard hailed the creative industry.
“I am proud of the U.S. Mission’s contributions to this year’s AFRIFF. Our goal is to build the capacity of emerging filmmakers on animation and post-production, two areas that could lead to tremendous growth in Nigeria’s film industry.”

The reception is coming on the heels of the US Mission signing a Memorandum of Understanding to preserve the Busanyin Shrine within the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove through the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation Grant.
The Mission said it is committed to supporting programmes that bring American cultural leaders to Nigeria to meet, exchange ideas and collaborate with Nigerian cultural leaders.