In 2015 Didi Cheeka (Lagos Film Society) was looking for a space to hold film events when he came across some old film reels that were part of the holdings of the National Film, Video and Sound Archive, under the umbrella of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) in Jos. He initiated the project “Reclaiming History, Unveiling Memory.” When visiting the spaces with some colleagues from the Arsenal he discovered reels containing the 1976 film SHAIHU UMAR by Adamu Halilu (Forum 2018), which was then restored in Berlin. With the support of the German Federal Office it has been possible to install a film scanner in Jos, so that more of the holdings can be digitized there. Since 2016 “Think Film – Archival Constellations” has presented annual updates on the progress of this cooperation, which is being participated in by more and more people in Lagos, Jos, Berlin and now also in Frankfurt/Main und Cairo.
This time the first material scanned in Jos will be screened. Maged Nader, a representative of the Cimatheque in Cairo, which has the same scanner (Edeltraud), took part in the digitization. In addition, Sonia Campanini will present the masters study program “Film Culture: Archiving, Programming, Presentation”, which the Goethe University has been offering in Frankfurt/Main since 2013 and which is now also being introduced in Nigeria with the support of the DAAD. Project partners of the Goethe University include the NFC, but also the University of Jos, the Deutsche Filminstitut & Filmmuseum in Frankfurt/Main, the Arsenal and the Lagos Film Society.
Didi Cheeka is an off-Nollywood filmmaker and critic. He is the co-founder and curator of Lagos Film Society.
Maged Nader, born in Cairo, Egypt, is a filmmaker and program coordinator at Cimatheque – Alternative Film Centre in Cairo.
Sonia Campanini is professor of Film Culture at the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main.
Edmund Peters serves as head of the Industry Support Services Unit of the Nigerian Film Corporation.
Stefanie Schulte Strathaus is co-director of the Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art in Berlin and founding director of Forum Expanded.
All panels, talks, and presentations in English.
