Catholic TV of Nigeria Wins Big at SIGNIS Film Fest

Catholic TV of Nigeria Wins Big at SIGNIS Film Fest

Catholic TV of Nigeria Wins Big at SIGNIS Film Fest

Daily Trust || By Adie Vanessa Offiong || 09 December 2017

ctv of nigeria wins big at signis fest 2017The Catholic Television of Nigeria (CTV) stole the show last weekend in Enugu, at the maiden edition of the SIGNIS Nigeria Film Festival.

The two and a half year’s work that went into the production of its nine-track music video album, ‘AFRICA CREDO,’paid off. It beat 18 other contestants to win five awards for Best Video, Best Audio, Best Cinematography, Best Music Video and Best Film Director.

Following a call for entries from October 10 to November 15, for films, documentaries and music videos, were submitted from across Nigeria for the competition, to the Directorate of Communication, Catholic Secretariat Abuja and to the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, University of Port Harcourt. 

Chairman of the jury, Rev. Dr. Innocent Uwah, in an interview with Daily Trust said, “We were looking out for works that effectively communicated hope, faith and could improve gospel values in communication. 

“When the entries were screened, AFRICAN CREDO stood out for its aesthetics, cinematography and also for the fact that it applied the rudiments of audio visual communication. The sound was well synchronised and the camera angles told stories. The cinematography was done with a lot of expertise.”

Director of the Abuja-based TV station, Rev. Dr. Patrick Tor Alumuku told Daily Trust that he was overwhelmed by the prizes and was grateful to the judges and organisers, for them. 

Alumuku who said the festival was a commendable initiative especially as it aims to promote human and spiritual values, spoke about how the album came to be.

He said, “When we began CTV and contemplated the possibility of a 24-hour channel, we knew we would need Catholic music which isn’t common when you consider something with broadcast quality. We then decided to produce our own and wanted to be sure it would be a laudable piece of work that would give our audience an idea of where we were headed.

“We worked on principles because we were concerned about the impact it would have on the viewer and so we invested a great deal in our use of the camera, quality of sound and picture. I also think the large number of vocalists added to our advantage.”

Speaking at the event, Nollywood veteran, Chief Pete Edochie praised the work of the organisers and took a jab at the clergyman saying the ceremony should have been called ‘Alumuku’s festival.’ He said it was almost certain that each time the nominees were called out, Fr. Alumuku would receive the award. 

Edochie also praised SIGNIS for establishing a film festival in Enugu, where Nollywood was born.

Credo is the Latin word for ‘I believe’ – a chant Catholics sing at every Sunday Mass. “It is a sing along, with beautiful rhythm and lyrics so much so that even the Pentecostals among the production crew members soon began to sing it,” the priest said.

Explaining the idea behind the album’s title, which is also the name of the theme track, the clergy said listening to Africans from all over the world at an African Mass in the Diocese of Southwark, as they sang the song, further convinced him about christening it so. “This event made me realise it would be acceptable to all Africans,” he said, adding that, “the other eight songs are some of the most popular trending songs in the church not only in Nigeria but also in many African countries.”

The award-winning AFRICAN CREDO was brought to life by the no less than 500-man team with the lead vocalist, Sir Jude Nnam supported by choristers of the Catholic Archdiocese Choir of Abuja which is made up of members choirs of all the parishes in the Archdiocese of Abuja. 

Alumuku dedicated the prizes to John Cardinal Onaiyekan, Nnam and staff of the Department of Social Communications in the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja as well as those of the CTV.

For team CTV which has begun the test-transmission of its 24-hour channel the wins are only an indication of the quality of its production which will soon become its trademark in this new era of digital broadcasting in Nigeria.

SIGNIS, the organizers of the event, is the International Media Association for Catholics. It was founded on November 21, 2001 from the merger of Unda (International Catholic Association for Radio and Television) and OCIC (International Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audiovisuals), both founded in 1928. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, SIGNIS has national bodies in various countries which promote the production of film, video and audio materials as content for broadcast and catechetical purposes. It will hold the festival in Nigeria as an annual event.

Source: Daily Trust…

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