Two Nigerians are a part of this year’s edition of the six-day Berlinale Talents programme which ends today in Berlin, Germany. They are Eric Aghimien, a director, producer, screenwriter and editor as well as Oris Aigbokhaevbolo, a film critic and freelance journalist.
The knowledge Aghimien got from online and books led him to make his first feature film, A Mile from Home, which has won multiple awards since it was released in 2013. The awards include the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) and the 10th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). The movie also won 2014 Nollywood Movies Awards Best Movie, Golden Icons Academy Awards (US) Best Director and Best Drama.
The film, which stars Tope Tedela, Chiedozie Sambasa Nzeribe, Alex Ayalogu, Eric Nwanso and Tolu Akinbileje, has since been released to DVD. Tedela, for his portrayal of Lala, a university student with an identity crisis who joins a notorious gang to get revenge, won best actor in a drama at the AMVCA last year.
Aigbokhaevbolo is a film critic invested in reviewing films from the Nigerian film industry and in the exchange between multiple cinema cultures.
He studied pharmacy at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Nigeria and lives in Abuja.
Every year, 300 emerging film professionals from various disciplines and from all over the world are invited to take part in Berlinale Talents.