NIGERIA struggled to set up and only managed to put up one pavilion, almost two days after the 66th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival opened in Cannes, South of France. Believed to be the biggest and well attended in the world, the Opening Ceremony of the festival took place at the Grand Theatre Lumière.

A well-rendered song by Emeli Sandé, from the film The Color Purple by Steven Spielberg preceded the introduction of members of the feature film jury led by Jury President Steven Spielberg. Other members are Vidya Balan, Naomi Kawase, Nicole Kidman, Lynne Ramsay, Daniel Auteuil, Ang Lee, Cristian Mungiu, and Christoph Waltz. The Festival was declared open by Leonardo DiCaprio and Indian legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan and the ceremony continued with the screening Out of Competition of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, with the key members of the movie crew in attendance.

Though an advance party, mostly officials of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) arrived Cannes, early enough, but it took some time for them to set up the very austere Nigerian pavilion situated on the grounds of cinema of all nations. There is nothing in the pavilion except for a few literatures that require updating that the officials of the NFC brought to share and some films, majorly short films, made by students of the National Film Institute (NFI), which has been on continuous play on a small screen in the pavilion.

The pavilion, as in the past, serves as melting point for Nigerian motion picture practitioners attending the Cannes; most Nigerian practitioners attending the Cannes and Journalists too however feel that the NFC should do more than hosting an austere pavilion at the Cannes. They want the NFC to begin to think, from this edition, of facilitating a major showcase of Nigerian films and filmmakers in Cannes next year.

Observers want the NFC to borrow a leaf from their South African counterpart, the South Africa Film and Video Foundation (SFVF) who stormed Cannes last year and are back this year with a rich showcase of South African films and filmmakers.  The South African pavilion is so well laid out, decorated and equipped that a first time festival guest thinks for once that he is in Johannesburg seeking a co-production deal with the authorities.

Last year, the South African delegation returned to Johannesburg with a pouch filled with deals, which individual filmmakers and or the South African National Film & Video Foundation (NFVF) working in association with the Department of Arts & Culture (DAC) struck. The two bodies led a South African delegation of about 130 filmmakers to the festival, the highest so far when compared to the previous years. Both bodies also showcased 12 feature films and 8 documentaries at the festival.

Officials of the NFVF say the goal is to demonstrate that South African cinema can compete on the international stage, and demonstrate that stories by South African filmmakers can resonate in the international market place. Besides, the NFVF and the DAC confirmed the signing of a co-production treaty with Ireland. The treaty according to the head of the NFVF, will enable productions from both territories to qualify for the different incentives associated with home-grown content and enable collaborations between producers.

It will be recalled that South Africa already has co-production treaties with countries like Canada, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Australia and New Zealand. Already, films like Skin, (SA/UK), and The Bang Bang Club (SA/Canada), were produced under these treaties. Nigeria has no known production treaty with any country and even if it has, it has not been activated so it can be of benefit to filmmakers.

The South African’s are back in Cannes this year, even more organised and strategically positioned than they were in 2012. Same thing for Kenya, who came to Cannes this year (2013) well prepared and made Nigeria’s participation appear like a ‘jamboree’. The Kenya Film Commission got the organisers of the Cannes filmfest to make Kenya film industry the focus of the Cannes film market. This effort has been taken in accordance to the signed cooperation agreement and to maximize on the great opportunity that Kenya has been offered by France to be the Country in Focus at the Cannes Film Festival where Kenya will showcase its creative dynamism within the artistic and economic field. That offer provides a great opportunity for Kenya and specifically the film industry to expose its works as well as connect and network with the rest of the world.

Also as a country of focus, Kenya, which did not place anywhere on the contentious 2005 UNESCO rating, has provided the opportunity for its filmmakers to promote local film productions, access professional training and international distribution with commercial distributors attending the Cannes as well as participate at the various filmmakers networking sessions. There are also boundless opportunities for contacts to be made for various exchange programmes including student exchange programmes. A producer’s Network forum organised by the Cannes Film Market will hold before the close of the festival on May 25. Six Kenyan top producers have been invited and fully sponsored to participate in the Producer’s Network forum by the Kenyan and French Government.

The forum as an official of the Kenyan Film Commission explained is expected to provide a platform for the producers to talk, expose the cinematographic industry of Kenya and showcase their work to about thirty French and internationally renowned film producers interested in African projects. There is indeed no doubt that the event will enable young and experienced Kenyan film professionals to broaden their scope of film distribution and expertise on film production, exchange of information, access to international financial support, and finding co-producers. This is the kind of support the Nigerian filmmakers say they expect from the NFC and not the rush to always set up a pavilion without a deliberate agenda of providing filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their works and expose the cinematographic industry to the rest of the world.

They therefore want the NFC, especially now that it has a new leadership to rethink the level of its participation in future editions. They contend that it is no longer enough to just mount a pavilion. The NFC must begin now to prepare to lead a Nigerian delegation of filmmakers with something to present to the world in Cannes in 2014.