Award winning Nigerian actress Nse Ikpe-Etim has been asked by the Nigerian Students Association, Harvard University to be a part of a distinguished panel to share with the world the growth and potential of the Nigerian film industry, “Nollywood” as it is popularly called on the 1st to 3rd of October 2010 at the University.
The organizers choice of Nse as one of the panelists is apparent in their citation “Nse is a rising actress with rapidly increasing popularity among fans of Nollywood and the potential to cross over globally due to her dynamic talent and flawless portrayal of her characters as witnessed in hugely successful award winning films like, Reloaded and Guilty Pleasures” She recently won the award for Best Actress in a Film/ Short Story at the Nigerian Entertainment Awards in New York and was nominated for Best Leading Actress at the African Movie Academy Awards for her role in the film Reloaded, considered a feat as it was her debut film after a long break from the Nollywood scene.
The Special Guest of Honor at this event is, Ms. Amber Rasberry, Creative Executive of Tyler Perry`s 34th Street Films a former Executive in the film development department at New Line Cinema. She assisted in the development of SEX AND THE CITY: THE MOVIE and RUSH HOUR 3. She is invited to encourage thoughtful discourse on the relevance of Nollywood for African Americans and the African American focused film industry, as well as encourage the cross fertilization of ideas between the Tyler Perry vision for filmmaking and Nollywood film themes.
Other panelists include Nigeria’s most celebrated producer and director Tunde Kelani, CEO, Mainframe Productions, who will discuss his vision of the importance of infusing culture within films produced in Nigeria. Founder of African Movie Academy Awards (Africa’s Oscars), Peace Anyiam Fiberesima will address the history, landmarks, and successes of Nollywood in Africa and abroad. Chioma Nwagboso - World Bank Finance & Private Sector Specialist leads the World Bank project that uses Nollywood as an avenue for furthering development in Nigeria. Dr. Edward Valla, Intelligence Analyst, FBI in Boston will discuss challenges and solutions in combating media piracy in America, from an FBI perspective and Colin Maclay, Managing Director, Berkman Center for Internet and Society is to discuss how Nollywood can work with Media Pirates along with ICT tools to tackle Copyright and Piracy Issues.
