With the documentary, 'Give us this day!', Joseph Duke, one of the 20 finalists of the Sahara Group's sponsored 'Grooming Film Extrapreneurs' with Kun
With the documentary, ‘Give us this day!’, Joseph Duke, one of the 20 finalists of the Sahara Group’s sponsored ‘Grooming Film Extrapreneurs’ with Kunle Afolayan, Joseph Duke emerged winner of the keenly competed competition. The documentary which highlighted the challenges faced by entrepreneurs, including a story about caring for special needs children was one of the 150 entries received in the competition which began in June 2016, an initiative designed to identify and empower young film makers in Nigeria and in commemoration of Sahara Group’s 20th anniversary. While Chinenye Balogun emerged first runner up, Alabi Kayode emerged the second runner up with entries that showcased the creativity and resilience of Nigerian entrepreneurs.
While announcing the winners, the Group Executive Director, Sahara Group, Tonye Cole, congratulated the finalists for rising up to the challenge of taking their craft to the next level.He further added that the competition was part of Sahara Group’s contribution to the development and growth of the Nigerian economy and that the 20 finalists will be inducted into Sahara Group’s ‘extrapreneurship’ hub where young entrepreneurs can access support to nurse their dreams to fruition.
For foremost film maker, Kunle Afolayan who led the screening of the entries based on sound, lighting, production design and quality, he wasn’t only impressed by the documentaries, he believes that the final 20 not only have the potential to do much more, but are expectedly, the next big success stories to emerge from Nigeria. He however admonished them to take their production value very seriously in other not to mar the success of any movie project/documentary they embark upon.
The winner is expected to undertake a six-month internship with Kunle Afolayan, while all the three top finalists will attend the 2017 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France with the support of Sahara Group.
Besides being grateful to Sahara Group, for the opportunity, he is more than looking forward to hone his skills with the film maker.
With his win, the foundation for the next success stories in Nigeria’s film industry has obviously been laid.
The competition requires young filmmakers to create a 15-minute documentary that captures and celebrates entrepreneurs at work across the nation, using the theme: ‘My Nigeria, My Platform…Nigeria through an entrepreneur’s eyes’.
