Xavier Ogheneovo Ighorodje

Funsho Arogundade

Xavier Ogheneovo Ighorodje, an alumnus of the just concluded Africa International Film Festival, AFRIFF Scriptwriting Class 2015, has been declared the winner of the 48-hour Film Challenge in Nigeria.

Xavier, a chemical engineer turned writer, directed and wrote the winning movie titled ‘The Truth About B.A.E’, a psychological drama about how a girl who had a unique way of projecting her grief on her closest companions in order to deal with them, becomes key to understanding her condition.

“I had heard about the 48 hour film challenge Lagos but I didn’t think it was authentic until I got into the AFRIFF trainee programme (Screenwriting) and during one of their sessions on documentary, the conveyor of the project (Mr. Ike Nnaebue) came to talk to us. Asides the fact that this validated the authenticity of the competition, a huge chunk of the talents featured on the project were AFRIFF 2015 trainee actresses I had met one way or the other during the duration of the just concluded festival. Needless to say, without the safe haven created by AFRIFF for upcoming community of creatives to meet and interact and consequently collaborate, this project wouldn’t have been possible,” said Xavier.

Xavier Ogheneovo Ighorodje at work

The much-talked-about AFRIFF has become a reference point as a far-reaching African film festival and the best to ever come out of Africa.

The 48-Hour Film Challenge, inspired by Mark Ruppert and Liz Langston, is sponsored by Movie Magic Screenwriter Version 6 and Pond 5.

It was brought to Nigeria by Ike Nnaebue, a prominent Nigerian filmmaker during The Africa International Film Festival.

The Challenge is a contest in which teams of filmmakers are required to make a movie – write, shoot, and edit – in just 48 hours.

Winners from various countries qualify for the international challenge to screen their films at Filmapalooza, a filmmaking Olympic village, as they compete for the international title of Best Film.

Xavier team’s winning entry for the 48-hour film challenge won the awards for best writing, best actress, best directing and best film.

‘The truth about B.A.E’ is representing Nigeria at the Filmapalooza film festival in Atlanta, United States where other film challenge winners from around the world would gather.

The team leader also gets an all expense paid trip to the festival, while the film would be screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, France.