Managing Director/CEO of DVWORX Limited, a film/TV management company, Femi Odugbemi, was on Wednesday confirmed as director of the Multichoice Talent Factory Academy.
The project is a fully-funded 12-month training programme for African filmmakers through the Multichoice Talent Factory Academy.
It is aimed at furnishing African filmmakers with the skills to work and innovate in film and television production.
With a vision of producing top filmmakers across Africa, the academy will benefit from Odugbemi’s vast experience in motion picture production.
Before you go scratching your head about who Femi Odugbemi is, here are seven facts about him.
- Schooled in the United States of America
Odugbemi attended Montana State University in the United States of America where he studied film and television production. Having completed his education in the university, he worked briefly as film and radio producer at Lintas Advertising.
- Distinguished producer
Odugbemi produced Tinsel, a widely acclaimed soap opera that started airing in August 2008 and celebrated as a successful drama on Nigerian television. The producer’s filmmaking credits include Gidi Blues, Battleground, Maroko and Bariga Boy.
- Seasoned scriptwriter
In 2013, Odugbemi scripted and directed a documentary titled, Literature, Language, and Literalism about the late Nigerian writer, Daniel O. Fagunwa, the author of Ă’gbĂłjĂş Ọdáşą nĂnĂş IgbĂł IrĂşnmalẹ̀.
- A voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
He received a formal invitation on June 26, 2018, to become a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the United States of America.
- No rookie filmmaker
In 2008, he produced Abobaku, a short film directed by Niji Akanni. The film won the Most Outstanding Short Film at the Zuma Film Festival held in 2010 and Best Costume at the 6th Africa Movie Academy Awards in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
His critically-acclaimed film Bariga Boy won Best documentary at the 2010 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). He has also received the 2010 Afropop Prize sponsored by the National Black Programming and Consortium in the United State.
- Former ITPAN president
Odugbemi became president of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN) in 2002. His tenure ended in 2006. As president of ITPAN, he worked assiduously to create international platforms of collaborations and cooperation amongst motion picture practitioners within the African continent.
- AMVCA head judge
Odugbemi was a three-time head judge of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award (AMVCA) from 2013 to 2015. The current head judge, Debbie Odutayo, has been on the award jury since inception in 2013.
