By Priscilla Osaje

Dr Ali Nuhu, Managing Director, Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), says the screening of Nigeria’s thriller movie “77: The FESTAC Conspiracy” dazzled the international audience at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in France.

Nuhu, through NFC’s Director of Public Affairs, Brian Etuk, said the preview of the historical film made a strong statement that thundered Nigeria’s cinematic influence at the festival.

“The interplay of Nigeria’s cinema, its cross-border influence and international audience acceptance and the renaissance of African cinema was the centrepiece of the special screening.

“The “77: The FESTAC Conspiracy” is, in some ways, a major reflection on the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC 77) and remains a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s creative and cinematic history in 1977.

“Resurrecting FESTAC 77, 49 years after, through the film, is a thrill and relieves enduring memories of the event that took place almost 5 decades ago.

“For decades, as the red carpets of the Cannes Film Festival unfurled for cinematic giants, Nigeria, Africa’s most prolific film industry, remained conspicuously absent from its hallowed official selections.

“However, history cracked open its doors as Nigeria stormed the Croisette with a landmark of the highly anticipated preview of “77: The FESTAC Conspiracy”,” he said.

Nuhu said that the moment was strategic for attracting vital support and resources to Nigeria’s film industry.

He explained that, in the high-stakes arena where arthouse cinema crowns its royalty, Nigeria’s presence was not merely a courtesy appearance; it was a thunderous declaration of her artistic arrival, saying “FESTAC 77 was symbolic”.

Nuhu emphasised that the Cannes Festival embodied Nigeria’s audacious vision as a “continental creative powerhouse”, adding that it is a vision the NFC is reigniting.

He said that “77: The FESTAC Conspiracy,” directed by Izu Ojukwu and produced by Adonis Productions, is far more than a period piece.

“The film reunites the powerhouse duo of Ramsey Nouah and Rita Dominic, reprising their roles as Captain Joseph Dewa and Suzy from the acclaimed political thriller “76.”

“Nigeria’s outing at the 2025 Cannes film festival was indeed a success,” Nuhu added. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Joseph Edeh