Alcoholic beverage producer and parent company of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Diageo, has disclosed moves to search for talented African film-makers for the production of its Guinness Africa Made of More Programme, a global TV commercial for Guinness. For this reason, the company has introduced a competition for film-makers.
According to a statement by the company , the theme of the competition is Guinness Made of More and it is open to anyone passionate about film-making.
“It underscores Diageo’s pioneering approach to marketing and its belief that some of the richest and untapped creative talent resides in Africa and that talent should be celebrated the world over,” the statement read.
Commenting on the programme, Managing Director of Guinness Nigeria Plc., Seni Adetu, said, Guinness was proud to be a part of the landmark project and wished all the contenders the best as they showcase the rich and unique creativity of the African Continent and make everyone proud.
“Guinness will fund the winning film to run on Pan-African TV, showcasing the winning film-maker’s work as well as bringing the winner back to Cannes Lions in 2014 giving them a global stage,” he said.
Fifteen film makers have been selected from several countries across Africa including Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania and they will showcase the Guinness Made of More theme through compelling stories.
According to the statement, grants and bursaries will also be offered to help create a viable platform for film-makers to start their productions.
“Ultimately, the project will create opportunities to document how people across the continent set out to find and tell the story of what makes themselves, their community, town, region, country or continent ‘Made of More’,” it said.
On his part, Director, Marketing and Innovation of Guinness Nigeria, Austin Ufomba, said the programme will take place over the next 12 months, during which Diageo will provide mentoring, educational tools and inspiration to encourage young creative talent to bring to life the Guinness Made of More campaign and show through film what it means to them.
“We believe that Africa, especially Nigeria can inspire brilliant creativity and with this project we are simply providing a platform to showcase that. We feel that this Guinness project can actively help give African creativity and talent the global stage it deserves. I sincerely believe that Guinness will be back from Cannes in 2014 with an award-winning film from Africa,” he said.
