In our (IREP) upcoming 14th edition, in the third week of March, we invite participants to immerse themselves in films that provoke introspection. These documentaries encapsulate the genuine struggles, triumphs, errors, and insights of individuals and communities worldwide. By understanding that these are not fictional narratives but real people facing real challenges, we foster a deeper empathy that transcends borders and transcends time. We have themed the IREP festival for 2024 ‘Righting the Future’ and it is also a celebration edition for Prof. Wole Soyinka on this year of his 90th birthday
AS we usher in a new year, I hope we all really recognize that the significance of this temporal milestone extends beyond the rotation of the lunar calendar. And rather than fixating on the numerical change, we can view it as a prime opportunity for profound introspection and a collective commitment to reset our perspectives.
Time, in its essence, is a relentless force that ceaselessly propels us forward. The new year only serves as a designated juncture for us to pause, assess, and recalibrate. It is a canvas upon which we can paint the aspirations of a better future by drawing inspiration from the lessons of our past. Regrettably, humans often exhibit a lackluster appreciation for their history. Yet, within the annals of our collective journey lie the blueprints for a more enlightened and compassionate future. To truly evolve, we must confront our errors head-on and pledge to avoid their repetition.
Enter the realm of documentary culture—a vital component of the creative industry that captures, in vivid detail, our historical narrative. I and my distinguished colleagues, Makin Soyinka, Jahman Anikulapo, Theo Lawson, Awam Amkpa, and Niyi Coker, recognized this inherent value many years ago, prompting the creation of the IREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival Lagos. The IREP platform is not merely a celebration of cinematic artistry; it is our deliberate effort to engage young African minds, both as creators and consumers, in the profound experience of documenting our shared history. An effort to underscore the vital importance of questioning realities and connecting historical dots, and the agent provocateurs of our present.
In our upcoming 14th edition, in the third week of March, we invite participants to immerse themselves in films that provoke introspection. These documentaries encapsulate the genuine struggles, triumphs, errors, and insights of individuals and communities worldwide. By understanding that these are not fictional narratives but real people facing real challenges, we foster a deeper empathy that transcends borders and transcends time. We have themed the IREP festival for 2024 ‘Righting the Future’ and it is also a celebration edition for Prof. Wole Soyinka on this year of his 90th birthday.
The theme is deliberate. And hopefully provocative in this season of political anomalies and leadership failures. Dive into the shallow waters of our social media and you experience the ignorance, idiocy, illiteracy, and disconnections that profile the youth population of our continent. And they are the real ‘prophecy’ of our future in human form. Our young are digital natives with minimal skills for introspection or logical reasoning. They are all-in defending narrow identities of ethnicity in a globalized world. They are keen to demean and diminish their nation and ancestry to prove their sophistication, and their loudly proclaimed spirituality betray inclinations more in service of their Pastors, prophets, Imams, and diviners than to God Himself. We clearly have lost our way and our path to the future runs through understanding our past. A lot of what we see now was already played out in the 60s and 70s. And where it led us was a civil war, millions of dead citizens on every side, and a broken nation still unsure of its footing 63 years post-independence. The problem is not Nigeria. The problem is Nigerians.
It is why we are also using IREP 2024 to highlight and celebrate our distinguished global icon, Africa’s first Nobel laureate for literature Prof. Wole Soyinka. He embodies the citizen activist with the clarity and humanity needed to hold power accountable to the people. To use every means necessary to defend human values and the fundamentality of the freedom of the individual to resist oppression. And to do so absent of the manipulations of self-serving opportunities of politics, religion, or tribal/ethnic sentiments.
Through this lens, the new year becomes more than a date on a calendar; it becomes a symbol of our collective commitment to learn from the past and shape a future enriched by wisdom and compassion. Let us reset not only the digits on the calendar but also our perspectives, forging ahead with a newfound understanding of our role in this intricate tapestry of human existence. And to that I join our popular chorus of wishing one and all a happy new year.
