TIPTOPSTARS

The Cameroon Film Industry, CFI, the body under whose banner filmmaking activities have been going on since June 2008 is in the news once again. The national executive committee of the organization will meet in Kumba, Fako Division of the South West region of Cameroon on Saturday April 7, 2012. “Meeting business shall review the general state of affairs in the Cameroon Film Industry (organizational development issues…),” reads a press release from Chiatoh Collins, Secretary General of CFI.

According to the press note, executive committee members will also plan for an up-coming CFI National Convention whose date will probably be made public after the Kumba come-together.

The release further urges the following to take note: National Executive members, heads of the various guilds, zonal coordinators and their secretaries and other I guests who would have been mandated to participate in the Kumba meeting via official invitations.

For quite some time now, CFI has not been in the news. Observers say it was necessary to take a break with meetings and hit the field in a bid to put into practice some of the ingenious ideas raised in the various previous gatherings. That explains why for close to a year now and more than ever, there has been a plethora of Cameroonian movies raining into the film market. More to that, there has undoubtedly been an impressive improvement as far as specialization and professionalism are concerned. These were the watch word upon the creation of CFI.

Perhaps, the fact that Cameroonians in the diaspora are increasingly deciding to turn their hard-earned money into movies which they fly to shoot back home is a clear indication that there is some level of seriousness displayed by filmmakers. That Cameroonian productions have not only featured at internationally recognized film platforms, but have scored enviable points (awards) is enough to say there is something palatable in the making.

The CFI road may be long to ply, yet the red lights still turn green allowing the vehicles to move on at every given intersection.

Created in June 2008, the Cameroon Film Industry was set up with the task of changing the phase of filmmaking in Cameroon. It was born on the premise of professionalism and specialization owing to the hitherto amateurish atmosphere that characterized the landscape. It was also meant to introduce control measures aimed at proving order in sector.

For the sake of smooth functioning and better interactivity, the CFI was broken down to zonal coordinations with Yaounde, Bamenda, Buea, Kumba and Douala being the most prominent this far.