Lights, Kriterion, Action!
Monrovia, Liberia
Lights flickered in Saye town, at the centre of Sinkor in Monrovia, as over 700 people watched ‘Envy, The Root of Evil Part 2’ by Liberian producer Josephine Blamo on an open-air screen. The excitement was palpable, many people having returned to see the sequel after Part 1 ended on a cliff hanger the week before.
This popular cinema screening is the brainchild of the students’ run non-profit organisation Kriterion Monrovia, promoting Liberian culture, cinema and the art of film in the country and beyond.
This February, Kriterion Monrovia will celebrate our homegrown cinema with its first annual Film Festival, ‘Image of Liberia’ — on February 21st, 22nd and 23rd, 2014.
More than 15 screenings will take place on these days, covering the local, regional and international sphere at different venues all over town. Day screening venues include iLab, Alliance Française and William V.S. Tubman High School. For the evening screenings two open-air cinemas will be set up in Saye Town and in Lakpazee communities. “The Kriterion Film Festival is for everyone but especially the young people, to express their creativity, laugh and cry together, proud of where they come from” says Pandora Hodge, Kriterion Monrovia’s founder and social entrepreneur. Since October, Kriterion in collaboration with the Accountability Lab organized workshops training young Liberians in filmmaking. Students were coached on the production of their own short movies in view of the competition during the Festival.
A panel of judges will select winners for special acclaim. If you wish to participate in the contest, please visit the FB page: www.facebook.com/kriterionmonrovia or go to the BSC Monrovia office at the UL main campus.
For those interested in learning more about cinema, Kriterion Monrovia will host a series of workshops on February 21st on topics ranging from cultural identity in film to video editing.
Everyone is welcome as we make cinema history here in Monrovia! The entrance will be free of charge thanks to the great support of our sponsors and partners Prince Claus Fund and Business Start-Up Center Monrovia, Club Beer, Accountability Lab, SPARK, and Young Urban Achievers.
Stay tuned and check for the programme at www.facebook.com/Kriterion Monrovia or e-mail kriterionmonrovia@gmail.com PR Contact for Journalists: Pandora Hodge, Project Coordinator, +231(0)886 58 92 32