*Dr.Ali Nuhu, MD NFC
DECACIA, a heritage film festival, and a collaborative initiative between the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), the Lagos Film Society and partners from Germany, namely – Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Arts (Berlin, Germany), Deutsche Filminstitut and Filmmuseum (Frankfurt, Germany), Goethe University-Frankfurt, DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), and Goethe Institut – Lagos as joint curators, returns to Lagos, Nigeria for its 2025 edition.
The four-day event, scheduled to take place from Sunday July 27 to Wednesday 30th, 2025, at the Lagos office of the Nigerian Film Corporation, Ikoyi, Lagos, according to Dr. Ali Nuhu would be a landmark gathering of filmmakers, archivists, historians, scholars, and culture enthusiasts dedicated to the rediscovery, preservation, and creative re-imagination of Africa’s cinematic heritage. Dr. Nuhu, Chief Executive Officer of NFC, assures expected participants of exciting moments including the screenings of rare archival films, panel discussions woven around strategies, archiving, preservation challenges and national development in support of the draft National Film Archive Policy; as well as networking sessions designed to spotlight the importance of cultural memory in shaping Nigeria’s creative future.
Objectives of Decasia is to among others, sustain global conversations, including the impact of digital technologies as well as the relationship between archives and film festivals. Decasia provides a veritable platform to harness great creative opportunities inherent in archival materials as weapons for sustainable human existence and development. Equally, it provides public platform and supporting linkages between the National Film Video and Sound Archive (NFVSA) as a national audio-visual repository, and the Master Degree Programme in Film Culture & Archiving Studies of the National Film Institute (NFI) and the University of Jos, as well as audio-visual content creators and the general public.
Furthermore, the underlying thrust, is to conscientize government and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including the organized private sector, content creators on the imperatives of audio-visual material usage, protection, preservation and archiving. With the NFVSA as Nigeria’s audio-visual repository, efforts by the NFC to foster constructive engagements and affirmative actions through collaborative partnerships underscores the mounting of Decasia 2025.
Designed to be hosted alternatively in Lagos – Nigeria and in Berlin – Germany, the first edition took place October 24th – 27th 2019 in Lagos, with the title “1st Berlin – Lagos Archival Film Festival”. The 2020 edition took place in Berlin – Germany, themed: “Reclaiming History, Unveiling Memory”. The offerings of Decasia 2025 to Nigeria’s film industry includes, culture and heritage protection, strong and productive linkages, skills and capacity development in archival management, preservation of audiovisual materials, archival practices, film and culture diplomacy promotion.
