The organizers of the Pitcher Festival have announced Femi Odugbemi, Founder/CEO, Zuri24 Media Lagos and Academy Director Multichoice Talent Factory (West Africa) as the jury president of the 2021 Pitcher Awards Entertainment category. This follows the announcement of Alistair King, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of King James Group South Africa as 2021 Pitcher Awards Heritage jury president.
Femi Odugbemi is an accomplished storyteller and Content Producer whose career has spanned advertising, broadcasting and filmmaking. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the United States, Femi is a former President of the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (ITPAN), he co-founded the IREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival Lagos, and is a 4-time Head of Jury of the prestigious AMVCAs - the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. He has also served as a 3-time Head Judge of the Uganda Film Festival (2012-2014), Juror of the British Council “Shakespeare lives’ project (2016), Juror of the Emmy Awards in New York (2012 & 2016) and many others.
Femi’s screen credits include Nigeria’s longest running daily soap TINSEL (over 2500 episodes and counting), the critically-acclaimed drama series BATTLEGROUND (460 episodes), and his most recent work BRETHREN (260 episodes), all screened across the continent on the DSTV channels. He has also produced and directed feature films including MAROKO (2006), GIDI BLUES (2016). Femi has in addition written and produced many critically acclaimed documentaries and issue-based films.
In November 2013, he received the Excellence Award of the Society of the Performing Arts of Nigeria (SPAN) and received the prestigious lifetime achievement award from the Nigeria Film Corporation in 2018.
According to Nnamdi Ndu, CEO of CHINI Africa, Cannes Lions official festival representative in Nigeria and organizers of the Pitcher Festival of Creativity, "Femi Odugbemi is indeed an accomplished storyteller and we're so excited to have him play this leading role in presenting Africa's top success stories on the world stage".
The Pitcher Awards Entertainment category is new for 2021 and includes the following subcategories:
Entertainment Film – This will include fiction and non-fiction materials of at least 5 minutes designed for online, cinema or television broadcast.
Entertainment Audio - This will include audio fiction and non-fiction materials such as podcasts and radio programmes of at least 5 minutes.
Media Promo - This subcategory is for station or programme promotional materials created by media companies, networks, broadcasters or publishers.
Live Events – The live events subcategory will include concerts and other events held at physical venues or online to amplify a brand’s message and build stronger engagement with audience.
Sports – The sports subcategory will review and recognize film or audio content built around a sporting event or one that creatively integrates sporting personalities or teams to amplify a brand’s message.
Use of Music – The Use of Music subcategory will honour excellence in work involving the creation of original music or use of adapted or licensed music to promote a brand.
Music Video – Under this subcategory, the entertainment jury will review efforts in the area of original music video creation and brand integration into music videos.
Comic skits – The comic skits subcategory will recognize excellence with use of comic skits in any media platform or the excellent use of endorsement by a comedian to promote a brand.
Other categories of the Pitcher Awards are Channel, Digital, Good and Heritage. Entries are currently open at www.pitcherfestival.com.