Iyan-Tama Multimedia Awards

I was very humbled and honoured last week, 25 October 2010, to be honoured along with many other journalists and media houses with an Iyan-Tama Multimedia Award in Recognition of Support and Contribution to the Growth and Development of the Hausa Film Industry. I was also very grateful to Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu who collected the plaque and certificate for me, in my absence, and sent me photos on his phone. I hated to miss the event, but I was glad to hear about it from so many friends who had also received the award. Kannywood Online, who also received the award, also has their plaque and certificate on display at their site.

Leadership of 1 December 2010 gives a report of the event (I’ve inserted links to the blogs and websites of the awardees where available, so you can check out their work for yourself):

CHIOMA RITA ODILI, who was at the event writes:Iyan-Tama Multimedia is one of the oldest film production outfits in the sprawling Hausa film industry largely based in Kano , known as Kannywood. It was established 13 years ago and through its usually qualitative and meaningful productions as well as innovative stands, has contributed immensely to the growth of the industry till date.

It is therefore with great jubilation that Iyan-Tama Multimedia called on all and sundry to witness its 13th anniversary as well as to celebrate 20 years of the existence of the film industry. The event, which took place at Mambayya House in the heart of Kano , was attended by eminent personalities including traditional leaders, members of the diplomatic corps, journalists and filmmakers.

Several awards were presented in different categories to corporate bodies, diplomatic missions, media houses and individuals who contributed in various respect to the development of Kannywood in its two decades of existence.  Those who were presented with merit awards, at the well-attended ceremony, include the two titles of LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group; LEADERSHIP and LEADERSHIP HAUSA.

Editorial director of LEADERSHIP and publisher of FIM Magazine, Malam Ibrahim Sheme was among those honoured under the ‘Dignitaries’ category alongside others including former Kano State governor, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Professors Isa Odidi and Abdalla Uba Adamu [see also his blog -CM], Hajiya Laila Dogon Yaro, Ms Carmen McCain, among others.

Other staff of LEADERSHIP who were presented with certificates of merit in recognition of their contribution included Al-amin Ciroma, Nasir S Gwangwazo, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz and Maje Elhajeej. In this category, several journalists from various media houses were also conferred with the merit award including Rukayya Y Aliyu (Sunday Trust), Bashir Yahuza (Aminya), Nasir Salisu Zango (Freedom Radio) and Sani Maikatanga (former editor of FIM magazine), and host of others.

Moreover, 19 other media organizations including foreign radio stations, TV stations, newspapers and a magazine also received awards at the colourful event. Those who were honoured in this category include Freedom Radio, Gamji TV, Desert Herald, Almizan and Hausa services of BBC, VOA, Radio Germany and Radio France International.

Similarly, the embassies of United States and France were also awarded for their support to the development of Kannywood through cultural diplomacy. Moreover, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), including the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Security Justice and Growth (SJG), as well as the Society for Family Health (SFH), were also among the recipients.

Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu gave an address on the occasion:

In his address, the keynote speaker, Professor Abdalla Uba Adamu who traced the development of Kannywood, vis-à-vis the Iyan-Tama Multimedia, said Kannywood came into being exactly 20 years ago with the release of Turmin Danya as the first Hausa video film. He pointed out that at the time of establishment of Kannywood, there was no similar industry in the whole of Africa, including the now bustling Nollywood.

According to the academic, Iyan-Tama Multimedia Limited has played key roles and contributed immensely in the 20th years of its existence. Notable contributions of the company to the development of Hausa filmmaking is its procurement of modern equipment to boost the level of quality of the movies. Prof Abdalla recalled that Iyan-Tama Multimedia was the first to acquire a PSR-220 which enabled introduction of song scenes in the movies with the recording of “Badakala”, a song which featured in a movie of the same title.

He said, other achievements recorded by Iyan-Tama Multimedia include; the publication of the, now rested, entertainment magazine, Tauraruwa, production of several meaningful films that appeal to all categories of viewers, the first company to stop using songs in Hausa movies despite the obvious appeal. The company, according to the don, was also the first to be sponsored by diplomatic initiative (Tsintsiya, 2008) and the first Kannywood film production company to have its film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is also the company with the highest number of awards in its kitty in the whole of the industry.

Iyan-Tama’s film Tsintsiya on sale at Nollywood shop Africa Movie Place in Brooklyn, New York, November 2010 (c) CM

Readers may remember that the director, producer, and actor Alhaji Hamisu Lamido Iyan-Tama has recently been cleared of all charges, after a drawn out series of court cases filed against him by the Kano State Censorship Board and Iyan-Tama’s own countersuits against the board, following Iyan-Tama’s imprisonment for three months after a trial with a judge later found to be “incompetent” by the Kano State Attourney General. The award ceremony is a particularly poignant way to celebrate the ending of the legal woes of Iyan-Tama Multimedia.