<<Print>>

In line with its objective of promoting global awareness and peace through arts, culture and films, IONIFF Port Harcourt '09 scheduled to hold between 9th and 12th of December in the Garden City, Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital , is set to celebrate peace. The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Rivers State, Hon. Marcus Nle Ejii hinted that the state is ready to host the international community, Nollywood and the entertainment industry following the list of activities outlined for the first ever ION International Film Festival to be hosted in Africa. According to him, the performance that will be mounted by artistes from the oil rich Niger Delta region, including Duncan Mighty, Timaya, Nneka and international photographer George Oshodi amongst others will show the power of art as a vehicle for peace. The commissioner expressed enthusiasm showed internationally, adding that "award winning actors like Giancarlo Esposito, Adnan Siddiqui and beautiful Bollywod actress Masumeh Makhija are set to be part of IONIFF Port Harcourt '09. " Giancarlo has won two Obie Awards for "Zooman and The Sign" at the Negro Ensemble Company and "Distant Fires" at "The Atlantic Theatre Company.Giancarlo's long list of Broadway credits include "Sacrilege", "Seesaw", "Merrily We Roll Along" and," Lost In The Stars" to name a few. Currently, he is said to be co-starring on Broadway with James Earl Jones, Terrence Howard and Phylicia Rashad in Debbie Allen's rendition of the great classic Tennessee Williams play, "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof". In 2008, Giancarlo Esposito made his feature film directorial debut and is the producer and co-writer of "Gospel Hill" in which he co-stars with Danny Glover, Angela Bassett, Julia Stiles and Samuel L. Jackson. "Gospel Hills" will be shown in Port Harcourt as part of the final selection during the 4-day festival. Adnan Siddiqui has worked primarily in television. He was nominated for Pakistan's Lux Style Award in 2002 in the Best Actor category for the dramatic serial Zaib_un_Nisa, and again in 2004 for the serial Mendhi. The third time was the charm for Siddiqui when, in 2005, he was named Best Actor for his work in the dramatic serial Amer Bail at the TV One Awards. In 2007 he co-starred with Angelina Jolie in Almighty hear.t, a Hollywood production. Model turned actress Masumi Makhija has had an interesting beginning to her career in Bollywood with films like Mahesh Manjrekar's Padmashri Laloo Prasad Yadav, Vishal Bharadwaj's Miya Maqbool and Shona Urvashi's Chupke Se. She has also worked in two international films: Gate To Heaven (produced by the makers of Run Lola Run) and Madhu Ambat's 1:1.6 Ode To Lost Love.