For many years, Nollywood has been plagued with bad movies. Dingy projects filmed in terribly lit rooms, by a cinematographer who is actually a technician or switch flicking guy, a silly story, an undercooked script.

Nigerian movies were terrible.

These old films have found new life on social media as memes and GIFS uploaded by overzealous Pulse.ng reporters or some Instagram TV startup.

All of this has happened because Nollywood in itself has been incredibly and immensely terrible. While it is noteworthy to state that Nollywood churns out an impressive number of movies every year, only a tiny percent of these movies meet up to a certain quality.

The life cycle of an A-list Hollywood movie starts from how much it can pull in at the box office before going to DVD. Cinemas in Nigeria are a relatively re-emerging phenomenon, so Nollywood films for the longest time, weren’t initially targeted for the big screen.

Film festivals are also not mainstream but where they exist, provide a renewed backdrop of hope for the industry. From independent projects that to live action features, a certain and competent level of curation justifies excitement that films might yet become a lot better in Nigeria.

Since 2011, Lights, Camera, Action has been a major player in the advancement of film and filmmaking in Nigeria. Boasting an impressive list of past partnerships from a committed group of donors and friends, that includes the Ford Foundation, Union Bank, Federal Palace Hotel, The Wheatbaker, Zircon Marine, Alliance Francaise, Goethe Institut, Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and Film House Cinemas, 2017 appears promising.

The theme for this year is Reset.

We hope you are as excited as we are about bringing the people of Lagos a wonderful screening programme dedicated to the best of independent and African film as well as our family and industry-engaging offerings through discussions, talks and family-friendly programming,”  Ugoma Adegoke, the festival’s director since inception says.

The festival will kick off on Friday, 29 September and will run through Sunday, 1 October 2017, at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. In partnership with the African Film Festival New York, Reset; 2017 will screen films that examines these issues in the political, science and art spheres of Nigeria and Africa.

Check out the festival brochure here