The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is widely regarded as a leading film festival in Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy and Ros Sarkin, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Southern Africa, presenting over 100 screenings, most of which are premieres in this region.
The festival has a competition where the winners of the Best Documentary and Best Short Films categories automatically qualify for the Oscars Shorts and Documentary nominations.
Itegboje took to his official X page to announce the selection of his film, saying in the post that he has always been passionate about filmmaking since his teenage years.
“I grew up in a space that allowed me to diverge with my passions and started my teenage years with the dream of becoming a guitar maestro with dreams of playing in bands like the Cavemen and Alternate Sound but life had a different plan for me,” he said.
O.Y.O (On Your Own)
Pulse Nigeria
His documentaries have been officially selected to screen in other local and international film festivals and earned him over eight nominations and two awards.
He also said that even though medicine and filmmaking barely have a relationship, he had remained resolute in pursuing his dreams over the years.
“Medicine and documentary filmmaking felt poles apart and impossible but I felt determined to make it work. Over the years I have found a delicate blend between medicine and documentary filmmaking by the grace of Elohim,” he said.
O.Y.O (On Your Own) is the only Nigerian film competing in the Oscar-qualifying shorts category at the film festival. O.Y.O (On Your Own) was also sponsored by the French embassy to have a screening in Paris. It also took part in the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards in Los Angeles.
O.Y.O (On Your Own) follows the lives of young boys growing up in the streets of Benin to adulthood. They live and sleep on the streets of Benin and have formed a brotherhood. These boys have come to be locally referred to as “The Elema boys.”
He has confirmed that the release date of his documentary will be made public soon.
