As the Cannes Film Festival, world's most prestigious film event, opens in the tourist city of Cannes, Southern France, on Wednesday, May 16, 2007, various milestones are been attained.

First, it will be the 60th edition of the film festival which has skyrocketed Cannes, from a small, unknown fishing island about 60 years ago, to the number one tourist destination and the greatest yearly convergence of who-is-who in the mega-billion-Euros filmmaking business.

Nigeria, for the first time, will be making a formal appearance via a stand already secured on pavilion 111 at the Riveria area of the festival, overlooking the beach.

The Managing Director of Nigerian Film Corporation (Mr. Afolabi Adesanya) was very elated when this reporter approached him for an interview. It was we-have-done-it spirit that even put Adesanya in a somewhat combative spirit: "you people (journalists), Mahmood (Balogun -filmmaker) and so on have been condemning us for not being in Cannes. Why are you now asking what we are going there to do"?

Reminded that the mission in Cannes is needed for the Nigerian public whose money paid through taxes would be used to showcase Nigeria in Cannes, Adesanya became more relaxed: "we took a stand as the national film development agency and commission mainly to co-ordinate our presence in Cannes and to provide a platform for networking with other participants at the 60th Cannes Film Festival."

Facilities at the Nigerian stand, like many other national pavilions, include internet and telephone facilities which Nigerian participants, journalists and other stakeholders can use during the festival running till May 28, 2007.

Adesanya and his team believe that among the likely benefits accruable to Nigeria for participating at Cannes 2007 include, a platform to once again showcase the remarkable development in Nigeria's motion picture industry. Furthermore, it offers Nigeria an opportunity to network, showcase and learn from the experiences of other film cultures around the world.

As a festival of who-is-who in the film industry around the world, the most important aspect, in Adesanya's words, remains "networking, showcasing and interacting with filmmakers from other cultures. As well as film scholars, critics and potential investors in the sector and co-producers"

Nigerian filmmakers may however not have many benefits from the Nigerian stand this year, perhaps being her maiden appearance. The Managing Director's smart response to this is merely that: "we are throwing open facilities at the pavilion to all Nigerians without exception. We have lined up numerous meetings with organizations and individuals. In addition, we intend to participate in most of the programmes of the festival."

It is unfortunate that the Nigerian delegation has not made use of the expertise of film marketing and pitching professionals from the country, neither has the mission taken the Nigerian journalists, some of whom have attend the festival severally, into reckoning.

On the plan to sustain possible gains from the Cannes 2007, Adesanya has this to say: "at the end of each Festival a detailed report is usually compiled and sent to the Honourable Minister and recommendations are made to the Honourable Minister on achievable issues. While those that involve the Corporation are implemented by the relevant departments and units, those that involve individuals and Practitioners are brought to their notice for implementations."

Nigeria is still essentially a home video producing country, while Cannes is about celluloid films, what then are the connections? Adesanya quickly rose to a defence: "though Cannes like most major Festivals accepts only celluloid, they still create platforms for the exhibition of video films though they are not accepted in competitions, moreover, for the filmmakers who want to shoot on cine, it offers them a platform to network."

One of the biggest problems facing the film industry in Nigeria today is almost a total absence of reliable data. If Adesanya, a veteran journalist, photographer and film director and teacher, is to be taken for his words, there may be a solution in sight: "we have re-invigorated and revived the hitherto dormant Planning, Research and Statistics Department which is now a full fledged department headed by a Director. The department is presently engaged in establishing a data bank that will solve this problem."

TUNDE OLADUNJOYE