It was a night of honour for respected veteran and legendary cinematographer, Tunde Kelani, on Friday, July 13 as he was awarded the Ecran d’Honneur (Screen of Honour) at the Ecrans Noirs Film Festival which opened at the Palais Congress in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The 70-year-old joins an elite company of directors, producers, actors honoured for their entire career work including Gaston Kabore, Cheick Oumar Sissoko, Olu Jacobs and the late Idrissa Ouedraogo.
Taking to his Instagram page to share the good news with his followers, Kelani said “I feel truly honoured and charge African Filmmakers, young and old, currently facing economic challenges to seize advantage of rapidly evolving digital technology to keep the flag of African Cinema flying.”
The Ecrans Noirs Film Festival is organised by Black Screens for the primary purpose of disseminating the cinematographic creations of six countries in Central Africa (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Chad).
It is also intended as a space of reflection on the cinema and organises colloquiums, bringing together professionals, who debate on topics concerning the conditions of exercise and the evolution of this art on the African continent.
Kelani has remained a force to reckon with, retained relevance in an ever-evolving industry and contributed in no small measure to taking the Nigerian movie industry -Nollywood- to the heights it currently enjoys.