Chike C. Nwoffiah

Director

Silicon Valley African Film Festival

Mr. Nwoffiah is a graduate of the University of Lagos, Nigeria, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business INM program, the Hollywood Film Institute and a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley. He is the president of Rhesus Media Group a California based full service media production company with offices in South Africa and Nigeria. He is also on the adjunct faculty at Menlo College in Atherton, California where he teaches African History. Nwoffiah is a past president of Mountain View Community Television and currently serves on the boards of the Arts Council Silicon Valley, Chamber of Commerce Mountain View Education Foundation; Alliance for California Traditional Arts, and California Black Arts Alliance.

Mr. Nwoffiah is an accomplished actor, theater director and filmmaker with over 30 stage and screen credits. He is a highly sought after consultant on theater, film, television and multimedia projects. In 1998, Nwoffiah won the International Cinema in Industry Competition (Cindy) gold award and the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame award for his children’s film of African folk stories - Ago! Amee! His other film projects include: A Jewel in History - a feature length documentary on the history of Black hospitals in America. His 2004 documentary "A Killing in Choctaw" on a 1962 race killing in Choctaw County, Alabama was profiled by the New York Times and premiered in Europe at the 20th Black International Cinema Festival in Berlin, Germany where it won the 2005 Award for Best Film on Black Experience. "A Killing in Choctaw" also won the 2006 Telly Awards. NwoffiahÕs latest project is a feature length drama "Sabar" based on the African dance movement in the United States. Along with many awards,Sabar won theB est Feature Film and Audience Choice awards at the 2009 Urban Mediamakers Film Festival in Metro-Atlanta. Nwoffiah is currently the founding Artistic Director of the 1st Annual Silicon Valley African Film Festival that is scheduled for October 23, 2010.

Nwoffiah is a leader and respected voice in the California arts community and has testified several times before the California State legislature in support of funding for the arts. In 2004, 2005 and 2008, he served as a Fund For Folk Culture strategy panelist on the development of support systems for Immigrant and Refugee Arts in the United States. He has been a guest lecturer at University of California Los Angeles Urban Policy Institute, Southern New Hampshire University’s Community Development graduate program and Menlo College Humanities program. He has presented keynote speeches at several conferences and events, including: the United States Post Office unveiling of the Ella Fitzgerald Stamp, the SCC Black Educators conference, the National conference of Community Arts Educators, etc. He was a contributing author to the acclaimed book "Black Cultural Traffic - Crossroads in Global Performance and Popular Culture" edited by Stanford Professors Harry Elam, Jr. and Kennel Jackson.

Community Recognition:
2010: Arts Leadership Award Ð Arts Council Silicon Valley
2009: Certificate of Special Recognition for Community Service-California State House of Assembly
2008: Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition - United States House of Congress
2007: Diversity Award - Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
2007: Mover of Mountains Award - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley
2006: Community Service Award - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (Eta Sigma Lambda Chapter)
2004: Director’s Award-California Arts Council.
2003: Freedom Fighter Award - San Jose / Silicon Valley Chapter of NAACP.
2002: Humanitarian of the Year Award - Parent’s Coalition Mountain View.
2001: Kuumba Award for Creativity - Silicon Valley Jazz Arts Music Network.
2000: San Francisco Bay Area Top Ten Most Influential African Americans - CityFlight Magazine.