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Actresses Jackie Appiah from Ghana and Genevieve Nnaji are among 15 persons to receive meritorious awards at the Accra International Film Festival (AIFF) scheduled to come from June 25 to June 30. AIFF�s Communications Director, David Dontoh, in a chat with Showbiz over the weekend, said the two young ladies have contributed immensely in their acting roles to help sustain audience interest in contemporary African cinema. �Many others have also been part of the drive to keep audiences interested in the new wave of films on the continent but we cannot honour all at the same time. �We are also honouring 13 other people from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and the United States who have done substantially well for cinema in Africa and the Diaspora and their names will be revealed shortly,� Dontoh stated. Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the festival, Osmo Kwame Addo has confirmed that top American film director, producer and actor, Bill Duke will be in Ghana as a special guest of the festival. According to him, all arrangements for Duke�s coming have been finalised and he would arrive with a six-member team that would explore for various opportunities in the entertainment business. With an imposing figure standing at 6 ft 4� in, the always clean-shaven Bill Buke first became a familiar face to moviegoers around the world in Car Wash (1976) where he portrayed a fierce young Black Muslim revolutionary. He was also in American Gigolo (1980) where he played a gay pimp. Duke acted alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando and Predator and played a corrupt FBI agent in the Mel Gibson movie Bird on a Wire, and a corrupt policeman in another Mel Gibson film, Payback. Duke began directing theatrical films in the 1990s with crime dramas A Rage in Harlem (1991), Deep Cover (1992) and Hoodlum (1997). He also directed The Cemetery Club (1993) and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), starring Whoopi Goldberg. The festival director added that Duke would lead a workshop for actors and filmmakers and also see to the possibility of securing roles for some of our film stars in some of his movies. Activities for the film festival will include a red carpet reception at La Palm Royal hotel sponsored by Haeir Thermocool, screenings at Silverbird Cinema and an awards/dinner night at the Banquet Hall of the State House. The AIFF is presented by PZ Imperial Leather and supported by His Majesty�s Freight Services, Viasat1 TV, Porche Car Company, Silverbird Cinema, SIC company, TV3, AIT and Graphic Communications Group Limited.