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Saturday, July 31, 2021

46th Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection and Special Presentations


Dates: Thursday, 9 Sep 2021 – Saturday, 18 Sep 2021

Location: Toronto, TIFF Bell Lightbox 


The 46th annual Toronto International Film Festival begins on September 9 to 18, 2021. And following the strict protocol for the control and prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, it will be a "hybrid" of physical and digital screenings of both the official selection and special presentations and for other programmes.

The opening film is "Dear Evan Hansen" by Stephen Chbosky, an  adaptation of the Tony-winning musical of the same title.

“This film is ultimately about healing, forgiveness, and reaffirms how connected and essential we all are to one another. We couldn’t think of a more important idea to celebrate this year as we come together once again to share the power and joy of cinema in theaters together," said Cameron Bailey, the Artistic Director and Co-Head of TIFF.

The closing film is "One Second" by Zhang Yimou.

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA

Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Wen Shipei)

The Box (La Caja) (Lorenzo Vigas)

Costa Brava, Lebanon (Costa Brava) (Mounia Akl)

The Daughter (La Hija) (Manuel Martín Cuenca)

The Hill Where the Lionesses Roar (Luaneshat e kodrës) (Luàna Bajrami)

Întregalde (Radu Muntean)

Kicking Blood (Blaine Thurier)

La Soga 2 (Manny Perez)

Maria Chapdelaine (Sébastien Pilote)

Medusa (Anita Rocha da Silveira)

Murina (Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović)

Nobody Has to Know (Bouli Lanners)

The Odd-Job Men (Sis dies corrents) (Neus Ballús)

The Other Tom (El otro Tom) (Rodrigo Plá)

OUT OF SYNC (Tres) (Juanjo Giménez)

Terrorizers (Ho Wi Ding)

Unclenching The Fists (Kira Kovalenko)

Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas) (Edwin)

The Wheel (Steve Pink)

Whether the Weather is Fine (Kun Maupay Man It Panahon) (Carlo Francisco Manatad)

DISCOVERY

Aloners (Hong Sung-eun)

Anatolian Leopard (Anadolu Leoparı) (Emre Kayış)

A Banquet (Ruth Paxton)

Dug Dug (Ritwik Pareek)

As In Heaven (Du som er i himlen) (Tea Lindeburg)

Farha (Darin J. Sallam)

The Game (Ana Lazarevic)

Learn To Swim (Thyrone Tommy)

Lo Invisible (Javier Andrade)

Paka (River of Blood) (Nithin Lukose)

Quickening (Haya Waseem)

Scarborough (Shasha Nakhai, Rich Williamson)

Snakehead (Evan Jackson Leong)

To Kill The Beast (Agustina San Martín)

Tug of War (Vuta N’Kuvute) (Amil Shivj)i

Wildhood (Bretten Hannam)

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Ali & Ava (Clio Barnard)

 All My Puny Sorrows (Michael McGowan)

Benediction (Terence Davies)

Bergman Island (Mia Hansen-Løve)

Charlotte (Eric Warin, Tahir Rana)

Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over (Dave Wooley, David Heilbroner)

Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

Encounter (Michael Pearce)

 The Guilty (Antoine Fuqua)

I’m Your Man (Maria Schrader)

Inexorable (Fabrice du Welz)

Lakewood (Phillip Noyce)

 The Middle Man (Bent Hamer)

Official Competition (Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat)

Paris, 13th District (Jacques Audiard)

Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma)

The Starling (Theodore Melfi)

The Story of My Wife (Ildikó Enyedi)

Three Stories (Nanni Moretti)

Violet (Justine Bateman)

The Worst Person in the World (Joachim Trier)

GALA PRESENTATIONS

Opening Night Film: Dear Evan Hansen (Stephen Chbosky)

Closing Night Film: One Second (Zhang Yimou)

Belfast (Kenneth Branagh)

Clifford the Big Red Dog (Walt Becker)

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (Will Sharpe)

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Michael Showalter)

Jagged (Alison Klayman)

Last Night in Soho (Edgar Wright)

The Mad Women’s Ball (Mélanie Laurent)

Night Raiders (Danis Goulet)

The Survivor (Barry Levinson)


Nigeria: An African Nation Ruled and Ruined by Corruption

#Nigeria

#abbakyari
#hushpuppi
#nigerians
#corruption
#Zamfara
#Bandits
#terrorists
#extortionists
#extortion
#bribe
#bribery
#Terrorism
#moneyheist
#moneylaundering
#cbn
#centralbank
#gold
#goldstocks
#goldprice
#goldmine

Nigeria is an African nation ruled and ruined by corruption.
Nigerian government is corrupt, because majority of Nigerians are corrupt. They don't have conscience and they don't have shame as I documented in my book, "In the House of Dogs" published by Amazon .  Dogs eat dogs in Nigeria without apologies and without regrets. 

We cannot quantify the magnitude of the collateral damage that corruption has done to the commonwealth of Nigeria from the colonial government before the political independence of the country on October 1, 1960 to post colonial or neocolonial administrations under the camouflage of the pseudo democratic civilian rule and military rule of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and the 2020s. 

Political corruption is the most critical reason why Nigerians have never seen ten years of peace in the country since 1950 to date. 

There has never been any free and fair election in Nigeria. What we have in Nigeria is not #democracy , but political idiocy. So, the case of the indicted senior police officer, Abba Kyari , the poster boy of the Nigerian police is not shocking to me.
The only public official who is not corrupt in Nigeria is the one who has not been caught. 

From the local government to the Office of the President, elections have been rigged since the 1950s to date.

How can anyone expect democracy and good governance in a country ruled by corrupt and incompetent politicians who engaged in electoral malpractices to win elections into public office? 

Can you make an omelette from rotten eggs?

What do you expect from lawmakers who have been lawbreakers during their political campaigns and elections?

There will always be disorder where corrupt and incompetent political leaders are in power.


- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchimaeyerengozi


Friday, July 30, 2021

Netflix is Improving the Quality of Nollywood To World Class Standards

Netflix is Improving the Quality of Nollywood To World Class Standards

#Netflix is actually helping #Nollywood to improve the quality of film and TV productions in the Nigerian film industry.

But MultiChoice is still accepting substandard movies from #Nollywood for the Africa Magic. They come cheap for as low as US$1200 per movie.

The producers say being seen on #DStv is an achievement and Netflix is their ultimate dream. Making it to Netflix is like winning an #Oscar to Nollywood filmmakers.

Netflix should only accept Nollywoood or #Kannywood movies with Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, because it would boost the quality of the sound in the film and TV productions. 

Your sound begins from writing the screenplay: from the first draft and not the copy and paste soundtracks during the post production which is the common practice in Nollywood.

Using Dolby Vision is not rocket science. 

If Nollywood wants to improve on the quality of productions to qualify for the official selections of top international film festivals and nominations for the Academy Awards, Nigerian filmmakers have to use the same benchmarks for international productions as their counterparts and peers in the leading film Industries in the world.

And I am still waiting for the first Nigerian movie with Dolby Vision.


- By Ekeyerengozi MichaeI Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series,

@247nigeria Twitter

NEW BOOK: "Barack Obama and the American Dream"

 #barackobama

#books

#uspresident

#politics

#democracy

#blacklivesmatter

#elections

#presidentialelection

@barackobama

@michelleobama

@penguinrandomhouse

@penguinbooks

@simonandschuster

@macmillanusa

@potus

@usinnigeria

@statedept

@Harvard

"Barack Obama and the American Dream" on the election of the first African American President of the United States of America is the first book by a non American citizen on the historic presidential campaign, nomination and election of Senator Barack Obama on November 4, 2008 as the 44th President of the United States.

The book will be released soon after over 10 years homework on the selections of the thousands of comments and replies to news reports, debates and arguments on the Huffington Post, my blog on the Des Moines Register of Iowa and other news media during the presidential horse race between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

It is a very important book on the  contemporary political history of democracy in America in the 21st century.

Author:

Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchimaeyerengozi


PS: 

Thanks to Almighty God for the abundance of His Grace. And two thumbs up to my editor, 

Pamela Guerrieri

Senior Editor/Projects Coordinator

Proofed to Perfection

Phone: #919-732-8565

Fax: #919-732-5204

pamg@proofedtoperfection.com

www.ProofedToPerfection.com

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

"BLACKOUT": A New Nollywood Action Thriller About the Situation in Nigeria and the Way Forward

#nigeria #africa #news #politics #government #democracy #movies #nollywood #action #bokoharam #bandits #terrorists 

#terrorism #war #kidnapping #revolution #endsars #lekki

"BLACKOUT": A New Nollywood Action Thriller About the Situation in Nigeria and the Way Forward


For a generation of Nigerian youths in search of heroes, Abbey Abimbola, aka Crackydon, the most popular African actor in Asia has answered the Clarion call of the nation for a New Nigeria with his new movie on the angst against the insecurity in Africa's most populous country in political crisis. And the youths are excited for the most anticipated Nollywood movie of the year.

Source
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-6826317758133764096-NTuf

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Link Commerce Partners with Cellulant To Provide Digital Payment Options To Online Shoppers in Africa To Improve Cross-Border Trade

PRESS RELEASE

In a bid to Improve Cross-Border Trade Across Africa, Link Commerce Partners with Cellulant To avail relevant digital payment options to online Shoppers

The partnership between Cellulant and Link Commerce aims to break barriers between local and international commerce by addressing payment needs

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 27, 2021/ -- Pan-African payments company, Cellulant (www.Cellulant.io), has partnered with Link Commerce, a turn-key B2B eCommerce platform, to avail relevant digital payment options to consumers in Africa; making it possible to purchase goods directly from global retailers online.

The number of online shoppers in Africa has surged annually by 18% since 2014, according to a report by UNCTAD. As of 2019, the number of digital buyers in Africa experienced an increase to 233 million. The number of e-commerce users in the continent was projected to grow significantly in the next few years, according to a Statista forecast. In 2021, there might be some 334 million online shoppers in Africa. By 2024, there could be roughly 478 million, about double the number in 2019.

The most significant contributor to this surge in e-commerce is the rapid growth in smartphone penetration over the past decade in Africa and the shift in consumer-spend behaviour. They are turning more and more to online shopping for their goods. The payments infrastructure has also evolved to offer payments solutions that enable more consumers across Africa to participate in online shopping without a bank account.

The partnership between Cellulant and Link Commerce aims to break barriers between local and international commerce by addressing payment needs and enabling African consumers to shop directly from their favourite global stores using local payment options.

Link Commerce CEO Chris Folayan stated, “With a global surge in online sales, and travel restrictions, finding the right partner to enable our customer the ability to pay locally and via mobile payment platforms is important to us. We are excited to be partnering with Cellulant as we grow cross-border trade across Africa. Removing payment and delivery barriers by ensuring everyone can pay for and receive products directly from US/UK retailers via Link Commerce powered apps.”

Commenting on the partnership, Cellulant’s Acting CEO, Akshay Grover, stated, “In Africa, there are over 150 different payment channels, and in most cases, very fragmented for the consumers. Therefore any global retailer looking to reach African consumers needs to prioritise local payments such as mobile money into their strategy. Through our partnership with Link Commerce, we can connect consumers in two-thirds of the countries in Africa with global retailers on a single payments platform. Consumers can shop from US or UK retailers or any global businesses of their choice and pay easily with digital methods already familiar to them.’’

eCommerce platforms can leverage the partnership between Cellulant and ink Commerce to power trade and eCommerce activity to last mile-consumers. Retail platforms such as DHL eShop and Mall for Africa are some of the eCommerce businesses benefitting from this partnership.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Cellulant.

About Cellulant:

Cellulant is a leading Pan-African financial technology company providing a one-stop digital payments platform. Cellulant uses technology to connect people and their resources, making it easier to do business across Africa. Cellulant provides a single digital payments platform - named Tingg- addressing the complex payments needs of businesses. Tingg makes it easy to collect and make payments across multiple payment methods in different currencies, with the best customer experience for any business looking to digitise their payments. 

Today, Cellulant has an office presence in 18 African countries with a payment’s platform connecting thousands of businesses with 154 payment options across 35 countries. The platform powers payments for 220M consumers on a single inclusive network allowing for interoperability across Africa.

For further information contact:

Andrew Lala

media@cellulant.io

About Link Commerce:

Established in 2016, Link Commerce is an award-winning eCommerce platform that enables buyers in emerging markets to shop from US/UK retailers without any stress, hassle or worries with payment and delivery. The Link Commerce patented product ensures customers can pay for and receive products locally from over 250 US/UK stores. Link Commerce is pioneering how global cross-border e-commerce trade excels in emerging markets by providing easy ways to pay and last-mile delivery charges. Link Commerce operates across various markets in Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Caribbean Islands and Russia.

For more information:

Please email info@linkcommerce.com

SOURCE

Cellulant


Can A #Transgender Woman Get Pregnant?

Can A #Transgender Woman Get Pregnant?

Trans Women and Fertility: What We Know, What We Don't Know, and What You Can Do - Family Equality

On average, transgender women want to become parents at the same rates of other LGBTQ+ people 

The research shows that 97% of transgender adults think that fertility should be discussed prior to transition (no surprises there) and 51% of transgender women wish they had preserved their fertility before transitioning.

Only 3% of transgender people actually do preserve their fertility, and it does seem liketransgender women in general may have lower sperm quality and quantity even before starting hormone therapy.

Hormone therapy contributes to loss of volume, concentration, motility (ability to move), and total count of sperm, even after you stop taking it


https://www.familyequality.org/2019/10/02/trans-women-and-fertility-what-we-know-what-dont-know-and-what-you-can-do/

Sunday, July 25, 2021

Netflix Needs To Partner with MTN andd Airtel To Increase Subscribers in Nigeria

Netflix Needs To Partner with MTN andd Airtel To Increase Subscribers in Nigeria

Nigeria has about 101 million mobile internet users on the GSM networks in Africa's most populous country with the largest economy. But the high cost of data for viewing videos online is making the leading video streaming services to be out of reach for majority of the teeming population who prefer to subscribe to cable TV services. 

There are an estimated 15 million subscribers of cable TV networks in Nigeria with 10 millon of them shared by Multichoice and StarTimes.

MultiChoice streams satellite TV to between 4.5 million and 6 million Nigerian subscribers from the database reports of the cable TV subscribers in the country.

In Nigeria, satellite TV reception was the choice for 11.8 million households in 2019, a 23% increase compared to 2017, and a further 4.7 million in Ghana, up by 19% from 2017.
The study also highlighted that High Definition (HD) TV sets are becoming increasingly popular, already present in approximately 50% of Ghanaian and Nigerian TV homes.

Paying less than N3, 000 to subscribe to Netflix is not expensive, but including the costs for internet data have discouraged majority of people in Nigeria.

The following analysis on data usage is useful.
"Data consumption is different from speed. If you have a fast connection, that doesn't necessarily mean you use a lot of data per month. However, services like video streaming adapt to the available speed, so having a fast connection often does increase your data usage (and video quality), even if your habits don't change.

Streaming video:
Video uploads and downloads:
If you download a movie rather than streaming it or if you upload one to YouTube or Vimeo, the data consumption is similar, and it's always based on the full quality of the movie. If you make a video on your phone, you probably aren't creating HD quality or running for streaming video. The data consumption will depend on the quality of the video you receive. If you have a slow connection, most providers will adjust the quality so you won't have to pause for buffering too often. High-definition video can run as high in bandwidth consumption as 8 megabits (1 megabyte) a second. That's 60 megabytes a minute, if your connection is fast enough to handle it. A two-hour movie, at that rate, will consume 7.2 gigabytes. That's an upper bound, and usually it will be less, but a feature movie is a lot of data no matter what.

Video uploads and downloads:
If you download a movie rather than streaming it, or if you upload one to YouTube or Vimeo, the data consumption is similar, and it's always based on the full quality of the movie. If you make a video on your phone, you probably aren't creating HD quality or running for hours. Still, if you upload a lot, it will add up hours. Still, if you upload a lot, it will add up."

Netflix has partnerships with Telkom and Vodacom in South Africa and these deals have increased the subscriptions to the video streaming service. A similar partnership with MTN and Airtel in Nigeria will attract the millions of the middle class subscribers of the GSM networks in the country so include subscription to Netflix in their monthly budget.


- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor, 
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 
247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria
https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

Saturday, July 24, 2021

My First Original Digital Art For Sale

New Original Digital Art: ART IS A FIGURE OF SPEECH

#digitalart

#nftsstories
#bitcoin
#eth
#ethereum
#blockchain

#nftart
@nft
@binancenfts
@nft.collectors
@nft_news
@christiesinc
@sothebys

I have created this digital art work for #NFTs I see as time capsules
Non-fungible tokens are tokens of our digital civilization: the time capsules of our history for the benefit of every entity of humanity for our posterity. 
- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Author of Uli Si Naka Chi

Image: ART IS A FIGURE OF SPEECH Uli Si Naka Chi series
Original artwork created online by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima.

I am an internationally exhibited Nigerian artist since 1983 when I represented Nigeria with my illustrations exhibited at two International book fairs in Japan and I was the youngest artist. My artworks were insured by the UNESCO for the exhibitions. 

I was the curator of the first Arts Against AIDS Art Exhibition in Nigeria to celebrate the 1993 World AIDS Day at the National Museum and National Arts Theatre in Lagos. The artworks sold out, including my own paintings on canvas like the "Eruption of the Love Virus" and "Condomania".

I am also a prize winning writer, author, publisher and film/TV producer.

I have done two NFTs in my Uli Si Naka Chi series which are available for auction.

Contact Me:

EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima 
The CEO,
International Digital Post Network Limited
Publisher/Editor, 
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

Friday, July 23, 2021

Yorùbá Ronu, Yorùbá Párápọ́ Yorùbá United

 #sundayigboho

#yorubas

#Yoruba

#yorubanation

#Nigeria

@officialbolatinubu

@profosinbajo

@thesamadeyemi

Yorùbá Ronu, Yorùbá Párápọ́

Yorùbá United

Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, on Thursday formed a committee to look into the Sunday Igboho situation.


The 28-member think tank comprises prominent individuals from the South-West.


They will monitor Igboho’s arraignment in Benin Republic, the moves to extradite him to Nigeria and likely prosecution.


DAILY POST gathered that a plan of action is being mapped out.


The team is expected to provide updates to the Ooni as events unfold, offer counsels, mediate with the Yoruba Nation agitator’s legal team and interface with Nigerian and Beninese authorities.

The full list below:

1. Olugbon of Igbon, Oba Olusola Alao

2. Senator Biodun Olujimi

3. Toyin Saraki

4. Segun Awolowo

5. Doyin Okupe

6. Otunba Gbenga Daniel

7. Prince Oye Oyewumi

8. Muyiwa Ige

9. General Olu Okunnowo

10. DIG Taiwo Lakanu (rtd)

11. Sola Ebiseni, Afenifere Secretary

12. Jimi Agbaje

13. Sola Lawal

14. Debola Oluwagbayi

15. Dupe Adelaja

16. Dele Momodu

17. Senator Tolu Odebiyi

18. Dr. Olusegun Mimiko

19. Dr. Seun Obasanjo

20. Makin Soyinka

21. Dele Adesina (SAN)

22. AIG Tunji Alapinni (rtd.)

23. Reuben Abati

24. Eniola Bello

25. Bimbo Ashiru

26. Senator Tokunbo Ogunbanjo

27. Dapo Adelegan

28. Professor Akin Osuntokun

PS:

I Orikinla Totally Support The Resolution To Defend And Protect Yoruba Land From #Bandits And #Terrorists Trespassing On Yoruba Land And Killing Yoruba People.

@usinnigeria

@statedept


Integral Secures Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Exclusive Free to Air Media Rights Package from Infront

PRESS RELEASE

Integral Secures Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Exclusive Free to Air Media Rights Package from Infront

Integral will once again work with Nigeria's most popular broadcaster the NTA Network, to deliver all content on its free-to-air-platform

LAGOS, Nigeria, July 23, 2021/ -- Integral (www.Integralsande.com), Nigeria’s leading sports marketing and management company, has secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on free-to-air television.


This sub-license deal from Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company and the IOC's exclusive rights holder for free-to-air distribution rights in Sub-Saharan Africa, is in addition to Integral’s existing Premier League sub-license free-to-air media rights agreement on NTA.


The exclusive package includes TV broadcast of live events as well as repeats and highlights from the Olympics. Integral will once again work with Nigeria's most popular broadcaster the NTA Network, to deliver all content on its free-to-air-platform.

Over 200 hours of content will be available on the NTA Network with 6 to 9 hours of daily content throughout the period of the Games from July 23rd to August 8th, 2021

Christophe Van Rothem, Infront Associate Director Media rights said: “Our objective is to maximize the reach of the Olympic Games 2020 and this partnership with our trusted partner Integral, will ensure we are able to bring this unique and thrilling event to millions of households in Nigeria.”

Speaking on the deal, the Managing Director of Integral Abimbola Ilo: “Following our partnership for the Premier League free-to-air rights, we are pleased to be working with Infront again to deliver high-quality sports moments to Nigerians. This is an important avenue to showcase the talents and tell the stories of exceptional athletes as they compete on the world’s biggest stage in Tokyo”.

Also speaking on the deal, Mallam Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, the Director General of NTA stated: “As Nigeria’s most popular broadcaster, we are committed to delivering quality content to our viewers and proud to be partnering with Integral again on what promises to be yet another exciting sports event. With this partnership, we will once again be bringing the best of premium sports to the widest distribution in Nigeria”.

Chichi Nwoko Integral’s Associate Director, Sports Rights and Media Partnership added: “We are happy to partner with Infront to bring another exciting major sports event to passionate Nigerian fans. As we add to our growing media rights catalogue, Integral is delighted to be at the centre of delivering live sports content to Nigerians yet again”.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Integral.

For more information, please contact:

Deolu Lamikanra

deolu@integralsande.com


About Integral:

Integral, based in Lagos, Nigeria, is a leading sports marketing and management practice. Known for its high standards of delivery, the company has varied expertise and works in all aspects of the industry – events, corporate hospitality, sponsorships, media rights and athlete representation. Integral’s track record includes hospitality experience specific to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, 2014 FIFA World Cup™ and more recently, as exclusive sales agent in Nigeria of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ and the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 ™ Official Hospitality Programme delivering first class solutions to a variety of individuals and blue-chip companies in Nigeria. Integral is the current rights holder of the Premier League sub-license free-to-air media rights in Nigeria.


About Infront:

Connecting fans and consumers to the greatest sports events, Infront, a Wanda Sports Group company, offers everything an event or commercial partner needs to be successful. With a team of over 1,000 experts working from 45 offices across more than 16 countries around the world, Infront is equipped to tackle any challenge – be it innovative digital solutions, world-class event operations, international media rights distribution, sponsorship sales and activations or cutting-edge media production. Headquartered in Switzerland, Infront is passionate and AllAboutSports. @infrontsports www.infront.sport.

SOURCE

Integral


Thursday, July 22, 2021

New Original Digital Art: Uli Si Naka Chi

 Uli Si Na Ka Chi


Come my beloved

Beloved maiden of Aforugiri

Aforugiri of Ohuhu.

Ohuhu of Umuahia.

Umuahia, land of the rising sun 

Rising sun of the Eastern region 

Eastern region of the River Niger.


Come to me Ola OMA.

OMA , beautiful daughter of Umu-Uda.

 Umu-uda of Nsigwu  

Nsigwu of Umu Udara.

Udara, the sweet fruit of Chrysophyllum albidum,

Chrysophyllum albidum of Chrysophyllum africanum,

Chrysophyllum africanum of the Chrysophyllum cainito.


I will decorate you with the hollow shaft.

Hollow shaft of the beautiful feather 

Beautiful feather of Ekwuru ụlọ.

Ekwuru ụlọ, the enchanted bird of my Chi.

My Chi will decorate you with Uli Okorobian of Rothmania hispida,

Rothmania hispida, twin sister of Uli Oba.

Uli Oba of Rothmania whitfieldi.

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima,

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

PS:

I have composed this panegyric poem on the beauty of Uli body art on an Igbo maiden in original Igbo form of poetic verse.  And including the sources of the Uli paint and the two types of the Uli.

The Igbo title of ʊ̙lɪ̙ Si Ṅàkà  Chɪ̙ mmeans that Uli is from the hands of destiny. 

My father was a native of Aforuguri and mother was of Umuda Nsigwu of Ohuhu in Umuahia North of Abia State in Eastern region of Nigeria. 

I am an internationally exhibited Nigerian artist since 1983 when I represented Nigeria with my illustrations exhibited at two International book fairs in Japan and I was the youngest artist. My artworks were insured by the UNESCO for the exhibitions. 

I was the curator of the first Arts Against AIDS Art Exhibition in Nigeria to celebrate the 1993 World AIDS Day at the National Museum and National Arts Theatre in Lagos. The artworks sold out, including my own paintings on canvas like the "Eruption of the Love Virus" and "Condomania".

I am also a prize winning writer, author, publisher and film/TV producer.

I have done two NFTs in my Uli Si Naka Chi series which are available for auction. Unique signature will be made on the artwork for the art collector which is not on this image.

Contact Me:

EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima 

The CEO,

International Digital Post Network Limited

Publisher/Editor, 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchimaeyerengozi

Tel: +2347066379246

©ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima. No copying, duplicating or republishing any part of the sentences in this poem without the authorisation and permission of the author.

Video:Unge Leo: #1 Action Hero in African Cinema



Africa's number one action hero, J Leo Uche and one of the fast rising young filmmakers in Nigeria.


J Leo Uche is one the fastest rising ambitious young filmmakers in Nigeria, action actor/director, a stunt director,  a producer who was born and raised in Lagos, Africa's largest megacity.
A five times national champion in martial arts,  a martial arts expert and trainer .

Filmography:
Rough chase, 
Unges War, 
Dangerous Men, 
Spirit of the Jungle, 
Systemic Lies, 
The Unknown, 
Sarafina's Nightmare,
Wrong Idea, 
A Trip To Libya
The Legend of Gatuso
African Bodyguard
Revelation

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series
@247nigeria Twitter
@Nigeriansreport Facebook

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

NFTs Are Beyond Digital Art

 #NFT

#nftsstories
#bitcoin
#eth
#ethereum
#blockchain

#nftart
@nft
@binancenfts
@nft.collectors
@nft_news
@christiesinc
@sothebys

#NFTs Are Time Capsules
Non-fungible tokens are tokens of our digital civilization: the time capsules of our history for the benefit of every entity of humanity for our posterity.
- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Author of Uli Si Naka Chi

Image: ART IS A FIGURE OF SPEECH
Original artwork created online minutes ago by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima.

Contact Me:

EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima 
The CEO,
International Digital Post Network Limited
Publisher/Editor, 
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 



Nollywood is Not Hollywood

#movietheaters

#cinema

#movies

#moviegoers

#Hollywood

@theacademy

@amctheatres

Having a cinema is one thing; attracting moviegoers to the cinema is another thing.

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Nigerian film distributors and exhibitors banking on the followers of the A-List actors on Instagram and Facebook has not attracted majority of them.to the movies they featured in. Because, many the actors buy followers, views and likes and majority of the  followers are not going to the cinemas to spend N4000 to watch a movie that they can watch later on #Netflix with a subscription that is not up to N3000 monthly, including hundreds of other movies and series.

70% of the #Nollywood movies playing in the cinemas in Nigeria are actually teleplays without cinematic quality. 

Dramatic scenes are often mistaken for cinematic scenes in Nollywood. And actors having a  shouting match in a scene is not an #Oscar performance, but may be good enough for an #emmy . Nollywood is not Hollywood.🤩

Frankly speaking, Nollywood movies are best viewed on @netflix, @showmaxonline and cable TV channels.

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima.

Sunday, July 18, 2021

Nigeria is Still Far Behind South Africa in Film and TV Productions

 


Nigeria is Still Far Behind South Africa in Film and TV Productions

South Africa has the biggest film industry in Africa, followed by Egypt and Morocco in terms revenues in international film distribution and acquisition.

From the Academy Award winning "Tsotsi" of 2005 directed by Gavin Wood that grossed more than US$11 million from a budget of US$3 million to "District 9" of 2009 directed by Neill Blomkamp that had four nominations for the #Oscars. The film made more than  US$210 million from a budget of US$30 million.
There are several other outstanding South African films of global success.


In spite of the popularity of sociocultural phenomenon of Nollywood, the first indie film industry in Africa ranked as the second largest film industry in the world after the Bollywood of India and ahead of Hollywood in the quantity of movies produced annually, we are still waiting for a Nigerian film that can make up to US$5 million from the box office or qualify for nominations at the Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.

 

When it comes to TV, of course the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is more advanced than the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), both in content,  programming and administrative management in structure and manpower. Without Multichoice in Nigeria,  both the local public and private TV stations are lagging behind South African TV stations. The private TV stations in Nigeria don't produce enough programmes and the programmes are often running without any proper programming. And the programmes have discordant audio caused by bad audio boards or incompetent audio engineers.
No need to discuss the quality of the TV productions with bad sound.
They have badly produced local movies, documentaries and reality TV shows, because of low budgets and insufficient revenues to produce or buy premium content. So, they resort to having cheap content of low quality.

There are more entertainment on some Nigerian blogs than the local private TV  channels in Nigeria.  And they even  compete for bragging rights to winning local TV awards with programmes that cannot be sold internationally.


- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima 

Publisher/Editor, 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima


-

Saturday, July 17, 2021

Julia Ducournau's "TITANE" Wins the Palme d'Or of the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival in France



Julia Ducournau's "TITANE" Wins the Palme d'Or of the 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival in France

 
Director Julia Ducournau, center, winner of the Palme d'Or for the film 'Titane' poses with Agathe Roussell, left, and Vincent Lindon during the awards ceremony at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, July 17. AP-Yonhap.

 

#cannes2021
#cannesfilmfestival
#74thcannesfilmfestival
#palmedor
#Cannes
#Awards
#winners
#julia
#leos
#bestdirector
#bestfilm
#jury
#spikelee #Juliaducournau

#Annette #leoscarax

@festivaldecannes
74th Annual Cannes Film Festival
Winners Announced 

I wanted "Annette" by Leos Carax to win the highly coveted Palme d'Or, but "Titane" by Julia Ducournau won it while Leos won the prize for the Best Director.
See my article on Leos Carax Makes "Annette" Masterpiece of Modern Cinema on https://nigeriansreportng.blogspot.com/2021/06/leos-carax-makes-annette-masterpiece-of.html

Palme d’Or
Titane, dir: Julia Ducournau

Grand Prize (TIE)
A Hero, dir: Asghar Farhadi, (Farhadi has received two Oscarsfor Best Foreign Language Film for his films A Separation, 2011 and The Salesman, 2016.)


Compartment No. 6, dir: Juho Kuosmanen
Best Director
Leos Carax, Annette
Best Screenplay
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
Best Actress
Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person In The World

Jury Prize (TIE)
Ahed’s Knee, dir: Nadav Lapid
Memoria, dir: Apichatpong Weerasthakul
Best Actor
Caleb Landry Jones, Nitram
Camera d’Or
Murina, dir: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic
Short Film Palme d’Or
All The Crows In The World, dir: Tang Yi
Special Mention: August Sky, dir: Jasmin Tenucci

Yara Shahidi Becomes Global Ambassador of Dior

 

DIOR MAKEUP NAMES YARA SHAHIDI A GLOBAL BEAUTY AMBASSADOR 

THE FRENCH FASHION HOUSE NAMES THE ACTRESS AND ACTVISIT YARA SHAHIDI AS DIOR'S NEW GLOBAL BRAND AMBASSADOR 

Yara Shahidi is Christian Dior's newest global brand and beauty ambassador, alongside Christian Serratos and Sam Visser celebrating the designs and creations of Women’s Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and Creative and Image Director of Makeup, Peter Philips. She joins the league of other Dior brand ambassadors Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawerence,and Cara Delevingne. 

Shahidi worked with Dior earlier this year for International Women's Day for "Dior Stands with Women," a project created by Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project for female-led education. Off-screen, Shahidi is a full-time student at Harvard University where she is earning a B.A. in Social Studies and African American studies. She uses her social media platform to support Black Lives Matter and WeVoteNext while also dedicating her time to public speaking with leaders such as Dr. Angela Davis, President Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and First Lady Michelle Obama. 

Source https://www.crfashionbook.com/celebrity/a36914394/dior-makeup-names-yara-shahidi-a-global-beauty-ambassador/


Friday, July 16, 2021

You Can Start Dating by Going To the Movie Theater

You Can Start Dating by Going To the Movie Theater 

My first date with LO was taking her to the Silverbird Cinemas at the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island in Lagos, Nigeria. But we spent some time on her campus at the University of Lagos before heading to see an Eddie Murphy with Kerry Washington movie and then later posed for photographs. 

Romance plays a great part in going to the movies and it is better than going to the night club or pub.

Sitting close to each other, sharing drinks and popcorn or other cookies and the thrilling moments of a movie will increase the romantic warmth between you.

She can rest her head on your shoulder and then put your arm around her and peck or kiss her if she permits you.

I always prefer to sit with my date at the end of the last row where we can snuggle together and I have been able to do some smooching during the screening of a movie.

Some subtle romantic movies like using your fingers to stroke her eyebrows and if you are an experienced lover or player, you can admire her cleavage, commend her beautiful eyes (even if they are not beautiful), lips, nose, ears and hair.

Touching her ear can tickle her romantic fancy.

Then take some popcorn and feed her lovingly and tell her to do the same.

Seeing a romantic movie on a date can put both of you in the right mood for sharing the most loving moments. 

1. It is always better to let her choose a movie of her choice.

Give her that obligation and RESPECT.

2. Don't dictate the pace, make room for her to sit first and make sure she is comfortable. 

Open the bottle or can of drink for her and also taste her popcorn and tell her to taste yours. 

It is better if you share the same pack.


3. Don't touch her without permission and PLEASE, don't extend your fingers or hands to her sensitive parts on a first date and if you are not her main guy. I mean don't trespass if she is not your girlfriend, except you want to snatch her from another guy. 

Snatching another person's lover can be suicidal, so be careful.

4. If she coughs, sneezes or belches, say "sorry" and politely pat her hand or shoulder. And offer her a clean handkerchief if she does not have any.

5. Compliment her by saying she is as attractive as the beautiful actress in the movie. Mention similarities in hair, skin and other physical features. 

Appreciate the best attributes of a woman by appreciating the good actresses in the movie.

Ladies like men who respect other women.

They are kindred spirits.

6. Don't be distracted from her and the movie.

Don't answer phone calls while you are in the movie theater. 

Switch off your cell phone once you step into into hall.

7. Don't be in a hurry to leave and if you are going to the GENTS, leave your cell phone with her. It shows mutual trust.

More later.

- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima

Author of "The Language of True Love", " Scarlet Tears of London", "Diary of the Memory Keeper", "The Prophet Lied" and other books distributed by Amazon, Barnes&Noble and other booksellers.



Thursday, July 15, 2021

Madagascan Designer Eileen Akbaraly Honored at Cannes

 

PRESS RELEASE
Madagascan Designer Eileen Akbaraly Honored at Cannes
Eileen Akbaraly received the Unity Peace Award [Best Commitment] from the collective Union-Life International

Access Multimedia Content

https://www.africa-newsroom.com/press/media/madagascan-designer-eileen-akbaraly-honored-at-cannes

CANNES, France, July 15, 2021/ -- Cannes (France), first place in world press coverage thanks to its famous film festival, a platform of global influence, has just hosted the 5th edition of the Better World Fund. At the podium, Eileen Akbaraly, founder of Made For A Woman (www.MadeForAWoman.shop), reaffirmed her entrepreneurial and creative commitment to an innovative project which is respectful of nature and profoundly human. She received the Unity Peace Award BWF.

A stone’s throw from Spike Lee's “summer palace”, the splendid president of what is, this mid-July, the most important crossroads for celebrities on the planet, a conscience of tomorrow was invited to this forum of new worlds. This was an opportunity for the young Madagascan raffia-palm craft brand to promote its values and ambitions.

Invited to speak at the high-end advocacy session ‘Mastermind’ at the opening of this day presented by the Better World French endowment fund, Eileen Akbaraly challenged the public regarding the modern mission of companies. “Customers want transparency about the origin of materials, products that have meaning, an identity inseparable from their territory. The act of purchasing is aligned with a certain relationship to the world which values human action and demonstrates natural balance.”

It is a major development for all economic and creative players from the South as well as the North, confirmed by the presence of other panelists such as OECD adviser Louis Maréchal, the president of the René Moawad Foundation, Michel Moawad from Lebanon, geopolitician Mikaa Mered, Ghanaian politician Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, and even international lawyer Stéphane Brabant.


During the evening, several hundred prestigious guests were able to appreciate the immanent beauty of the unique works of Made For A Woman, produced in the brand's workshops in Madagascar. Bags, tunics, and hats, made by hand in the tradition of the living heritage of Madagascar and colored without heavy metals or dangerous chemicals, offered testimony to a desire to magnify this inseparable link between nature, women, and men who inherit it and the risky, daring part called intelligence in action. Traceability was illustrated by the film “The Raphia Journey” by Geoffrey Gaspard, produced by Eileen Akbaraly, which was presented to guests on the Croisette.

https://bit.ly/2TdHCJN

At the end of the event, Eileen Akbaraly received the Unity Peace Award [Best Commitment] from the collective Union-Life International.

Created by Manuel Collas de La Roche as a forum conducive to advocacy for peace, solidarity, and humanism, the Better World Fund held its 5th edition within the prestigious framework of the 74th Cannes Film Festival. Over the years, it has honored personalities of international rank including Jean-Michel Cousteau, Mary J. Blige, Denis Mukwege, Forest Whitaker, and HRH Prince Albert.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Made for a Woman.
 
For more images: https://bit.ly/3z2ZOoO

Press Office:
fazdahall@gmail.com
+27 834 133 346
vincent.garrigues@meroe.global
+33 640 460 542

MADE FOR A WOMAN
Anosivavaka, Ambohimanarina,
Antananarivo, Madagascar

https://madeforawoman.shop/
https://www.instagram.com/madeforawoman/
 

SOURCE
Made for a Woman

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Wednesday, July 14, 2021

My Kyosie T-Shirts for Canon with Love

I am impressed with Canon's  philospphy of Kyosei– a Japanese word meaning ‘living and working together for the common good’.

I call Kyosie the Golden Rule of Canon as clearly defined and explained in The Path of Kyosei by Ryuzaburo Kaku published by the Harvard Business Review on https://hbr.org/1997/07/the-path-of-kyosei. 


I have designed the Kyosie T-Shirt as shown in the photographs of different models wearing it.
Canon should put Kyosei with Japanese writing on Canon branded T-shirts, face caps, shopping bags, travel bags and screensavers for the promotion of Kyosei in Canon on billboards and rollerbanners at the malls and shops selling the brands of products of Canon and see how your public relations and sales will increase in Nigeria. 
I can help you to circulate it in social media outlets.

Faithfully, 
EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima 
International Digital Post Network Limited
Publisher/Editor, 
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series