"Breath of Life" is the Best Nigerian Film of the Year 2023

2023 has been a great year for Nollywood.

Nigerian filmmakers made outstanding movies in 2023 and several of them won notable awards locally and globally, including C. J "Fiery" Obasi's multiple award winning mythological fantasy film, "MAMI WATA", Nigeria's entry for the Best International Feature Film

Category of the 2024 annual Academy Awards; , winner of the Best Nigerian Film at the 19th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

"MAMI WATA" premiered at the annual Sundance Film Festival and the cinematographer, Lílis Soares won the Special Jury Prize in the World Dramatic Competition for the film's cinematography in black and white. The film won three awards at FESPACO; Prix de la Critique Paulin S. Vieyra (African Critics Award), Meilleure Image (Cinematography Award) and Meilleur Décor (Set Design Award). The first Nollywood film to win these highly coveted international awards.

It is nominated for the Best  International Film Category of the 39th annual Independent Spirit Awards in the United States of America; the first for a Nollywood film.

Babatunde Apalowo's "All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White" was joint winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2023 annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF).

“Funmilayo Ransom Kuti" by Mrs. Bolalenle Austen-Peters won the Oronto Douglas' Overall Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay awards at the 2023 annual AFRIFF.

Editi Effiong’s crime thriller, "The Black Book" for Netflix became the first Nigerian film to be number one on the Global Netflix Chart of the most watched movies on the world's largest streaming platform.

"Orah" by Nigerian Canadian filmmaker Lonzo Nzekwe premiered at the 2023 annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Finally, Funke Akindele's new film "A Tribe Called Judah.” is the icing on the cake of the best Nigerian films of 2023.

In overall assessment of all these outstanding films, Nigerians Report Online has selected BB Sasore's "Breath of Life", the Best Nigerian Film of the year 2023.

 "Breath of Life" is an Unforgettable Journey of Discovery of the Power of Faith, Love and Triumph of the Human Spirit

"Breath of Life" is a period drama set in Ibadan in the 1950s. It is about "Timi", a gifted clergyman who turns into an "old lonely curmudgeon when his family is tragically taken from him. Until Elijah, a humble man with big dreams of becoming a priest, comes into his life. Through Elijah, Timi not only learns to live again, but also realizes purpose for all his gifts and wealth."

The Oscar performance of Wale Ojo as "Timi" has proven that he is indeed  more than an actor of actors, but also an auteur of genius in his excellent interpretation of one of the greatest portraits of unique and unforgettable characters in Nigerian drama.
No other actor in Nollywood would have been able to play a better  challenging role of such an iconic character of "Timi" as Wale Ojo did exceptionally well.
He is among the best actors in the world in the same class with Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins of Hollywood for his mastery of being absorbed in the personality of every character he has played the leading role in different movies. This is a rare  accomplishment among actors in Nigeria, because only few of them have such command in characterization and intellectual depth.

Overall, in concise and precise analysis, the "Breath of Life" is a breathtaking cinematic drama of intellectual and spiritual insights on the triumph of faith, love and the human spirit in the conquest of the existential realities of life in the world. The survival, triumph and victory of the human spirit in the vicissitudes of the trials of life.

The director, producer, cinematographer, screenwriter, composer of the soundtracks and production designer have made a film that will become one of the timeless classics of filmmaking in Nigeria. "Breath of Life" is more than the typical Nollywood movie. It is a beautiful story in motion picture that will resonate with people in different societies in the world, because it is a universal journey of discovery of the true essence of human existence on Earth.
It would be more appreciated dubbed in other languages for the rest of the world to share in the beauty of this drama of the worth of every breath of life.

"Breath of Life" is one of the best films of the year and the kind of Nigerian film that should have been in the Official Selection of the annual Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or.

Principal cast:
Wale Ojo, Bimbo Manuel, Sam Dede, Tina Mba, Sambasa Nzeribe, Genoveva Umeh, Chimezie Imo, Demola Adedoyin, Melly Atari and others.

Produced by
Eku Edewor and Aderinola Adeyokunnu.
Written and directed by BB Sasore, Ola Cardoso is the Director of Photography and Kelechi Odu is the Creative Director.


More details on
https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Breath-of-Life/0MAIUKK9AP09W0F2HQ99XWI0DD

A must on the watchlist of everyone who loves great movies.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry since 2013, printed in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America and distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers in paperback, hardcopy and Amazon Kindle.
"

Top 10 Most Powerful Women in Nollywood and the Nigerian Film Industry

Who are the top 10 most powerful women in Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry?

Do you know them?

The movers and shakers and the leading achievers in film production, distribution and exhibition.

They were twelve; two of them have passed on to eternal glory, but the milestones of their legacies have become testimonies of their outstanding achievements in the history of Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

I have already written on Mrs. Amaka Igwe, MFR that was  published in the Black Film Maker magazine in the UK in 2006. 

She was the numero uno of the women in Nollywood.

On 2 January 2020, Google celebrated her 57th birthday with a Google Doodle.

Mrs. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, MFR has been celebrated locally and internationally and her Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) was the cover feature of the first edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series in 2013 which has become a collector's edition by art collectors on Nollywood and the history of filmmaking in Nigeria. Madam Peace was the only filmmaker in Nollywood to become a TED Fellow.

(Please, if you know another one, let me know).

Both of them are profiled among the 40 Nigerian female filmmakers in the third edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series to be released this year.

The top 10 Most Powerful Women in Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry, who are currently among the most active and accomplished leading achievers and stakeholders will be featured in the third edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series.

One of them will be on the cover.

I will not reveal all the ten, because of those who will quickly copy the title and rush to publish the list and claim the credit for the authorship.

The following are the first top three.

Ms  Mo Abudu

Ms. Chioma Ude

Mrs. Stephanie Linus

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series

Nigeria Daily Twitter

https://twitter.com/nigeriadaily

New Nigeria on Pinterest

www.pinterest.com/nigeriansreport

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

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

Tel: +2347066379246

The Legacy of Peace Anyiam-Osigwe

 

The Legacy of Peace Anyiam-Osigwe 

Africa has beautiful stories to tell, says Peace Anyiam-Osigwe. At 16 years old, the Nigerian published her own magazine. She later continued bringing a “voice to voiceless issues” as a talk show host and film producer. Founder of the African Movie Academy Awards, Peace now dedicates her time to building cinemas in rural Africa, and helping other Africans tell the untold stories of their homeland.

Among other accomplishments, you’re a published poet, a TV/film director and producer, and creator of the African Movie Academy Awards. Of all that you do, what are you most proud of?

#Peace #Peaceanyiamosigwe
#Nollywood #Nigeria #Africa #movies #cinema #TV #series #filmmaking #filmmaker #legacy
#film #building

Source
https://blog.ted.com/fellows-friday-with-peace-anyiam-osigwe/

I Cannot Say Goodbye Madam Peace Anyiam-Osigwe - MFR

I Cannot Say Goodbye Madam Peace Anyiam-Osigwe - MFR 

Dear Peace Anyiam-Osigwe,
I cannot say Goodbye to you.
I don't want to accept that you will depart without completing your  dream projects to uplift #NOLLYWOOD to higher grounds of greater heights in the world.

I shared the good news of my upcoming "Once Upon a Time in NOLLYWOOD" to you last night on LinkedIn.

Have you abandoned what you told me you wanted to do in memory of your brother, Michael and I agreed with you?
Mortality cannot comprehend immortality.

You are the very first person to appreciate me in Nollywood and that is why I made the 2013 edition of your annual Africa Movie Academy Awards, (AMAA) the cover story of the first edition of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series to celebrate the unprecedented legacy of your visionary leadership of Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry locally and internationally which you have presented proudly to the world as an outstanding TED Fellow.
How can I say Goodbye to you, when the best is yet to come?

Madam Peace Anyiam-Osigwe,
I cannot say Goodbye.

Viva Riva, Beyond the Nollywood Fever and Palaver

Viva Riva, Beyond the Nollywood Fever and Palaver


This weekend as the Congolese gangster thriller Viva Riva opens in theatres in Los Angeles, U.S.A, it should be a wakeup call to Nollywood that what matters most is not the quantity of your movies, but the quality in Art and craft of filmmaking beyond the get-rich-quick syndrome of churning out cheap home videos of Nigerian comedies and tragedies from Idumota to Onitsha.

When Djo Tunda Wa Munga’s "Viva Riva" beat the best Nollywood movies at the 2011 African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), many of the Nigerian filmmakers were humbled. But how many of them learnt the real lessons of the event? They preferred to rush back to their business as usual in Nollywood and having premieres of their amateurish flicks at the Silverbird Cinemas where their posing and posturing on the local red carpet is the best they have been able to achieve so far, while the man from the war torn Democratic Republic of the Congo has gone ahead of them to make history with his "Viva Riva" as the first Congolese feature to find distribution in the U.S. I wonder if any Nollywood flick has achieved that. And Congo where French is the main official language, plus four official indigenous languages: Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba from “400 different tribes with 400 different ways of thinking. And, there are more than 200 ‘living’ languages,” according to Munga, with no acting schools and no "Congowood". In fact for most members of the cast, it was their first film credit.


Chineze Anyaene

Is it not amazing that the best film from Nollywood is "IJÉ the Journey", a New York Film Academy thesis feature film by Chineze Anyaene who has won 12 awards, including the Golden Ace Award at Las Vegas International Film Festival and the Melvin Van Peeples Award at the San Francisco Black Film Festival. In fact she even claimed that "IJÉ the Journey is the first standard Nigerian made Hollywood film" and do you blame her when like most people Nollywood is being mistaken as the best we can boast of from the Nigerian film industry since majority of our youths and even journalists are ignorant of the history of filmmaking in Nigeria and never knew that "Palaver" was the first Nigerian film shot in Jos, Plateau State, in 1904. But "IJÉ the Journey" is just one of the best Hollywood standard features done by Nigerian filmmakers who were making fantastic world class films for the cinema in the 1970s and 1980s. From Dr. Ola Balogun to Afolabi Adesanya and other notable veterans of the Nigerian cinema now mistakenly erroneously and ambiguously dubbed “Nollywood”. And I have already addressed this in my previous articles on Nollywood, so there is no need to over flog it again.

The once popular cinema culture is gradually being revived by Ben Murray-Bruce through his expanding Silverbird Cinemas and others building new cinemas all over Nigeria. And the real filmmakers are now redefining Nollywood by taking up the challenge of making features that can compete with the best in the world.
Majority of them have gone through the New York Film Academy. Faruk Lasaki, Kunle Afolayan, Stephanie Okereke, Chineze Anyaene, Chika Anadu and others who are going to take Nigerian films to compete with the best at the Cannes, Oscars and other major centres of the film world. But we need to address the problem of intellectual ignorance and professional arrogance plaguing Nollywood.



Many of the stakeholders are doing more harm than good to Nollywood by engaging in activities questioning the dignity and leadership of the Nigerian film industry.
They have also dragged their associations into partisan politics and promoting cash-for-vote and cash-for-news coverage sharp practices with many of them rubbishing and tarnishing the public image of the Nigerian film industry.

Piracy is still rampant and counterfeiting is being practiced by notable Nollywood stars who have been accused of copyright infringements like the desperate but futile attempts by a faction of Nollywood producers to hijack the duly registered Eko International Film Festival with the unethical support of their accomplices in public office.

My personal experience is quite revealing in the case of the counterfeiting of Eko International Film Festival by the mercenaries in Nollywood who have been abusing and misusing their professional associations for their greed and ego trips. But I have dismissed them since they have been found wanting in facing the real business of filmmaking and raking up ethnic differences and tribalism in their primordial divide and rule tactics to cause north-south dichotomy and east-west dichotomy in Nollywood when what matters most is promoting what is best for the Nigerian film industry and giving the necessary cooperation and support to those with the best intentions for the advancement of Nollywood, no matter your state of origin, in fact no matter where the person comes from, even from the moon or mars.

Only backward and narrow-minded people would be banging their office desk and going round the bend over why an Igbo should be the owner of a film festival in Lagos with the Yoruba name of "Eko"?
Would they also go bananas that my popular pen name "Orikinla" is Yoruba, because I am Igbo or question why I created "Òmó Iya Osùn" the mystical girl in "Boy Adam Floats Headless In The Thames"? Of course they are ignorant of the fact that my father grew up among the Yoruba Ijebus of Ogun State in the western region of Nigeria, became a Babalawo versed in Ifa Divination, was also an Ogun priest with an Ogun shrine in Obalende on the Lagos Island and was a prominent member of the Ogboni society. And he brought me up with deep knowledge of the mythology and mysticism of the Yoruba culture and religion until he passed on. I knew enough to be the first Nigerian artist to mount an installation of Ogun shrine and Opon Ifa in an Art exhibition hosted by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung on the campus of the University of Lagos in 1992, based on my late father’s paraphernalia of Ogun worship and Prof. Wande Abimbola’s book on Ifa Divination.

The search for knowledge knows no boundaries.
Before Oduduwa there was Ifa. And before Adam, our lord Jesus Christ existed and still existing as explained in the book of John 1:1 of the Holy Bible.

Only ignorant, uneducated and uninformed people will question why two Igbo men should be the founder and owner of Eko International Film Festival in Lagos or anywhere else in the world. Anyone could have been the founder, owner or whatever. What matters is not who discovered or founded a property, but how beneficial it is to you and me, regardless of class, colour, creed, tribe or race.

In conclusion, may I advise all the stakeholders, aficionados and well wishers of the Nigerian film industry to look beyond their local competition in Nollywood, put aside their evil greed and foolish pride and let us do our best to support whatever will benefit Nigeria and the rest of the world.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Africa’s Academy Awards attract thousands to the Niger Delta

Africa’s Academy Awards attract thousands to the Niger Delta

The excitement is in the air this Sunday evening as thousands throng the Gloryland Cultural Centre in the capital city of Yenegoa in the oil rich Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta, to join African film makers, movie stars and movie buffs for the 2011 African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

The African Movie Academy Awards has all the glitz and red carpet fanfare that can only be compared to the glamorous and prestigious Oscars of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences(AMPAS)in Hollywood as AMAA celebrates the best of Nigeria’s Nollywood and the rest of Africa in one unforgettable night as African movie stars strut the red carpet to compete for the coveted trophies of the AMAA in different categories. AMAA has attracted notable Hollywood stars like Danny Glover, Forest Whitaker who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his thrilling portrayal of Ugandan military tyrant Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland", Cuba Gooding Jnr who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his memorable portrayal of Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's 1996 film "Jerry Maguire", Courtney Vance, Vivica A. Fox and Angela Basset.


South Africa dominates the 2011 AMAA with 27 nominations and followed by the host nation Nigeria with 23 nominations.

“The four South African films in competition include Hope Ville with nine nominations, Izulu Lami, seven nominations Shirley Adams, five nominations and A Small Town Called Descent with six nominations. Combined together, South Africa had the highest nominations by a country with a total of 27 nominations,” said Ms. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the CEO of AMAA.

Ghana and Congo are also competing with great movies receiving the highest nominations. Ghana’s "Sinking Sound" with 10 nominations. Kenya’s "Soul Boy" got 6 nominations.

Nigeria is a strong contender with four films. Tunde Kelani’s "Maami", Jeta Amata’s "Inale", Niyi Akanji’s "Aramotu" and Mahmood Alli-Balogun’s "Tango with Me" are movies to watch.

The most coveted prizes are the AMAA for the Best Actor and Actress in a leading role; Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Achievement in Visual award.


Famous Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji is nominated for Best Actress in Leading Role


Best Short Film

Bougfen – Petra Baninla Sunjo (Cameroun)
Weakness – Wanjiru Kairu (Kenya)
No Jersey No Match – Daniel Ademinokan (Nigeria)
Duty – Mak Kusare (Nigeria)
Bonlambo – Zwe Lesizwe Ntuli (South Africa)
Zebu And The Photofish – Zipporah Nyarori (Kenya)
Dina – Mickey Fonseca (Mozambique)
Allahkabo – Bouna Cherif Fofana (Togo)

Best Short Documentary

Symphony Kinsasha – Diendo Hamadi & Dinta Wa Lusula (Congo)
Naija Diamond (Feature On Dr. Rahmat Mohammed) – Nform Leonard (Nigeria)
After The Mine – Diendo Hamadi & Dinta Wa Lusula (Drc)
Stepping Into The Unknown – Rowena Aldous & Jill Hanas-Hancock (South Africa)
Yeabu’s Homecoming – Jenny Chu (Sierraleone)

Best Documentary

Kondi Et Le Jeudi Nationale – Ariana Astrid Atodji (Cameroun)
Headlines In History – Zobby Bresson (Kenya)
Co-Exist – Adam Mazo (Rwanda)
State Of Mind- Djo Tunda Wa Munga (Congo)
Naija Diamonds- Nfrom Leonard (Nigeria)

Best Diaspora Feature

Suicide Dolls – Keith Shaw (Usa)
Tested – Russell Costanzo (Usa)
Nothing Less -Wayne Saunders (Uk)
The Village -Wayne Saunders (Uk)

Best Diaspora Documentary

Stuborn As A Mule – Miller Bargeron Jr & Arcelous Deiels (Usa)
Momentum – Zeinabu Irene Davis (Usa)
If Not Now – Louis Haggart (Usa)
Motherland – Owen Alik Shahadah (Usa)
Changement – Chiara Cavallazi (Italy)

Best Diaspora Short Film

Cycle – Roy Clovis (Usa)
Under Tow – Miles Orion Feld (Usa)
Habitual Aggression – Temi Ojo (Usa)
Little Soldier – Dallas King (Usa)
The New N Word – Sowande Tichawonna (Usa)
Precipice – Julius Amedume (Uk)

Best Film For African Abroad

Anchor Baby – Lonzo Nzekwe (Nigeria/Canada)
In America: The Story Of The Soul Sisters- Rahman Oladigbolu (Nigeria/Usa)
Mirror Boy – Obi Emelonye (Nigeria/Uk)
Africa United – Debs Gardner-Brook (Rwanda/Uk)

Best Production Design

Tango With Me
Viva Riva
Hopeville
6 Hours To Christmas
Maami

Best Costume Design

Inale
Yemoja
Sinking Sands
Aramotu
Elmina

Best Make Up

Inale
Sinking Sands
A Private Storm
Viva Riva
A Small Town Called Descent

Best Soundtrack

Aramotu
Nani
Who Owns Da City
Inale
A Small Town Called Descent

Best Achievement In Sound

Sinking Sands
Shirley Adams
Izulu Lami
Viva Riva
Tango With Me

Best Cinematography

Soul Boy
Sinking Sands
Hopeville
Shirley Adams
Izulu Lami

Best Nigerian Film

Maami – Tunde Kelani
Aramotu – Niji Akanni
Tango With Me – Mahmood Ali- Balogun
Inale – Jeta Amata
A Private Storm – Lancelot Oduwa Imaseun/Ikechukwu Onyeka

Best Film In African Language

Aramotu – Niji Akanni (Nigeria)
Izulu Lami – Madoda Ncayiyana (South Africa)
Soul Boy- Hawa Essuman (Kenya)
Suwi – Musola Catherine Kaseketi (Zambia)
Fishing The Little Stone – Kaz Kasozi (Uganda)

Best Child Actor

Sobahle Mkhabase (Thembi), Tschepang Mohlomi (Chili-Bite) And Sibonelo Malinga(Khwezi) – Izulu Lami
Eriya Ndayambaje – Dudu In Africa United
Jordan Ntunga – Anto In Viva Riva
Ayomide Abatti – Young Kashi In Maami
Benjamin Abemigish a- Zebu In Zebu And The Photofish
Shantel Mwabi – Bupe In Suwi

Best Young Actor

Yves Dusenge (Child Soldier) And Roger Nsengiyumua (Footballer) – Africa United
Samson Odhiambo And Leila Dayan Opou – Soul Boy
Edward Kagutuzi – Mirror Boy
Donovan Adams – Shirley Adams
Junior Singo – Hopeville

Best Actor In Supporting Role

Osita Iheme – Mirror Boy
Hoji Fortuna – Viva Riva
Mpilo Vusi Kunene – A Small Town Called Descent
John Dumelo – A Private Storm
Desmond Dube – Hopeville

Best Actress In Supporting Role

Mary Twala – Hopeville
Joyce Ntalabe – The Rivaling Shadow
Marlene Longage – Viva Riva
Tina Mba -Tango With Me
Yvonne Okoro – Pool Party

Best Actor In Leading Role

Themba Ndaba – Hopeville
Patsha Bay – Viva Riva
Jimmy Jean-Louis – Sinking Sands
Ekon Blankson – Checkmate
Antar Laniyan – Yemoja

Best Actress In Leading Role

Idiat Shobande -Aramotu
Omoni Oboli- Anchor Baby
Manie Malone – Viva Riva
Amake Abebrese- Sinking Sands
Denise Newman -Shirley Adams
Genevieve Nnaji – Tango With Me

Best Director

Soul Boy – Hawa Essuman
Shirley Adams – Oliver Hermanus
Viva Riva – Djo Tunda Wa Munga
Aramotu – Niji Akanni
A Small Town Called Descent – Jahmail. X. T Qubeka
Sinking Sands – Leila Djansi

Best Film

Viva Riva – Djo Tunda Wa Munga (Congo)
Sinking Sands – Leila Djansi (Ghana)
Aramotu – Niji Akanni (Nigeria)
Soul Boy – Hawa Essuman (Kenya)
Hopeville – John Trengove (South Africa)
A Small Town Called Descent – Jahmil X.T Qubeka (South Africa)