I had an usual dream before dawn in which I saw documents like a brochure and passport on my bed in the room of a hotel or a guest house. I saw "Bong" written on the brochure slightly overlapping the passport. The scene faded in a flash. Then another scene appeared and I was meeting with Bong Joon-ho in the lobby of a venue for an event.
Bong is the famous South Korean filmmaker of critically acclaimed films, including his directorial debut film, "Barking Dogs Never Bite" (2000), "Memories of Murder (2003), and the record making "Parasite" (2019), the highest-grossing South Korean film in history; the first South Korean film to win the highly coveted Palme d'Or of the 2019 annual Cannes Film Festival, @festivaldecannes in France and the first South Korean film to receive nominations for the #Oscars; and at the 92nd Academy Awards won the: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. "Parasite" is the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and became the first non-English language film to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Why did I dream of travelling and meeting Bong Joon-ho?Are we going to meet for international awards or international co-production?
One of my unusual stories which I think Bong can direct the film adaptation is "Hysterics" about sin, insanity and redemption. A surrealistic drama of unforeseen circumstances that resulted in the encounter of a monk with an insane prostitute in a brothel. But how did a Roman Catholic monk end up in a brothel of drunkards, gamblers and prostitutes?
Jen Brister To Host makers & shakers Awards Inaugural Ceremony
"We are excited to announce that comedian Jen Brister will be hosting the makers & shakers Awards inaugural ceremony on December 14th 2020.
The makers & shakers Awards supported by EQUALS, a brand new event to celebrate excellence in global production.
The makers & shakers Awards – which were officially launched at a special event at BAFTA in December – honour ground-breaking ideas and initiatives from the world’s commercial, TV, film, animation and gaming sectors.
makers & shakers Virtual Awards Ceremony
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I was recommended for the inaugural makers & shakers Awards, but the heartbreaking catastrophe of the COVID-19 pandemic left me totally distracted and disinterested in celebrations and events in the entertainment industry. I retreated into self-isolation even before the compulsory lockdown started and till date I have not been to any physical event or had a physical appointment.
Without making noise about it, I have been promoting film locations in Nigeria for international TV and film productions and film tourism which attracted the global film industry since 2016 to date. Film tourism can generate more revenues for Nigeria than the revenues from Nigerian movies. Movie merchandising makes more money than the box office and subscriptions to OTT platforms combined.
The #Nollywood box office hit comedy, "The Wedding Party" would have made more money from movie merchandising than the box office.
As Hollywood and Bollywood stars shine at the premiere of the sexual drama "Sleeping Beauty" the toast of the Cannes Film Festival, nothing to show from Nollywood the so called second largest movie industry in the world.
The celebrated movie stars from Hollywood, Bollywood and other notable film industries from other countries are participating and competing for the coveted prizes and other attractions of the film festival. Nigeria has a pavilion at the festival, but no Nollywood movie is in competition or even out of competition.
Nollywood stars are simply unknown here. Just appearing on the CNN or being mentioned on the Oprah Winfrey Show will make Nigerians go gaga, but what really counts is breaking the ice and making heads turn at the Cannes or Oscars and not at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos city, Nigeria. Our Nollywood stars need to aim at shattering the highest glass ceiling as South African stars have done for decades by winning Oscars. Cinematographer Ted Moore (1914–1987) was the first South African to win an Oscar in 1967, when he also won the BAFTA for Robert Bolt’s magnificent film, A Man for All Seasons. He was from Benoni, the same town as actress Charlize Theron the first South African actor to win an Oscar in 2004 for Monster and her gripping role of serial killer Aileen Wuornos was described as "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema" by the highly esteemed American film critic and screenwriter Roger Ebert, the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. The other Oscar winning South Africans are Ronald Harwood who won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the multiple award winning The Pianist in 2003 and his other screenplay The Diving Bell and the Butterfly had four Oscar nominations in 2007, and Gavin Hood who got the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film with Tsotsi in 2005.
In fact no Nigerian TV knows what is going at the Cannes, except few of the notable Nigerian journalists/film critics like Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian, Victor Akande of The Nation and Steve Ayorinde. The others are the veteran Nigerian filmmaker and scholar Afolabi Adesanya, who is the MD/CE of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) with his delegation at the Nigerian pavilion where some of the Nigerian movie makers Like Faruk Lasaki, Kunle Afolayan, Madu Chikwendu, Fidelis Duker and others can meet and receive visitors. Today, the European media partner of Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF), Mr. Bruno Chatelin was at the pavilion to receive an important message from Mr. Hope Obioma Opara, the President of EKOIFF. The other Nigerians here are not different from the tourists. The only Nigerian online news media reporting the Cannes Film Festival since 2005 is International Digital Post Network (IDPN) Limited publishers of 24/7 Nigeria and other niche websites. See it all only on www.247nigeria.com and get the juicy news of the red carpet in audio, video and photos.
Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan arrives on the red carpet for the screening of the film "Sleeping Beauty", in competition at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, May 12, 2011. Twenty films are competing in the May 11 to 22 cinema showcase, with a roll call including major screen stars, revered "auteur" directors and relative newcomers. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)
Jury member Uma Thurman poses during a photocall at the 64th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes on Wednesday, May 11.
~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, the Founder/Festival Director of Eko International Film Festival and Publisher/CEO of International Digital Post Network (IDPN) Limited,
