Vision Films to Release Nigerian Air Force Action Film 'Eagle Wings' to VOD

 

Vision Films to Release Nigerian Air Force Action Film 'Eagle Wings' to VOD

ANGELES, April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vision Films, Inc is set to release the action film Eagle Wings to VOD on May 17, 2022. The film from writer/director Paul Apel Papel was shot entirely on location in Nigeria and is one of Vision's emerging catalog from prolific filmmakers in the region. Eagle Wings depicts the on-going devastating regional conflicts of insurgents, their pervasive mistrust of the government, and the mission of those who try to diffuse the war against all odds. The production value of aerial fighter jet scenes as well as ground combat, add to the realistic and epic scope of the film.

Synopsis: As insurgents overtake territories and kill civilians, the Nigerian Air Force is called in to bring peace to the area. When a recently married commander is lost behind enemy lines, his brothers-in-arms swear to his wife they will bring him home safely. The rescue mission leads them into a war-torn area and directly into a terrorist stronghold where loyalties are put to the test.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/QacLYzpSfwc

Lise Romanoff, CEO/Managing Director of Vision Films shares, "Eagle Wings is the perfect blend of an epic war movie and a relationship story."

Filmmaker Paul Apel Papel adds, "Eagle Wings is a fictional re-enactment of true events of  insecurity in Nigeria. I'm glad to share the film with the world."

The film stars Enyinna Nwigwe (The Wedding Party), Femi Jacobs (Omo Ghetto: The Saga), Yakubu Mohammed (Shuga), Francis Duru (Otondo), Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey, Uzee Usman, and Sadiq Daba

The Nigerian film industry is rapidly growing, producing thousands of movies that are finding global audiences and success. Nollywood, as the Nigerian movie business is known, has become one of the leading film industries in the world and currently is the second-largest film industry in the world.

Eagle Wings will be available on cable, major streaming platforms, and DVD in the US and Canada. 

About Vision Films

Vision Films is a leading independent sales and VOD aggregator specializing in the licensing, marketing, and distribution of over 800 feature films, documentaries, and series from some of the most prolific independent film producers in the world. Led by Lise Romanoff, Managing Director/CEO Worldwide Distribution, Vision Films releases 2-4 films a month across Theatrical, VOD, DVD, and television platforms. Visionfilms.net

Media Contact:
Andrea McKinnon
(818) 415-9442
334230@email4pr.com 

Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vision-films-to-release-nigerian-air-force-action-film-eagle-wings-to-vod-301527128.html

SOURCE Vision Films, Inc.

Why "Boycott" Was Not the Highest Grossing Nigerian Movie in March

Why "Boycott" Was Not the Highest Grossing Nigerian Movie in March

I expected "Boycott" to become a box office hit when it was released last month, but it bombed! Why?

This outstanding drama on the insurgency ravaging northern Nigeria was produced and directed by Standfame Ajalaja Stanley, starring the Alpha Males of Nollywood, Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), Kunle Coker and Yemi Blaq with Lovelyn Christian, Uzee Usman, Tolulope Asanu and other actors.

"Boycott" was not the highest grossing Nigerian movie in March, because the film distribution was not given to FilmOne Entertainment that belongs to the same owners of Filmhouse Cinemas, the largest cinema chain in West Africa with 54 screens so far. It was given to Blue Pictures that has only one cinema in Lagos. Therefore, "Boycott" was only shown in 34 locations according to the weekly box office report of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN). If it was distributed by FilmOne, it would have been shown in all their cinemas and also in other cinemas of the members of CEAN to maximize the box office and would have been the highest grossing movie.

The highest grossing NIgerian movie in April is "King Of Thieves" (Agesinkole) of popular actor and filmmaker, Femi Adebayo. The Yoruba epic is a coproduction of Niyi Akinmolayan‘s Anthill Studios and Femi Adebayo‘s Euphoria 360 and co-directed by Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo Salami. It is distributed by FilmOne and showing in 55 locations.

The highest grossing Nigerian movies are those given more showtimes than other movies and not based on meritocracy. But based on economies of scale determined by FilmOne and Filmhouse Cinemas and partners for their mutual benefit. So, if they don't give movies distributed by others enough cinemas, the movies cannot compete with their own movies at the box office.

An upcoming distribution company contacted me and said the politics of CEAN rules above the ethics of equity in the Nigerian film industry. But I said that it's all economics of marketing.  The recurrent expenditures with increasing overhead costs in a country without regular power supply makes having cinemas a capital-intensive business.  I was at a small cinema with two screens in two small halls and I was wondering how the owners will make ends meet with only 50 seats. 

What is the solution?

There is an urgency for more cinemas in Nigeria, because of increasing demand by moviegoers with the increasing population of the country with the fastest growing middle class in sub-Saharan Africa. 

0.4 cinema screens to 100,000 people is very small for millions of movie lovers in Nigeria and the present locations of the few movie theatres are not the most appropriate in terms of demographics, because more thousands of people drive for miles to get to the nearest movie theatres, because they don’t have any cinema in their local government areas. 

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor, NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series.

The American King Easter Weekend Giveaway Promotion at the Magnificent Cinemas in Lagos, Havana Cinemas in Owerri, Imo State, Platinum Cinemas in Kano and Exodus Cinemas in Makurdi, Benue State 

Rita Dominic: The Best Actress of the Year in 2021 in Nollywood

#Nollywood

#movies
#actors
#filmmaking
#awards
#filmfestivals
#rita
#ritadominic

Rita Dominic: The Best Actress of the Year in 2021 in Nollywood

Rita Dominic as Anjola in "La Femme Anjola" by Mildred Okwo.

"La Femme Anjola" revolves around a stockbroker who fell in love with a mysterious woman. Anjola is married to a gangster who owns a nightclub where she does live performances.

Rita Dominic is one of the best actors not only in NIgeria, but the rest of Africa and the world. She is one of the few actors I know who can turn a bad screenplay into a masterpiece.

The cinematic experience of "La Femme Anjola" will be more romantic when dubbed in the French language and Spanish language. Mildred Okwo should have the theatrical release of the French language copy in French speaking countries and the Spanish language copy in Spanish speaking countries.

The subtleties in the storytelling and intricate cinematography made this unique romantic drama the most accomplished of all the movies  produced by NIgerian filmmakers in 2021. The intellectual abilities of the director were shown in the artistry, imagery and poetry of "La Femme Anjola". It is going to become one of the classics of African cinema.

- 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, USA.
Art and book design by Juvelin Aripal in the Philippines.
Published by International Digital Post Network Limited.

The Top 10 Best NIgerian Movies in 2021

The Top 10 Best NIgerian Movies in 2021

NIgerian filmmakers produced over twenty outstanding movies both on film and video, even though none fulfilled the criteria to qualify for the NIgerian entry for the Best International Feature category of the 94th annual Academy Awards coming up on March 27, 2022.

The following are my selection of the top ten best NIgerian movies in 2021 based on peer reviews, film criticisms, awards and nominations and thematic importance, relevance and significance on contemporary issues of current affairs and history of NIgeria in the screenwriting, directing and cinematography.

1 Eyimofe by Chuko and Arie Esiri

2. Eagle Wings by Paul Apel Papel.

3. Ayinla by Tunde Kelani.

4. Juju Stories by C.J. Obasi, Abba Makama and Michael Omonua.

5. La Femme Anjola by Mildred Okwo.

6. Swallow by Kunle Afolayan.

7. Amina by Izu Ojukwu.

8. Black Mail by Obi Emelonye.

9.  Gone by Daniel Ademinokan.

10. Collision Course by Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters.

Notable Mentions

Prophetess by Niyi Akinmolayan.

Blackout by Abbey Abimbola, aka Crackydon.

A Soldier's Story 2 by Frankie Ogar.

Best Actor
OC Ukeje as "Chinda" in Blackmail
Best Actress
Rita Dominic as Anjola in La Femme Anjola.

 Rita Dominic is one of the best actors not only in NIgeria, but the rest of Africa and the world. She is one of the few actors I know who can turn a bad screenplay into a masterpiece.

The cinematic experience of "La Femme Anjola" will be more romantic when dubbed in the French language and Spanish language. Mildred Okwo should have the theatrical release of the French language copy in French speaking countries and the Spanish language copy in Spanish speaking countries.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Serie,

The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry since 2013,, printed in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

Art and book design by Juvelin Aripal in the Philippines.

Published by International Digital Post Network Limited.

 

Patience Ozokwor in AZUMKUTA KINGDOM

"AZUMKUTA KINGDOM"
A new epic movie from #Nollywood available for international acquisition and distribution on Vuulr.

Director : Frank Ejelam

Producer: Saviour Okpara

Cast: Patience Ozokwor, Lord Frank, Frances

There are over 400 NIgerian movies on Vuulr.    

Click here to view the best NIgerian movies on Vuulr. .

#Nigeria
#Igbo
#epic
#drama #movies #entertainment #acquisition #distribution #netflix #amazon #africa

Over 1, 426 Nigerian Movies Produced in 2021 and None Selected for the 94th Annual Academy Awards

Over 1, 426 Nigerian Movies Produced in 2021 and None Selected for the 94th Annual Academy Awards

The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) said entries submitted by Nigerian filmmakers did not meet the eligibility rules.

 "After a series of deliberations by the Committee members, we regret to announce that there won’t be submission of film to represent the country for the 94th Academy Awards. This is due to the fact that the films received so far for screening failed the eligibility rule test set by the Academy,” said the NOSC.

Once again, Nigerian filmmakers have disappointed Nigeria. From disqualification for failing to meet the eligibility criteria in 2019 to failing to make the short list for the nominations in 2020; Nigerian filmmakers continue lagging behind other African countries in competition for the most coveted awards for the best films in the world with Somalia and six other African countries on the final list of the official submissions for the Best International Feature Film of the 94th annual Academy Awards.

The following is the official final list.

ALBANIA – Two Lions Heading to Venice / Dy Luanë drejt Venecias (Jonid Jorgji)

ALGERIA – Héliopolis / (هليوبوليس) / (Haliyūbūlīs) (Djafar Gacem)

ARGENTINA – The Intruder / El Prófugo (Natalia Meta)

ARMENIA – Should the Wind Drop / Երբ որ քամին հանդարտվի / Si le vent tombe (Nora Martirosyan)

AUSTRALIA – When Pomegranates Howl (Granaz Moussavi)

AUSTRIA – Great Freedom / Große Freiheit (Sebastian Meise)

BANGLADESH – Rehana / রেহানা মরিয়ম নূর / Rehana Maryam Noor (Abdullah Mohammad Saad)

BELGIUM – Playground / Un monde (Laura Wandel)

BOLIVIA – The Great Movement / El Gran Movimiento (Kiro Russo)

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – The White Fortress / Tabija (Igor Drljaca)

BRAZIL – Private Desert / Deserto Particular (Aly Muritiba)

BULGARIA – Fear / Страх (Milko Lazarov)

CAMBODIA – White Building / ប៊ូឌីញ ស (Ivaylo Hristov)

CANADA – Drunken Birds / Les oiseaux ivres (Ivan Grbovic)

CHILE – White on White / Blanco en blanco (Theo Court)

COLOMBIA – Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

COSTA RICA – Clara Sola (Nathalie Álvarez Mesén)

CROATIA – Tereza37 (Danilo Šerbedžija)

CZECH REPUBLIC – Zátopek (David Ondříček)

DENMARK – Flee / Flugt (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)

ECUADOR – Sumergible (Alfredo León León)

EGYPT – Souad / سعاد (Ayten Amin)

ESTONIA – On the Water / Vee peal (Peeter Simm)

FINLAND – Compartment No. 6 / Hytti nro 6 (Juho Kuosmanen)

FRANCE – Titane (Julia Ducournau)

GEORGIA – Brighton 4th / მეოთხე ბრაიტონი (Levan Koguashvili)

GERMANY – I’m Your Man / Ich bin dein Mensch (Maria Schrader)

GREECE – Digger (Georgis Grigorakis)

HONG KONG – Zero to Hero / 媽媽的神奇小子 (Jimmy Wan)

HUNGARY – Post Mortem (Péter Bergendy)

ICELAND – Lamb / Dýrið (Valdimar Jóhannsson)

INDIA – Pebbles / கூழாங்கல் / Koozhangal (P.S. Vinothraj)

INDONESIA – Yuni (Kamila Andini)

IRAN – A Hero / قهرمان (Asghar Farhadi)

IRELAND – Foscadh (Seán Breathnach)

ISRAEL – Let It Be Morning / ויהי בוקר, ليكن صباحا (Eran Kolirin)

ITALY – The Hand of God / È stata la mano di Dio (Paolo Sorrentino)

JAPAN – Drive My Car /ドライブ・マイ・カー / Doraibu mai kā (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

KENYA – Mission to Rescue (Gilbert Lukalia)

KOSOVO – Hive / Zgjoi (Blerta Basholli)

KYRGYZSTAN – Shambala / Шамбала (Artykpai Suyundukov)

LATVIA – The Pit / Bedre (Dace Pūce)

LEBANON – Costa Brava, Lebanon / كوستابرافا (Mounia Akl)

LITHUANIA – The Jump / Šuolis (Giedrė Žickytė)

LUXEMBOURG – Io sto bene (Donato Rotunno)

MALAWI – Fatsani: A Tale of Survival (Gift Sukez Sukali)

MALAYSIA – Hail, Driver! / Prebet Sapu (Muzzamer Rahman)

MALTA – Luzzu (Alex Camilleri)

MEXICO – Prayers for the Stolen / Noche de fuego (Tatiana Huezo)

MONTENEGRO – After the Winter / Poslije zime (Ivan Bakrač)

MOROCCO – Casablanca Beats / علّي صوتك (Nabil Ayouch)

NETHERLANDS – Do Not Hesitate (Shariff Korver)

NORTH MACEDONIA – Sisterhood / Сестри (Sestri) (Dina Duma)

NORWAY – The Worst Person in the World / Verdens verste menneske (Joachim Trier)

PALESTINE – The Stranger / الغريب / Al Garib (Ameer Fakher Eldin)

PANAMA – Plaza Catedral (Abner Benaim)

PERU – Powerful Chief / Manco Cápac (Henry Vallejo)

POLAND – Leave No Traces / Żeby nie było śladów (Jan P. Matuszyński)

PORTUGAL – The Metamorphisis of Birds / A Metamorfose dos Pássaros (Catarina Vasconcelos)

ROMANIA – Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn / Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc (Radu Jude)

RUSSIA – Unclenching the Fists / Разжимая кулаки / Razzhimaya kulaki (Kira Kovalenko)

SERBIA – Oasis / Оаза (Ivan Ikić)

SINGAPORE – Precious Is The Night / 今宵多珍重 (Wayne Peng)

SLOVAKIA – 107 Mothers / Cenzorka (Péter Kerekes)

SLOVENIA – Sanremo (Miroslav Mandić)

SOMALIA – The Gravedigger’s Wife (Khadar Ayderus Ahmed)

SOUTH KOREA – Escape from Mogadishu / 모가디슈 / Mogadisyu (Ryoo Seung-wan)

SPAIN – The Good Boss / El buen patrón (Fernando León de Aranoa)

SWEDEN – Tigers / Tigrar (Ronnie Sandahl)

SWITZERLAND – Olga (Elie Grappe)

TAIWAN – The Falls / 瀑布 (Chung Mong-hong)

THAILAND – The Medium / ร่างทรง / Rang Song (Banjong Pisanthanakun)

TUNISIA – Golden Butterfly / فرططو الذهب / Papillon d’Or (Abdelhamid Bouchnak)

TURKEY – Commitment Hasan / Bağlılık Hasan (Semih Kaplanoğlu)

UKRAINE – Bad Roads / Погані дороги / Plokhiye dorogi (Nataliia Vorozhbyt)

URUGUAY – The Broken Glass Theory / La teoría de los vidrios rotos (Diego Fernández)

VENEZUELA – The Inner Glow / Un destello interior (Andrés Eduardo Rodríguez, Luis Alejandro Rodríguez)

The most likely Nigerian film that would have been eligible is the historical epic, "Amina" by Izu Ojukwu, but it is in English and not in the Hausa language of the original story.

The fact that the great opportunity to produce "Queen Amina" in the Hausa language was missed by the producers is a big disappointment, because the film directed by Izu Ojukwu would have fulfilled the criteria for the eligibility and most likely make the short list of the nominations for the Best International Feature Film category. But the producers were more interested in fulfilling the eligibility for Netflix than the eligibility for the Academy Awards.

Having a movie on Netflix is now the most coveted thing for majority of Nigerian filmmakers and not the qualifications for the Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival.

They celebrate making it to Netflix like winning a million dollar lottery.

But Netflix pays more for the movies of South African, American, European, Asian and Arabian filmmakers than Nigerian filmmakers, because they know that there is a surplus of Nigerian movies selling cheap with their lower budgets and lower standards of filmmaking.

The producers of "Amina" were grinning excitedly like children who have been given Christmas presents in November before the Christmas day comes up in December while their fellow African filmmakers were competing and winning highly esteemed awards at the 27th biennial FESPACO in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and fulfilling the eligibility criteria for the Best International Feature Film category of the 94th annual Academy Awards.

I congratulated the producers of "Amina", to commend their efforts, but majority of the critics said the film on the legendary Warrior,  Queen Amina of Zazzau in northern Nigeria should have been in Hausa language and subtitled in English. Yes. And that means the real historical film on Queen Amina has not been done.

I prefer that the film should feature the best actors in Kannywood, the Hausa language sector of the Nigerian film industry. And it should be a national film project of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) which is part of the statutory functions and should be in the priorities of the Steering Committee for the Reform and Commercialisation of the Corporation.

The 94th annual Academy Awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor the best films released since March 1, 2021, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on March 27, 2022.

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria

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

https://angel.co/u/michael-chima-ekenyerengozi 

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