Nollywood missing as Hollywood and Bollywood shine at 64th Cannes Film Festival

Sleeping Beauty, starring Emily Browning, is one of 20 films up for the coverted Palme D'or. 64th Cannes Film Festival video © 2011 Reuters Entertainment.


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.

You can follow the events from the opening day on 11th to the closing day on 22nd May.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, the Founder/Festival Director of Eko International Film Festival and Publisher/CEO of International Digital Post Network (IDPN) Limited,


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Photo Album of 2011 African Movie Academy Awards

The 7th edition of the prestigious African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) was a grand event on Sunday night March 27, 2011 with the constellation of Nollywood stars and icons and the leading stars of African movies, stars from Hollywood were among the special guests and other dignitaries gracing the colourful red carpet. The following photographs are from the photo album of the event.



A happy winner with her coveted AMAA


Veteran actor Olu Jacobs


Nollywood Diva Rita Dominic


Award winning Nigerian filmmaker Kunle Afolayan


Nollywood Diva Kate Henshaw-Nuttal


Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, CEO of AMAA


Nollywood Diva Omoni Oboli and Hollywood actor Jimmy Jean-Louis


The hosts Nollywood stars Jim Iyke and Nse Ikpe Etim


Best Young Actor, ASA Drama School actor Edward Kagutuzi, star of “Mirror Boy”

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Sterling Bank’s Gluttons and Other Greedy Nigerians at Large

Sterling Bank’s Gluttons and Other Greedy Nigerians at Large


Sterling Bank’s Gluttons and Other Greedy Nigerians at Large

I know that Nigerian bankers can be very aggressive in the competition for rich customers, but I never knew that competing for free food and drinks was also in their bargain until I saw some Sterling Bank’s workers cornering, grabbing and monopolizing plates of food and bottles of drink at the wedding reception of their co-worker last Saturday in the assembly hall of the Federal Science And Technical College in Yaba, Lagos. They commandeered the foods and drinks even before the officiating ministers finished praying for the new couple Mr. and Mrs. Ibekwe. Apparently they were ignorant of social etiquette and company manners. The other day, greedy Nollywood stars were scrambling for the free cartons of cheap biscuits and T-shirts at President Goodluck Jonathan’s dinner in one of the halls of the Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island on Monday March 21, 2011. Even the Nollywood diva Genevieve Nnaji felt embarrassed by the shameless Nollywood stars that disgraced their profession at the event.

Nigerians are among the greediest of the human species and their greed makes them go gaga over material things and desperately grabbing things and looting the treasury and they have turned Nigeria into one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

President Goodluck Jonathan and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau woo Entertainers for votes

President Goodluck Jonathan

Dozens of political hypocrites and prostitutes posing and posturing as artistes have endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2011 April presidential election after he fed them at a presidential dinner last Monday March 21, 2011 at the prestigious Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos. And many of the Nollywood stars scrambled for cartons of Jonathan’s branded biscuits and T-Shirts like street kids jostling for handouts. It was a show of shame.

This is not the first time they have done so. Seeing popular Nigerian singer Onyeka Owenu performing her campaign songs completes the nostalgia, because she did the same for the late military tyrant General Sani Abacha at the ill-fated pro-Sani Abacha ‘Two Million Man March’ in the company of many popular musicians and other entertainers from March 2-3, 1998. But when the despotic military tyrant suddenly died, they were all disgraced. Now they have returned.

President Jonathan said he was not meeting them to canvass for their endorsement, but I wonder if anyone believed him since the presidential election is just two weeks away. Why did he wait to meet with them until he started his presidential campaign and using all means available to woo the electorate to win their mandate?


Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau

The other presidential candidate who has also met with top Nollywood stars is Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He had dinner with them on Tuesday, March 15, 2011, at Planet One, Maryland in Lagos. But most those he met with are from the Yoruba clique of Nollywood.

Trust politicians to leave no stone unturned in their political campaigns and the popularity of Nollywood starts among the majority of Nigerians cannot be ignored.
The status quo of the corrupt ruling class has not changed and they are desperate to use all means possible to retain power at all costs.

What we need in Nigeria is not a quasi-democratic election, but a political revolution for the total eradication of corruption at all levels of governance, and for a holistic reformation and transformation of the nation.

Only a transformational revolutionary leader can liberate our beloved Nigeria from these kleptomaniacs and their dogs.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Top Nollywood Stars grace Shaibu Husseini’s 40th Birthday and movie book launch

Kate Henshaw-Nuttal was a gorgeous MC

Top Nollywood Stars grace Shaibu Husseini’s 40th Birthday and movie book launch


Top Nollywood Stars grace Shaibu Husseini’s 40th Birthday and movie book launch

The ever graceful Nollywood black beauty Kate Henshaw-Nuttal was the mistress of ceremony as the crème de la crème of Nollywood graced the book launch of "Moviedom.....the Nollywood Narratives---Clips on the Pioneers" authored by popular Nigerian Arts journalist and film critic Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian newspaper on Friday December 17, 2010, at the National Theatre, Ignamu, Lagos. The occasion was also a celebration of his the 40th birthday.

The celebrant Shaibu Husseini

Famous Nigerian filmmaker Chief Eddie Ugbomah spoke on the brilliance and humility of the celebrant and his senior colleague at The Guardian Jahman Anikulapo said Mr. Husseini is still one of the best dancers in dance drama in Nigeria whose expertise in choreography attracted him before discovering his literary skills and editing his reports on the Nigerian film industry in what Husseini called “MOVIEDOM”.

The top dignitaries from Nollywood at the event included Okey Oguejiofor aka Paulo of the "Living in Bondage" fame, Zeb Ejiro, Greg Odutayo, Izu Ojukwu, Kunle Afolayan, Opa Willaims, Paul Obazele, Fred Amata, Francis Onwuchie, Chike Ibekwe,Segun Arinze, Fidelis Duker, Emeka Ossai, Uche Macaulay, Omoni Oboli and her handsome husband Nnamdi. These distinguished guests and other VIPs of the Nigerian film industry and news media made the occasion very colourful and a day to remember.

The event was co-sponsored by African Film Academy (AFA), organizers of the annual African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) and the illustrious Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, founder/CEO of AMAA was there with her associates, including Ilaria Chessa of ION international Film Festival to make sure that Shaibu Husseini had a great day.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Nigeria: Two Popular Nollywood Stars Murdered in Benin

View "Ukeke" in "Avielele", a Bini Edo movie.

Popular Edo State Nollywood stars Mr. Erhauyi Ogbeide, a.k.a "Ukeke" and Eghosa Idehen, a.k.a "Erejiro" were reported shot and killed Tuesday evening at the home of "Ukeke"’s father-in-law, located at 39, Ore-Oghene Street in Benin at about 8pm, according to the Daily Trust newspaper in Nigeria.

Erhauyi Ogbeide played leading roles in several Bini Edo moves such as "Avielele".

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