Showing posts with label Nollywood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nollywood. Show all posts

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Invocation and Eternal close the 2nd Eko International Film Festival


The international award winning film Eternal closed the second Eko International Film Festival in Lagos on Thursday July 14, 2011.

Thursday July 14, 2011.



The Invocation and Eternal close the 2nd Eko International Film Festival

Emmanuel Itier’s dialectical spiritual documentary The Invocation and Chike Ibekwe’s melodramatic metaphysical drama Eternal closed the second edition of the annual Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF) Thursday morning at the Silverbird Cinemas of the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos.

International award winning documentaries, features and short films from Nigeria, Europe and the U.S. were screened from the opening last Saturday July 9 to the closing day on Thursday July 14. The free event attracted leading stakeholders in Nollywood, including top filmmakers, journalists, film critics and the public who had to come to the venue even in the downpour and flood of a very wet season in the coastal mega city of Nigeria, the hub of Africa’s first film industry rated as the second largest in the world by UNESCO.

The President of Eko International Film Festival, Mr. Hope Obioma Opara thanked the Silverbird Group for providing a very conducive venue at the Silverbird Galleria and promoting the event on Silverbird TV, Rhythm FM 93.7 and supporting his company Supple Communications Limited to organize a successful film festival. He also appreciated the morale support of the Nigerian press for the highly commendable news coverage of the event and promises that the third edition next year will be better with the cooperation and support of more participants and sponsors.

“Hopefully, we are going to have corporate sponsors for the third edition in 2012. In fact the preparation for the next one has already begun,” said Mr. Opara. He reemphasized that the mission of Eko International Film Festival is to promote the best interests of Nollywood and use the film festival to make Lagos State a major tourist destination in the world as the famous Cannes Film Festival is doing for France.

The Founder/Festival Director Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima appreciated the outstanding quality of the submitted films from both local and international filmmakers; notably Faruk Lasaki’s romantic thriller Changing Faces, Iara Lee’s socio-political documentary Cultures of Resistance, Emmanuel Itier’s intellectual and spiritual documentary The Invocation, Chike Ibekwe’s metaphysical drama Eternal, Joseph Ugochukwu Ubaka’s engaging urban crime thriller Lilies of the Ghetto and Kayode Ibisankale’s well researched documentary on the Yoruba’s Talking Drum Dundun.

“The enthusiasm of filmmakers to participate in Eko International Film Festival is our greatest encouragement, because what makes a successful film festival is the quality of the films. But, with corporate sponsors we would be able to screen more international award winning films next year and host the filmmakers,” said Michael Chima.


Monday, July 11, 2011

Eko International Film Festival presents World Premiere of "Direc-Toh"

The world premiere of Abba Makama's "Direc-Toh" the fastest Nigerian movie shot in one day comes up on Tuesday July 12, the third day of the 2nd Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF) at the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos. The film will be screened at 10.30 am. The young Nigerian director is a graduate of New York University film school.



A Nigerian Film maker sets out to make a record as the fastest filmmaker on the Planet. Big Ben a.k.a the light speed champion tries shooting a feature film in one day and all hell breaks loose..

Written, Directed, Shot and Edited by Abba Makama.
Co Writer-Gabriel Ofor Okafor
Producers-Lani Makama, Benedict Aromeh, Abba Makama
Starring Benedict Aromeh, Dabis Christopher
Genre- Nolly Woody Allen, Comedy Satire, Afro Psycho Pseudo Hipster babble, Mockumentary
Format- HDV
Budget-All in the magic baby..
Release date. mid 2010.


Thursday, June 23, 2011

Faruk Lasaki’s Nigerian premiere of Changing Faces at 2011 EKOIFF




Faruk Lasaki’s Nigerian premiere of Changing Faces at 2011 EKOIFF

The Nigerian premiere of Faruk Lasaki’s spiritual thriller "Changing Faces" will definitely thrill the audience at the second Eko International Film Festival at the Silverbird Galleria from July 9-14, 2011.

Faruk Lasaki is one of the ambitious filmmakers who are making Nigeria proud in the international arena by making movies that are quite different from the common Nollywood flicks. He is also an accomplished producer of award winning commercials and documentaries who got his first break with his 15 minutes short documentary "Scars" (CICATRIZES) that won him $20,000 at the É Tudo Verdade - Festival Internacional de Documentários in Brazil in 1998.

"Changing Faces" is a 92 minutes metaphysical romantic thriller on the transference of spirits through sex as ‘Two unlikely bedfellows share a night of passion’ and their lives were never the same again. The film parades an international cast of professional British and notable Nigerian actors and actresses Alex Lopez, Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey and Ayo Mogaji.

"Changing Faces" was premiered at the Pavillion les Cinema Du Sud of the 61st Cannes Film Festival., featured in competition at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO) in 2009, Cairo International Film Festival in 2009. Black Diaspora International Film Festival of New York in 2008.

“Changing Faces” was the first Nigerian film to be dubbed into French and screened at FESPACO and Ecrans Noirs in 2009. And on the 3rd and 6th of August 2009, Canal France International (CFI) presented it as the first Nigerian feature film on it’s network and interviewed the director Faruk Lasaki.


Saturday, June 18, 2011

Lilies of the Ghetto selected for Eko International Film Festival


Ubaka Joseph Ugochukwu


The Nigerian Nouvelle Vague Cinema is the Cinema of the moment…says Ubaka Joseph Ugochukwu, whose award winning feature Lilies of the Ghetto is one of the notable Nigerian films expected to draw crowds at the second Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF) opening on Saturday July 9, at the prestigious Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos.



Scenes from "Lilies of the Ghetto"


Lilies of the Ghetto represents a new tendency among the Nigerian film industry and film directors who apart from Nollywood begun to develop a high quality cinema, accessible to a worldwide audience..

Now film professionals are gradually producing quality movies, despite the the financial challenges that are obstacle to certain projects and its bringing about the long expected change from what has been termed low quality movies to a cinema that will acceptance in the global film market.

The synopsis


Ijaloko and Johnnie from "Lilies of the Ghetto"


IJALOKO an ex-convict and a ghetto monster, abducts five kids from his neighborhood, JOHNNIE, SMALL, KONKOLO, FRYO and BOBO, he brainwash them in view of giving them a good life.

IJALOKO introduces them into using of hard-drugs thereby destroying their human conscience and making them menace to the society in order for him to achieve his selfish desires.


Johnnie from "Lilies of the Ghetto"

Five of these kids die one after the other at different occasion in a miserable ways except JOHNNIE the luckiest of them all.
Through LILY, Madam JET’S Daughter whom JOHNNIE is dating, JOHNNIE realizes the importance of education and good life.

JOHNNIE makes up his mind to quit gangsterism and return to school, but IJALOKO being the obstacle because of the vow that they’ve taken until death does them part.
JOHNNIE had no option but to kill IJALOKO in order for him to get a better life.

The director Ubaka Joseph Ugochukwu was born Born in Enugu, Nigeria. He studied political science at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. After his graduation he moved to Lagos – the heart of home video production in Nigeria. In 1999 he and another young Pan African filmmaker in Dakar, Senegal, created a legal film association called Filmi Gët, and they started to produce films.



Tayo Aderinokun's Closing Shot on Nollywood


In loving memory of Tayo Aderinokun.the MD/CE of the Guaranty Trust Bank Plc who passed on to eternal glory on Tuesday June 14, 2011, in a Hospital in London, U.K.

The Economics of Nigerian Film, Art and Business

~ by Tayo Aderinokun

The world has continued to marvel at how Nigerians "manufacture" and "fabricate" scores of movies in a week. It is reported that but for India, Nigeria produces more movies in quantitative terms than any other country in the world. As joint stakeholders in the development of our motherland, I hope that my presentation today on the "social economics" of the movie industry will provoke processes that could move the industry forward. In the course of this presentation, I will be inviting you to join me as we journey through the past, the present and the future of the Nigerian film industry. There is a saying that today is tomorrow’s yesterday, in other words, where we are today is a reflection of our past and a foreshadow of our future.
The size of our population and the diverse cultures within it combined with the raw talents that abound within Nigeria makes the phenomenal growth of the film industry inevitable.

It is heart-warming though to note that Nigerian movies already dominate TV screens all over West Africa and going even as far as Central and Southern Africa. There is also a Western dimension to this export market. According to the Filmmakers Cooperative of Nigeria, every film in Nigeria has a potential audience of 15 million people within the country and about 5 million outside. These statistics may be somewhat conservative considering that half of West Africa’s 250 million people are Nigerians and according to the World Bank, slightly over 7 million Nigerians are scattered around the world, most of them in the developed economies. There is a school of thought that talks about the rebirth of the film culture in Nigeria. They claim that like in a horror movie, the infant film market was gruesomely butchered at the altar of the oil boom together with other sectors of the economy. The Indigenization Decree of 1972, which sought to transfer ownership of about 300 cinema houses in the country from their foreign proprietors to Nigerians did little to help matters. Though this transfer resulted in the eruption of the latent ingenuity of Nigerian playwrights, screenwriters, poets, and film producers, the gradual dip in the value of the naira, combined with lack of finance, marketing support, quality studio and production equipment as well as inexperience on the part of practitioners, hampered the growth of the local film industry.

At this juncture, I would like to go back a little in history. Film as a medium first arrived on our shores in the form of itinerant peephole hawkers of still
pictures. These were soon replaced with roving cinemas, which began feeding us with doses of American western films.

Edgar Rice Buroughs 1935 film "Sanders of the River" which was partly shot in Nigeria helped in putting Nigeria on the world film map through the participation of late Orlando Martins (1899 – 1985) who acted in the film alongside the American actor Paul Robeson. Orland Martins also featured in "Man from Morocco" and "Black Libel" – his first film, which was never finished but gave him the needed experience. It was however the part of Magole the witch doctor in "Men of Two Worlds" that put him in the public eye. Well before these films, Glover Memorial Hall is on record as having been the first venue to show a film in Nigeria in August 1903. Documentaries on the Queen’s visits to Nigeria, English football matches, Westminster Parliamentary debates, and government-sponsored films on health and education as well as legendary cowboy films soon began dominating our cinemas in the late ‘50s up to independence.
Most of us old enough to remember this era of the Nigeria society refer to it as the good old ‘50s and ‘60s and it was perfect timing for a love affair between Nigerian film and Nigerian music. Sadly, we had neither the technology nor the means to do our own films and had to be satisfied with mostly foreign fare. Soon vast acres of our urban surroundings became flooded with wall posters of alien culture in the form of American, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese films. Our kids caught on to the Kung-fu and Karate culture. Nigerians began to know more about Bruce Lee, James Bond, and the travails of the American Indians than they did about the Wole Soyinka-led Mbari Mbayo cultural group, Hubert Ogunde’s troupe or other socio-cultural history of Nigeria.

Some significant successes were recorded after independence when for about ten years after the Nigeria civil war, Nigerian literature and theatre got introduced to motion picture. Representative of this new wave were the works of Ogunde, a doyen of Nigerian art who understood that film and theatre were vehicles for promoting indigenous language, art and culture. The Nigerian nightlife scene subsequently came alive. Highlife music was the in-thing and the music of the Koola Lobitos, The Oriental Brothers, I. K. Dairo, Rex Jim Lawson, E. T. Mensah, and Victor Olaiya reigned. Ola Balogun’s post civil war flick, "Amadi" took us back to the pre-civil war days when Nigeria was one huge undivided house where Igbo musicians sang Yoruba highlife and Yorubas sang Hausa songs. "Amadi" was an Igbo film made by a Yoruba man and was clearly a glimpse from the future of the film industry in Nigeria. This early example of Nigerian art on celluloid using the best of Western film techniques, was a breath of fresh air even if it was a low technology, low budget experiment unable to impress the market against the dominance of imports which though exotic did little to promote Nigerian art. The film "Bisi – Daughter of the River" was another fair effort on celluloid, which captured Nigerian culture on film. "Dinner with the Devil" was another first generation Nigerian film by the duo of Sanya Dosunmu and Wole Amele. Eddie Ugbomah’s "The Great Attempt" was also another valiant film which was unfortunately censored by the authorities. Several decades later, the late Ogunde featured in Joyce Cary’s "Mister Johnson", a film that did little to elevate the sad perception of Blacks and Africans. Thankfully in the 1980’s, the TV serialization of Chinua Achebe’s "Things Fall Apart" became hugely successful. I also recall the small screen successes of the Adio Family, Village Headmaster, rooster Crow at Dawn, The Masquerade, Mirror in the Sun, Check Mate, Sura The Tailor, Awada Kerikeri and Second Chance on national television and how these productions were indeed instrumental to the revival of the local film industry and hence the birth of the home video culture in Nigeria. Later in time, the austerity measures of the early eighties and the Structural Adjustment Programme that succeeded it, helped in no small measure in increasing the level of poverty in the land. The Entertainment Industry was one of the worst victims and had to move indoors. The few cinema houses existing either had to close shop or were taken over by religious bodies. This accelerated the birth of home video entertainment. Credit must now be given to our second generation film industry pioneers – Amaka Igwe, Tunde Kelani, Zeb and Chico Ejiro, The Amata brothers, Femi Lasode, Olu Jacobs, Joke Jacobs (nee Silva), Liz Benson, Kenneth Nnebue, Richard Mofe Damijo, Zachee Orji, Pete Edochie, Sam Loco Efe, U.S. Galadima, Yinka Quadri, Genevieve Nnaji, Jide Kosoko, Omotola Ekehinde and others – who inherited, without hesitation, the commercial and artistic traditions of Nigerian film and theatre from the likes of Hubert Ogunde, Moses Olaiya, Duro Ladipo, Ola Balogun, Wole Amele, Eddie Ugbomah, just to name a few, and began to tell our stories using the video format. By 1993 when the National Film Festival was held for the first time our film industry score sheet was moderate – about 25 English films, five Hausa films, 50 Yoruba and One Igbo film.

In Western societies, a film’s commercial lifespan would normally begin with a box office or cinema release, then video release, then broadcast on fee-paying television, and finally on public television. Producers and Marketers would then generate the appropriate promotion and publicity to maximize profitability out of each phase. The Nigerian experience with the video culture so far has shown that without piracy, there are huge potentials for making money in the industry. In South Africa, I understand that video distribution usually doubles or triples a movie’s revenues. The video boom is therefore not just a Nigerian phenomenon. Video appears to be the home entertainment mainstay for the world’s developing countries.

From all indications, the future of the Nigerian movie industry is promising. I understand that every day, about three new low budget movies are released into the market. Each film is then replicated into about 200,000 video cassettes and distributed to markets, video clubs and eventually various homes. This process creates jobs and income for the people involved in the production, distribution and marketing of the movies. It is only when we change our paradigm and see film production as big business, that the film industry will take its rightful position in the economy.

The Indian film industry has been projecting India’s culture globally for over 50 years and has remained one of the most important foreign exchange earning sources for that country. Francophone West African films, which get showcased at FESPACO, the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, which holds in the Burkinabe capital every two years has helped in improving the quality and global appeal of Francophone films. As a result, these countries film industries have contributed significantly to their respective economies. The United States of America is the best example of a perfect union between the film and the financial services industries. Do you know that the American movie industry is the second largest export revenue earner for that country, after the aviation industry? Thanks to Hollywood and its spin offs, the state of California, with a gross domestic product of $1.4 trillion, is the fifth largest economy in the world, richer than the combined wealth of all the 54 countries in Africa. Today, underscoring the industry’s contribution to the rest of American society, the current Governor of California is Arnold Shwarzzenegger, an actor. Former President Ronald Reagan was also a Hollywood actor. These American examples show us what the Nigerian movie industry can become in terms of stature and relevance in society.

Let me say that the need for partnership between Nigerian banks and the film industry are obvious. We all now know from the American experience that film is big business. As financial intermediaries in the economy, banks have a key role to play in the development of the industry. Banks are interested in helping to build successful businesses out of ideas and if the film industry should open itself up to the same evaluation and analysis that banks subject all their borrowers to, banks would really want to lend to them. With the support of the financial sector, the film industry will certainly rise to prominence.

Before I conclude I have some questions for CORA. These are questions that banks would like to have answers to before supporting the Nigerian film industry:
• How much is the film industry worth today?
• How much does it cost to produce a good movie?
• What is the annual turnover of an average movie producer?
• Do firms in the movie industry have collateral to pledge for credit?
• Do companies in the film industry have audited accounts?
• Do companies in the film industry have formal structures?

Bankers usually do not start a banking relationship until after conducting due diligence on the institution of their interest. This usually involves an assessment of need and an analysis of the credit risks involved. This is because they want to be able to determine, to a large extent, the viability of the project they finance. So far, our film industry lacks the structure to provide positive answers to my questions. I am therefore suggesting that the Nigerian film industry become better organized, and start to maintain proper records and accounts, engage the services of auditors and have formal organizational structures. When this is done, banks will find the industry more amenable for support. The banks will also be able to:
• Learn about the dynamics of the film industry
• Know the people driving the film industry
• Easily provide credit in the form of loans to the industry
• Provide financial advisory services
• Serve the industry’s domestic and international money transfer need
• Help midwife this booming sector of the economy which has great potentials for growth and foreign exchange denominated earnings.

One should also ask what the movie industry can do for the financial services industry and by extension, for the country.

* Already, beyond being a ready-made pipeline for the discovery of young artistic talent, its potential for generating direct and indirect employment is well known.

* The positive impact of the film industry on the image of Nigeria should also go a long way towards attracting foreign direct investments into the country.

We all know that Nigerian home videos are extremely popular with Africans especially Nigerians abroad. Our films have become ready substitutes for western productions. Through these movies Africans are experiencing a cultural connect worldwide, something which foreign movies cannot provide. Recently, South Africa’s satellite TV company Multichoice DSTV introduced its AfricaMagic channel which shows mostly Nigerian movies to its over 1.5 million subscribers in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. With time, this exposure of our film market can only serve to improve the quality of our movies. It can be said that this is another form of cross border trade, which will lead to positive interest in Nigeria, and all the things associated with our country.

So far, our film industry has evolved naturally, with almost no government involvement or influence. This is a good thing and I want to appeal to you all that it remains so. While Government participation is welcome, it should not be allowed to become a hinderance in any way. Government’s involvement in business enterprises has been known to generally hamper than assist its development.

My belief is that government should actually contribute in the area of fighting piracy which has become a plague afflicting several areas of the creative arts. The recent accord between the Filmmakers Cooperative of Nigeria (FCON) and the Filmmakers Association of Nigeria FAN, USA to bring an end to the piracy of Nigerian films in the United States is laudable and a good example of cross border, private sector led collaboration.

Closing Shot…,
In concluding, let me restate that banks need the film industry just as much as the film industry needs the banks. I believe that the film industry can be viable and has all the elements of being sustainable over the long term. Partnership between both sectors is therefore necessary if the movie industry is to achieve its full potentials. The future of this partnership abounds with several opportunities.

****************

Tayo Aderinokun, Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank at the 50th Art Stampede Session Of The Committee For Relevant Art (CORA) held at The National Theatre, Iganmu, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday March 7th, 2004.

Mr. Tayo Aderinokun passed on to eternal glory on Tuesday June 14, 2011. He died in a Hospital in London, U.K. He had been the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc since 2002. He had a first degree in Business Administration from the University of Lagos and an MBA with special concentration on International Business from the Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles.

His professional education included Credit and Relationship Management training at the Chase Manhattan Bank Institute for International Banking New York, USA (1982-1983). His professional working experience was gained working with several financial institutions beginning with the Central Bank of Nigeria in Calabar, where he did his National Youth Service (1977-1978).

He worked with Chase Merchant Bank Nigeria Ltd (later renamed Continental Merchant Bank) from 1981 to 1988. He was at Prime Merchant Bank Ltd (1988 and 1989) as an Assistant General Manager rising to the position of Head of the financial services division of the Bank. In 1989, he set up a non-bank financial institution, First Marina Trust Ltd., which he ran for a year. In 1990 he co-founded Guaranty Trust Bank Plc where he served as Deputy Managing Director before taking over as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer in August 2002. He was responsible for strategic policy direction as well as day-to-day administration of the Bank.

He was a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and holds a recipient of the national award - Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

During his time as Managing Director, the Bank witnessed tremendous progress and growth and had emerged over the years as an industry leader, pacesetter of unique and progressive innovations in the banking industry. The Bank is now easily acknowledged and recognized as one of the most profitable and professionally managed corporate institutions in Nigeria and has been the recipient of several awards for exemplary corporate governance practices and excellent customer service.

In addition, Mr. Aderinokun was also the recipient of numerous awards as an acknowledgment of his sterling leadership role in the achievements of the Bank. The awards include ‘Banker of the Year’ at the inaugural ThisDay Awards in 2006, Most Respected CEO by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2008 and ‘African Banker of the Year’ by the “African Banker” magazine in September 2009. He was also a recipient of the National Award of Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Nigeria (FCIB).

May his soul rest in peace.


Friday, June 10, 2011

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


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Google to double Internet penetration in Nigeria



Goggle says internet penetration in Nigeria is still very low at 12 percent and wants to double this within the next three years, according to a top official of Google in Nigeria. He also announced the launch of Google Trader in Ghana and Google online phone in Kenya which would also be extended to Nigeria.

He disclosed that Nigerians are already making millions from the new Google Trader, an initiative which puts a trader online thereby enabling consumers globally to have a contact with the traders without hitches or meddlesome middle men/women. He said that a Nigerian trader Mrs. Funke, sold one year inventory in a month by taking advantage of the Internet. Her business moved from N150,000 to N15 million in four months. She has been using a website to promote and sell her baby products to numerous customers in the global village. And another Nigerian is also presently make millions of naira yearly by selling Nollywood videos online.



Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda as leading countries in ICT development in the continent, “but Nigeria is key,” because the country’s ICT potentials and business opportunities are simply enormous. But presently, only few Nigerians are benefiting from the business opportunities, which the Internet, particularly Goggle, provide.


Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Taking Nollywood to the next level


The most famous Nollywood star Genevieve Nnaji


Taking Nollywood to the next level

Recently stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry met at the last quarterly stampede of the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) to discuss “The New Trend in Nollywood”. The event was held on Sunday May 22, 2011, at the Freedom Park on Broad Street, Lagos. The forum was convened by CORA and Mr. Femi Odugbemi’s iRepresent International Documentary Film Festival (iREP).

It was well coordinated and well attended by most of the notable personalities in Nollywood and related fields. Celebrated actors Richard Mofe-Damijo, Joke Silva-Jacobs, Francis Onwochei and other Nollywood stars sat quietly without any sort of fanfare or glamour in the audience.

The invited filmmakers identified as leaders of the new trend had an interactive session on their movies. Mahmood Ali-Balogun discussed his matrimonial drama “Tango With Me”, Kunle Afolayan spoke on his horror thriller “The Figurine 'araromire'”, Stephanie Okerereke on her romantic comedy “Through the Glass”, Chidi Nwokobia on his family drama “Champions Of Our Time”, Emem Isong said she is excited about the successes she has made screening her videos in cinemas, Lilian Amah-Aluko had more to address than her “Jungle Ride”, Vivian Ejike talked about the challenges of making her “Private Storm”, appreciating the local talents and professionals she found worthy in making good movies, but Chineze Anyaene was absent and the young man Kelechi Ikata she sent to represent her could not say much on her outstanding thriller “IJE - The Journey”.

The filmmakers, journalists and other contributors had a common resolution that with the provision of adequate resources by all the stakeholders and a conducive environment the Nigerian film industry will make more impact in the world.

The moderator was the notable film critic and journalist Steve Ayorinde who is now the Managing Editor of The National Mirror Newspaper. The coordinators Shaibu Husseini and his senior colleague Jahman Anikulapo, Editor of The Guardian on Sunday Nespaper and Programme Chairman of CORA deserve commendation for making sure that the event went well and recognizing the presence of Mr. Hope Obioma Opara, the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Supple magazine and President of Eko International Film Festival and Chike Ibekwe whose movie “Eternal” was a co-winner of the Golden Screen Best Film award with “An Unusual Woman” by Burkinabe director Abdoulaye Dao at the 14th annual Ecrans noirs Film Festival in Yaounde, Cameroon, last year. And thanks to Toyin Akinosho, Secretary-General of CORA and Femi Odugbemi and their organizing committee for hosting the laudable forum.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima



Friday, May 27, 2011

Jeta Amata is working on new film after "Black Gold"


Jeta Amata


Nick Vivarelli of the Variety reported that the ambitious Nigerian filmmaker Jeta Amata is already working on a new international film after making “Black Gold”.

The director who is also well known for his daring film “The Amazing Grace” is going to focus on the corrupt practices of pharmaceutical multinationals in Africa in his new film "Journeys of One," with Donald Ranvaud of "The Constant Gardner" fame as an executive producer.



Amata’s “Black Gold” had a market premiere at the 64th Cannes Film Festival. The film on the Niger Delta crisis featured top Hollywood actors like Tom Sizemore, William George "Billy" Zane, and Hakeem Kae-Kazim.

"Journeys of One" will be a way to provide a more genuine take on the Big Pharma in Africa theme tackled by Hollywood in Fernando Meirelles' "The Constant Gardner". We like Hollywood coming to tell our story; but they miss some of the essence of the African point of view," Amata said.

Variety reported that Amata, producer Soledad Grognett and Ranvaud are looking for a name African-American actor for one of the key roles in "Journeys" and likely to also feature an Indian star.

"The idea is to make it Hollywood, Nollywood -- as the Nigerian film industry is know -- and Bollywood; the three biggest markets in the world," said Amata. "If you go to the remote villages where they don't have proper means of communication, you find people just dying unnecessarily," he added. "And though they don't realize it, the real thing that killed them was some drug that they weren't meant to take."
"The environment in Nigeria makes it a haven for these people (the pharmaceutical companies) to run whatever tests they want and treat people like rats and guinea pigs," Grognett added.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima


Saturday, May 14, 2011

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,


More news on the 64th Cannes Film Festival

23:54 Hannover House Acquires Three Acclaimed International Films at Cannes Festival

20:27 TBWA\Chiat\Day New York Appoints Andy Nathan as Managing Director and Aaron Griffiths as Creative Director

17:32 L'Oréal Paris accueille Leïla Bekhti comme nouvelle Ambassadrice mondiale

15:16 Drafthouse Films, Timpson Films and Magnet Releasing to Teach Moviegoers "THE ABCs OF DEATH"

12 May 2011


12:40 Christie participe a l'ensemble des projections numeriques du 64e Festival de Cannes

08:00 Duran Duran to Perform at the European Launch of BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM) Duran Duran actuará en el lanzamiento europeo de BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM) Duran Duran se produira à l'occasion du lancement européen de BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM) Auftritt von Duran Duran zur europaweiten Einführung von BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM)

07:00 Duran Duran se produira à l'occasion du lancement européen de BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM) Duran Duran actuará en el lanzamiento europeo de BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM) Auftritt von Duran Duran zur europaweiten Einführung von BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM) Duran Duran to Perform at the European Launch of BELVEDERE PRODUCT(RED)(TM)

11 May 2011


14:00 Nexia's Film Marketing Efforts at the Cannes Film Festival Market

10 May 2011

17:24 Playboy Mansion Cannes Returns for the Cannes Film Festival

9 May 2011

23:29 THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D REVS UP 14:03 Variety Presents The Variety Studio @ Stella Artois Lounge at the 64th Festival de Cannes



Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Nollywood Cinemas: The Largest Cinema Chain Launches In Nigeria




It is great news that Nollywood Cinemas, the largest cinema chain in Africa launches in over 23 states in Nigeria. Nollywood Cinemas is the master plan of Diamond Pictures to bring cinemas to every community in every local government area in Nigeria to boost the Nigerian Film Industry. Nollywood Cinemas has 6 cinema halls in Lagos where local and foreign movies are already playing.



Monday, April 11, 2011

Infinity TV Encrypts, Expands Content





INFINITY TV ENCRYPTS, EXPANDS CONTENT

As part of their resolve to deliver world class satellite television services at affordable price to Nigerians, Infinity TV will from April 10, 2011 encrypt their satellite signals. What this means is that the honeymoon is over for free subscribers who had over the past months enjoyed free uninterrupted viewership.
Conscious of the economic situation in the country, Infinity TV is rolling out two pocket friendly bouquet to subscribers. The first bouquet comprising of 25 channels goes for N1, 500 monthly, while the second, comprising of 40 channels goes for N3, 000.

Outside these pocket friendly and rich contents, Infinity TV is adding to its already enriched bouquet 21 new channels that covers all strata of life. Infinity TV takes into cognizance the character and characteristics, the flora and fauna of its subscribers’ base hence, the need for the additional contents.

The new channels include BOLLYWOOD BY INFINITY, dedicated channel that brings you the best of classic Indian movies to the latest releases of 2010. The channel also features hot, intriguing Indian soaps and series as well as hilarious and compelling comedies. M GOLD Old school music channel. This channel thrills with the very best and unforgettable classic jams of the 70s, 80s and 90s. The world argues that this age remains the golden era of music. QUEST TV, Quest TV is Africa’s premier fashion, Beauty and style Television lifestyle channel. LIFTED is a Gospel Music and Lifestyle channel put together to inspire, inform and entertainment the Christian folks. The channel is focused on lifting body and soul; also promoting upcoming and new gospel music artistes, showcasing their talents as well as their lifestyles, it will highlight personality profile interviews featuring Ministers of the gospel; Singers, evangelist, Bishops, Social workers and Philanthropists; their personal experiences, spiritual encounters, life lessons, thought-provoking experience and their works. This includes local and foreign content. MOVIE EXPRESS, A 24 hour non stop, cutting edge family oriented movies in English. Movie Express makes your day with all the sizzling blockbuster action, racy romance, rib cracking comedy, expensive epics, curious crime and investigation, high octane drama, space age sci – fi and spicy series. DICE suspense filled dramas, soaps, tele-novelas, talk shows and reality show is what awaits you on this channel. Great entertainment with the popular South American soaps, American best sellers and from the rest of the world on hot demand. VIASAT DOCUMENTARY CHANNELS : NATURE,HISTORY,CRIME,EXPLORATION. ODENIBO (THE IGBO LANGUAGE CHANNEL) – sustaining the language, values and tradition of the Igbo speaking tribes of Eastern Nigeria Odenigbo takes you into the heartbeat of Igboland to discover what makes the people tick – their lifestyle, food, fashion, dance and more importantly the people and historic places. INFINITY SPORTS the passion of sports - the electrifying moments, the thrills, the frills and the fireworks. All the adrenalin pumping sporting action from major European Football Leagues, world best tennis action, athletics golf, cricket, and the nerve breaking extreme action sports, Infinity sports has got it all. Watch live EPL matches, the Spanish La Liga, French Championnat, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga among others.

The UEFA champion’s League and the Europa Cup matches are also live with exciting live analysis. SETANTA AFRICA A foreign sports channel that brings you live football matches – EPL, Dutch League, Belgian League, the J League, the American MLS, the Scottish League and the German Bundesliga, European matches – Nations Cup matches etc, athletics, golf, wrestling (WWE), Basketball, Volleyball, Motorsport, Club TV shows – Manchester City TV, Arsenal TV, Tottenham Hotspur TV, Aston Villa TV, etc VIVE, lifestyle channel adding zest into your life.

Vive is designed to give your life meaning and bring out the personality in you. Learn how to cook international delicious finger licking delicacies from world class chefs. Get the scoop on how to turn your home into the cozy paradise you dream of. Vive helps you discover how to give your good old face a brand new appealing look and helps you catch the buzz in travel, career, health, fitness and wellbeing and much more. Vive is all about life and the style you live it. Subscribers and loyal dealers of Infinity Television must get good value for their money, says the MD/CEO, Mr. Anthony Ikeokwu.

The rest of the new channels are AFRICAN MOVIE CHANNEL 2 (AMC 2) – Movie, series and lifestyle AFRICAN SERIES CHANNEL – powered by Zeb Ejiro, Chico Ejiro and Fidelis Dukar. This channel is dedicated to African soaps and series. NIGEZIE – musical DUCK TV – foreign musical channel KISS TV – foreign musical channel KARENG TV - foreign musical ( rock ) channel FASHION ONE – foreign fashion channel MAGIC TV – foreign musical channel AKINKOGUN – a Yoruba language channel DEUTSHE WELLE ( DW TV ) – German News and lifestyle channel.



~ Ingram Osigwe is the media Consultant to Infinity Television.



Sunday, March 27, 2011

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)



Wednesday, March 16, 2011

All roads lead to BOB TV 2011



I have been invited to the 2011 Best of the Best in films and TV programmes(BOBTV) opening today at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Abuja, but I cannot be there in person, because of my busy work in Lagos.

Nollywood icon Amaka Igwe is the brain behind this important fiesta of movies and TV programmes.

The 8th BOBTV is attracting visitors and participants from within Nigeria, Ghana, Canada, Zimbabwe, Namibia, England, United States, South Africa and other countries.

See the details in the following press release on the event that will end on Thursday march 17, 2011.


The organizers of BOBTV, Africa’s premiere film and television programmes expo, have released the list of “Best of the Best” honours for 2011. The list includes chairman of the Silverbird group, Ben Murray Bruce, Nollywood movie marketer Ossy Affason, copyright lawyer Efere Ozakor and Make-up and special effects virtuoso Dagogo Diminas.

Acknowledging hardworking professionals who have contributed to the growth of the movie and television industry in Nigeria has always been an integral part of BOBTV. The recipients will be showcased and celebrated at the 8th African Film and TV Programmes Market, BOBTV 2011, scheduled to hold from the 15th to the 17th of March at the Ladi Kwali Conference Centre, Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja.

Ben Murray Bruce, Director of the Silverbird group, owners of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria franchise, Silverbird Television and Rhythm 93.7 radio stations, was chosen in recognition of his mammoth contribution to the entertainment industry in Nigeria.

Ossy Affason’s immense contributions to Nigeria’s movie market can’t be understated. The renowned movie marketer and distributor of Nollywood movies has been chosen for his pioneering contribution to movie marketing in Nollywood.

Entertainment lawyer Efere Ozakor, who took a different approach to entertainment law in Nigeria was chosen for his outstanding contribution to the provision of legal framework for the Nigerian broadcast and entertainment industry.

Dagogo Diminas, make-up and special effects pioneer, with over two decades of experience has been chosen for his pioneering excellence in special effects in Nollywood.

This year’s recipients join the prestigious “Best of the Best” honours list that includes Dr. Raymond Dokpesi, Chief Peter Igho, Ms. Liz Benson, Mr. Andy Amenechi, Sam Loco Efe, Chika Onu, Dr. Umar Farouk Jibril, Antar Olaniyan and Engr. Tony Ikoku. Mr. Lekan Ogunbamwo, Mr. Sam Dede, Bukky Ajayi, amongst others.



Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Mirror Boy: Are you ready for the journey?



The latest sensational Nollywood rave of the moment is Obi Emelonye’s The Mirror Boy, that was seen by a mammoth crowd at the world premiere at The Empire in Leicester Square, Central London last Thursday February 24, 2011.

The best eye witness account of the event was the report of Lady C on the UK Zambians site and the best photo album of the grand occasion is on Bella Naija

The story:

“The Mirror Boy” is an enthralling journey through the picturesque terrains of The Gambia, as seen through the eyes of a London-born 12 year old boy, TIJANI.
On the 13th of June and wholly out of character, TIJANI gets involved in a street fight in which a boy is hurt. Convinced that TIJANI needs discipline, TEEMA, his mum decides to take him to the Gambia to live with her sister.

On their arrival in Banjul, TIJANI encounters what he considers to be a simple apparition- a boy smiling at him in a mirror and vanishing afterwards.

However, seeing the same boy in a crowded street market the next day sets in motion a chain of events that culminates in him getting lost.

While the panic-stricken TEEMA struggles with the Police Force to find her son in an intriguing game of survival brinkmanship, TIJANI is left alone in the company of the enigmatic MIRROR BOY who is only visible to him.

As a bruising spiritual rite of passage, the MIRROR BOY takes TIJANI on a magical journey through the dark belly of the forest.

After a series of edge-of-the-seat adventures in the forest, TIJANI emerges the next day, a bewildered boy; for whom the lines between reality and fantasy; between the physical and the spiritual have been forever blurred.
His arrival at a time of mourning for a small kingdom upsets the evil machinations of a desperate Queen who; threatened by his innocent presence; is not afraid wield her mysterious powers.

A cathartic climax helps TIJANI to unravel the mystery of the MIRROR BOY. It also provides him with a rather mystical explanation for the way his life has cascaded from the 13th of June towards this inter-twined fate with a father he has never met.



Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Controversial African film nominated for Best Foreign Language Oscar

Outside the Law

The controversial African film Outside the Law made it to the final five nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film. A record third time for the director, but I doubt if Rachid Bouchareb’s film can beat the Mexican film Biutiful by Alejandro González Iñárritu. "Biutiful" also got the lead actor Javier Bardem a nomination for Best Actor and tipped by top Hollywood stars to win the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film. Julia Roberts is in love with the movie.

Biutiful

"Biutiful" which is the humourous Spanish spelling of beautiful was in competition for the Palme d'Or at the last Cannes Film Festival where Bardem shared the Best Actor award with Elio Germano for Daniele Luchetti's "La Nostra Vita". It was the Best Foreign Language Film of 2010 at the 17th Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards and also nominated for the 64th British Academy Film Awards for Best Film not in the English Language and Javier Bardem getting another nomination for Best Actor.

The shortlisted films competing for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar are "Dogtooth," by Greece's Yorgos Lanthimos; "Algeria's "Outside the Law," directed by Rachid Bouchareb; "Incendies," from Canada's Denis Villeneuve; "In a Better World," by Denmark's Susanne Bier; and "Biutiful," by Mexico's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.



Click here to see all Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards.

Many foreign films had theatrical releases in North America in 2010. The notables included the French production “Babies”, “I am Love” from Italy and “The Secret in Their Eyes” from Argentina that won an Oscar last year. Sandy Mandelberger, a New York film Editor has a detailed report posted on Fest 21.

While some African countries have made it to the Foreign Language Film category of the Oscars, Nigeria has not even made it to the competition at the Cannes Film Festival, except in some minor international film festivals in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa. Nigeria boasts of Nollywood, the so called second largest movie industry in the world, but with nothing much to show for it, except the proliferation of substandard home videos circulated by pirates with impunity.

Jeta Amata’s "Amazing Grace", Stephanie Okereke’s "Through the Glass", Kunle Afolayan’s "The figurine (Araromire)" and Chineze Anyaene’s "IJÉ: The Journey" made so much buzz in the local media with claims of breaking box office records in Nigeria, but they have not even found major distributors in the US and Europe. Now Jeta Amata’s new film "Black Gold" and Mahmood Ali-Balogun’s "Tango with Me" are being hyped with great expectations and the only way to prove their worth is not pulling crowds at the few cinemas in Nigeria, but competing with the best at the Cannes and making the nominations for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards. Until then, the best is yet to come in Nollywood.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima