Without the camera and those behind the camera, there will be no movie star.
No actor is bigger, higher or larger than the director.
Whoever calls the shots is the boss.
Photo Credit: @pbs
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/this-is-just-the-beginning-of-change-in-the-industry-says-female-director-of-new-movie-about-life-after-sexual-assault
Stephanie Linus Appointed as National OPS-WASH Ambassador by the Honourable Minister of Water Resources
Celebrated Nollywood star Stephanite Linus, a philanthropist and the UNFPA Regional Goodwill Ambassador for West and Central Africa who is a frontline campaigner for hygiene and public sanitation has been recognized for her role in inspiring improved personal and community hygiene with an appointment from the Federal Government as the National OPS-WASH Ambassador. She was appointed on Thursday, 24th September by the Honourable Minister of Water Resources Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu at a special decoration ceremony in Abuja. This appointment is the highest form of recognition given by OPS-WASH (Organized Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) to any member of the private sector.
In his address, Engr. Adamu charged Mrs Linus to inspire behavioral change among Nigerians for people to take responsibility for their environment in her role as OPS-WASH Ambassador. While applauding her efforts with the Hygiene First campaign, he also implored her and her team to map out different activities that would encourage environmental sustainability across the nation.
Also present at the ceremony was Dr Nicholas Igwe, the National coordinator for OPS-WASH. The premise of OPS-WASH is based on multi-stakeholder collaboration. He thus expressed excitement at the involvement of the entertainment industry in the WASH sector towards creating behavioral change.
As the OPS- WASH Ambassador, Mrs Linus promised that she will use her role to challenge Nigerians to make good hygiene a culture, as well as inspire citizen participation and responsibility. This appointment comes as a public sector recognition of the Hygiene First campaign which she launched in May 2020.
OPS-WASH (Organised Private Sector in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is an umbrella body for private sector collaboration and multi-stakeholder innovation.
It was inaugurated by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources with a goal to end open defecation in Nigeria by 2025 and alleviate other water-related challenges in Nigeria.
The characteristics of homo sapiens have not really changed in their pursuits of creature comforts and titular status symbols of the social class hierarchy of the society; from the dog eat dog competition of their rat race to their celebration of crass materialism.
From the Proletariat to the Bourgeoisie, their conceit and deceit form their attitudes towards themselves and towards others in denial of the truth, because they are afraid of the truth that will expose their anxieties and insecurities when confronted by the existential realities of life.
They never learn or prefer wilful ignorance. And the most dangerous, promiscuous and unscrupulous of them are the upstarts who are desperate to keep up with the Joneses. They assume that if they can afford the same luxuries of the bourgeoisie and aristocrats, they can join their class. The upstarts forget that money can buy all the luxuries of the Aristocrats, but money cannot buy the class of the dignity, integrity and nobility of true Aristocracy as defined by Aristotle and Plato and perfectly illustrated by our Lord JESUS Christ as written in Matthew 7:6:
"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." And in Matthew 7::16-18::
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. "
I always emphasise that what defines and determines your worth in life are your imperishable works for humanity and not the materialistic status symbols of the society.
The greatest heritage is the legacy of knowledge.
- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima,
https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima
Born To Conquer.
Alpha Man, EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima.
Prize winning writer since 13; internationally exhibited artist at age 20; curator of the first Arts Against AIDS Art Exhibitions at the National Museum and National Arts Gallery in Lagos at age 30; Independent TV Production Manager of "Money Wise" on DBN TV at age 35; writer producer and stage director of "Sleepless Night" featuring the Crown Troupe of Africa at the French Cultural Centre in Lagos at age 39; songwriter of "Hardway To Broadway" recorded in 1984 at Hollywood Boulevard n Los Angeles, California and "She Comes on Sundays" recorded in Lagos and premièred on the BBC in April , 2003; author and leading film writer and the Publisher/Editor of 247 Nigeria @247nigeria on #Twitter, one of the most upwardly mobile news aggregators on the internet; Publisher/Editor of NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series since 2013 and among the 10 finalists in the 2014 Fund for Internet Research and Development (FIRE Africa) Awards for tech innovation of a mobile video news and entertainment app with eCommerce and currently working on two new mobile videos social network apps.
CSR: The Education, Protection and Welfare of Underprivileged Girls out of school in Nigeria.
Nigerian Dream: The nation building of a New Nigeria in the leadership of Africa among the comity of nations.
Touki Bouki: The Greatest African Film Among100 Greatest Foreign-Language Films - BBC Culture
"Touki Bouki" is a must see and study for every student and scholar on African cinema and African studies."
-
Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor, NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series.
The iconic Senegalese filmmaker. Djibril Diop Mambéty (January 1945 – July 23, 1998) was the uncle of Mati Diop, the first black female director to be in contention for the 2019 Cannes Film Festival's highest prize, the Palme d'Or, for her debut feature, "Atlantics" that won the
Watch "Martin Scorsese Introduction for TOUKI BOUKI - Cannes Film Festival" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/HdsANF5FlKY
From the BBC:
Touki Bouki (1973) is considered a revolutionary work both in its futuristic themes and its innovative style by Senegalese director, Djibril Diop Mambéty, the visionary film-maker who continues to influence new generations.
Read more about BBC Culture’s 100 greatest foreign-language films:
- The 100 greatest foreign-language films
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20181029-the-100-greatest-foreign-language-films
The local and global popularity of Nollywood and Kannywood has made the Nigerian film industry the second largest entertainment industry in the world after the Bollywood of India and ahead of Hollywood of the United States of America in the production of movies. The Nigerian film industry has become the third largest employer of labour after agriculture and the informal sector of the Nigerian economy, the biggest in Africa.
The sociocultural and sociopolitical indices of both Nollywood and Kannywood have not been positively used for nation building, because the leading stakeholders are more interested in the financial benefits without much consideration for the sociocultural and sociopolitical benefits to national orientation for nation building. And thus, there is no proactive approach to the appreciation and promotion of the national ethics and ethos of Nigerian culture for national development in the content and context of most of the movies produced in Nollywood and Kannywood.
In fact, there have been widespread erroneous portrayals of Nigerians as people without principles and scruples in the characters of different personalities in their movies; especially in Nollywood movies. Observers and viewers have reported that Nollywood is now a camouflage for the promotion of prostitution, drug trafficking and internet fraud or phishing scams infamously called "Yahoo-Yahoo" and "419" by showing Nigerian youths who get rich quick through criminal activities and celebrating them as successful gangsters and successful corrupt politicians who often escape from prosecution for their crimes. The negative impacts of such bad movies have been seen in the increasing cases of young Nigerians engaged in these crimes in Nigeria and foreign countries, rubbishing and tarnishing the international image of Nigeria and Nigerians in the global village. And if the producers of these movies don't stop producing them, the already bad consequences will become worse with the deteoriation of the sociocultural values and virtues of the Nigerian society as seen in the current disorientation and disconnection of the majority of Nigerian youths who have lost their faith in the Nigerian Dream.
There should be an urgent call to action by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) for a national forum of the leading stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry on how best to use Nollywood and Kannywood for national orientation, reformation and transformation of Nigerians in the nation building of a New Nigeria in the leadership of Africa among the comity of nations.
We should produce movies and music that will unite us and not disunite us.
We should produce movies and music for the promotion of love, peace and unity among all Nigerians no matter the peculiarities of our dialects of the different ethnic groups and tribes; for us to live and work together as one united sovereignty to secure our future in the world.
- Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series
247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria
https://www.amazon.com/author/ekenyerengozimichaelchima
East-West Seed in Top 30 of FORTUNE’s Annual Change the World List of Companies
The list is intended to showcase the power of capitalism to improve the human condition by identifying companies that have made an important social or environmental impact through their profit-making strategy and operations.
“Our focus is on smallholder farmers who play a critical role in ensuring the adequate supply of agricultural products. They produce 70% - 80% of the world’s food,” said Bert van der Feltz, CEO of East-West Seed.
“They are vital to food security and nutrition, especially in developing countries.
“Our model at East-West Seed proves that you can make a real difference in people’s lives while also operating a successful business, the two do not need to be mutually exclusive.”
Only for-profit businesses are eligible for the list, with FORTUNE evaluating and ranking each on four criteria including measurable social impact, business results, degree of innovation and corporate integration.
“The company, which has operations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America earns high marks for its local seed breeding efforts and the training it provides its customers,” states FORTUNE in the reasoning for East-West Seed’s ranking.
Founded in 1982 by Dutch seedsman Simon Groot, East-West Seed is one of the world’s leading vegetable seed companies.
The privately-owned company has played an important role in the development and improvement of tropical vegetable varieties that are adapted to tropical markets and growing conditions. Its mission is to provide innovative products and services that help to improve the livelihood of vegetable farmers. In addition, East-West Seed trains over 100,000 vegetable farmers annually in order to help maximize their yield and income through better knowledge on vegetable production and farming skills.
In October of last year the company’s founder was awarded the annual World Food Prize for his decades of dedication in bringing vegetables to the forefront of the fight to improve global nutrition and health. In January 2019, East-West Seed was ranked first in the Access to Seeds Index for Global Seed Companies, besting 13 other global seed companies on their commitment and performance in providing the world’s smallholder farmers access to quality seeds.
East-West Seed has its headquarters in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The company employs about 5,000 people and has 17 R&D establishments in 7 countries. With exports to over 60 countries in tropical areas, East-West Seed serves nearly 20 million farmers around the world.
Read more on FORTUNE’s Methodology for its annual “Change the World” list here.
--Ends--
For more information, please contact
East-West Seed:
Sariyaporn Srisuksawad, Communications Specialist
sariyaporn.srisuksawad@eastwestseed.com
www.eastwestseed.com
FORTUNE:
Alison Klooster, FORTUNE PR Contact
Alison.klooster@fortune.com
646-437-6613
How I Fell in Love with the Cinema
My great father of blessed memory, Sunday "Sunny" Eke loved going to cinemas almost daily, because he loved movies; especially #Hollywood western cowboys movies of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne, war films and #Bollywood movies such as "Sholay" and "Seeta aur Geeta" and I loved the Bollywood legends; Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini,, Dharmendra Singh Deol , Sanjeev Kumar and lest I forget the most celebrated nautch dancer in Hindi romantic films, Helen Anne Richardson Khan. My father never sat down to watch any movie on TV. He would just glance at the popular Bonanza western cowboys series and Combat series on World War 2.
I still miss every member of the Cartwright family in Bonanza played by Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker and Michael Landon who have all passed on. They were household names in Lagos as the thrilling series ran on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Channel 10.
My father often took his family along with him to the nearby cinemas on the Lagos Island in the 1970s. My mother of blessed memory, Mrs. Gladys Eke would straddle her youngest child on her back whilst my father would hold me and my younger sister by our hands with my oldest brother, Nnamdi Godwin Eke walking excitedly in front of us to the nearest Kings Cinema on Lewis Street in Lafiaji. The cinema had a popular side with wooden seats in the open under the sky and covered side with wooden seats behind the popular side. Whenever it was raining, those on the popular side rushed to spaces in the covered side. Whenever there were hitches or bad pictures during screenings, the audience shouted "Operator!" To call the projectionist to fix it and give us good screenings. If my father did not like any of the movies on the posters in the Kings Cinema, he would take us to the nearby Sheila Cinema on the Broad Street, Royale Cinema off the Broad Street or the fully covered Plaza Cinema with upholstery seats where movie-goers paid more for tickets with popcorns and soft drinks.
My father wanted me to become a lawyer, but instead of taking me to the nearby High Court and Supreme Court, he was taking me to the cinemas to watch movies. The path he led me defined the direction of my future occupation.
My first job was working as a TV puppeteer and scriptwriter for NTA Channel 10 and then producing cartoon strips and comics for the leading children's magazines in Nigeria inspired by Walt Disney and Stan Lee of Marvel comics. And the passion for Hollywood and Bollywood led to our own Nollywood which was started by TV producers and directors in NTA Channel 10 with the first home videos by Yoruba and Hausa producers in the middle of the 1980s before the blockbuster, "Living in Bondage" of 1992 directed by Chris Obi Rapu of NTA Channel 10, written and coproduced by Kenneth Nnebue and Okechukwu Ogunjiofor and sponsored by Jafac Wine. And the sequel of 1993 was directed by Christian Chika Onu, also of NTA Channel 10. Chika Onu now has a PhD in film studies and we are coauthors of "Naked Beauty", the first Nigerian screenplay to be published as a book for commercial distribution. And following my passion for the cinema, I became a film writer since 2008, writing on movies, The Academy Awards (I accurately predicted the winner of the Oscars for the Best Picture and Best Director in 2017 won by Guillermo del Toro for "The Shape of Water"), Cannes Film Festival and other film festivals and having my articles published by Indiewire, Shadow & Act, Black Film Maker, Nigeria Films, Modern Ghana and on my blogs, Nigerians Report Online, Nigerian Times and TALK OF THE TOWN By Orikinla. I started publishing the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series, the first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry in 2013 when I also began organising Nigerian premières of international award winning documentary films with focus on the promotion of the education, protection and welfare of the underprivileged girls out of school in Nigeria and cohosted over 1000 secondary school girls at the Nigerian premières of "Girl Rising" to celebrate the annual United Nations' International Day of the Girl Child for the first time in Nigeria on October 11, 2013 at the Silverbird Cinemas in the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island, Lagos; "He Named Me MALALA" documentary film of Malala Yousafzai to celebrate the 2015 United Nations' International Day of the Girl Child at the Silverbird Cinemas in the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island and the Nigerian première of the Canadian Giselle Portenier's award winning documentary film, "In The Name Of Your Daughter" on May 23, 2019 at the Silverbird Cinemas in the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island.
I have insisted on having these premières gratis without collecting any money from the secondary school students or their schools. We spent more than N1m on hosting the students and the teachers who accompanied them to have free popcorns and soft drinks with biscuits And we provided free transport in 2015 and 2019.
Bringing hundreds of secondary school girls and their teachers to the cinemas is promoting the appreciation for cinema culture in Nigeria and increasing the sociocultural and economic development of the Nigerian film industry.
We need to promote the appreciation of the cinema on it's own terms of scale of preference for cinephiles above TV and OTT online streaming services. Because as clearly defined and distinguished by the theatrical size and sociocultural importance, the cinema is unique for maximum entertainment and the romantic ambience of total cinematic experience. No TV or streamer can give you the awesome entertainment of an IMAX theatre or 4DX cinema.
- By ENYERENGOZI Michael Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor of the NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series and 247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/247nigeria
True nation builders are not political noisemakers.
— 247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) September 18, 2020
They don't ask for signatures for useless petitions.
We even rescued a school girl from Libya in 2016 without climbing Mount Everest.https://t.co/7FPBqLPGjN pic.twitter.com/aSr0liDmw6
Nollywood, as Nigeria’s film industry is known, is increasingly renowned for the quality of its output as much as its quantity. Netflix recently bought the rights to Nigeria’s two highest-grossing films, “The Wedding Party” (2016) and its sequel (2017), as well as the much-praised “Lionheart” (2018).
The number of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa in America shot from 265,000 in 1990 to 2m in 2018 (375,000 are Nigerians, the largest single group).
Between 2001 and 2011 the African-born population of England and Wales rose from 800,000 to 1.3m (the Nigerian contingent more than doubled). “Once you blow in Nigeria you almost automatically blow in London,” says Joey Akan, founder of Afrobeats Intelligence, a newsletter. Since it remains hard to make money in Nigeria, he adds, its artists must reach the diaspora.
The application of “Lionheart” for an Oscar for best international film was turned down because most of the dialogue is in English (with a smattering of Igbo). In response, Genevieve Nnaji, who directed and stars in it, observed: “We did not choose who colonised us.” ■
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