Highlights of the Opening Day of 10th Anniversary of AFRIFF in Lagos

The opening day of the 10th Anniversary edition of the annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) held on Sunday, November 7, 2021 attracted hundreds of people, including the top A-List stars of Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry in the Filmhouse Cinemas at the Landmark Retail Boulevard on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

Chioma Ude, the Founder and Executive Director of the annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) with Mr. Herbert Wigwe, the Group Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank, the leading major sponsor of AFRIFF.

Chioma Ude with Ukonwa Kuzi-Orizu Ojo, Chief Marketing Officer, Prime Video and Amazon Studios with James Farrell, the International Head of Local Originals, Amazon Studios.

Before the Nigerian premiere of the opening film, Amazon Studios' sci-fi action thriller, "Encounter" directed by Michael Pearce, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc, the leading major sponsor of AFRIFF lauded the visionary leadership of Chioma Ude, the Founder and Executive Director of one of the best film festivals in Africa and said Access Bank will continue to support AFRIFF. Claire A. Pierangelo, the US Consul General to Nigeria also commended the remarkable success of AFRIFF and that the US Consulate is happy to partner with AFRIFF. Ukonwa Kuzi-Orizu Ojo, Chief Marketing Officer, Prime Video and Amazon Studios with James Farrell, the International Head of Local Originals, Amazon Studios were the keynote speakers and they announced the big plans of Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios to increase the international appreciation of Nollywood by hiring M-Net West Africa's former Regional Director, Mrs. Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu as the Principal Head of Content Acquisition for Prime Video in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kemi"Lala" Akindoju was the MC of the opening day event.

Fast rising filmmaker and action hero, JLeo Uche with famous actor, Wale Ojo.

 JLeo Uche with Mr. Victor Okhai, President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN).

Angela M. Gordon, American filmmaker and writer with Wale Ojo and JLeo Uche.

The celebrated filmmakers, actors and stakeholders in the Nigerian film industry who were at the event, included Mr. Victor Okhai, the President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN),  Mrs. Joke Silva-Jacobs, Kunle Afolayan, Charles Novia, Francis Onwochei, Ugezu J. Ugezu, Teco Benson, Obi Emelonye, Jay Franklin, Wale Ojo, Wole Ojo, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Osas Ighodaro and JLeo Uche. They had interviews on the red carpet with both local and International guests, participants and visitors.  There were cocktails and foods for everyone at the event. 

In association with The Smithsonian, there was a Soirée Opening Night Fashion Party  at the Shiro Lagos Asian Restaurant and Bar opposite the Filmhouse Cinemas. Famous trendsetter and multiple award winning TV host, Denrele Edun was the cynosure of the Soirée.

Sound and Screenwriting in Nollywood and Kannywood

Sound and Screenwriting in 

Nollywood and Kannywood

Majority of screenwriters in #Nollywood and #Kannywood need to learn how to include sound cues during screenwriting and not during post production.

If we ask even those who claim to know a simple question about sound in screenwriting, they may not know, because they have not shown that they know in several of their film and TV productions.

Seeing is believing.

Many people listen, but only few learn in Nigeria. That's why we hear and see repetitions of the same mistakes in film and TV productions in Africa's largest film industry.

They still don't know how to use sound for characterisation in screenplays before the principal photography.

They just copy and paste soundtracks during post production without creating and composing any original score.  

Sound in a movie includes the music, leitmotifs, dialogues, sound effects, ambient noise, and/or background noise and soundtracks. 

There is what I call the "Ambience of Romance" in filmmaking and it can only be achieved with sound.

And what is the ambience of romance in screenwriting and in the atmosphere of a scene?

I am still waiting for the cinematic experience of Dolby Vision in Nollywood and Kannywood.

To me, any Nigerian filmmaker whose movies have not qualified for the Official Selections of the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival is not qualified to teach any  Masterclass. 

How can you teach a Masterclass without the proof of being a master of the subject?

How can someone who is still having issues with the nuances of sound in storytelling teach a Masterclass on directing or screenwriting? 

Do you know that majority of the filmmakers in Nollywood and Kannywood are clueless about spherical and anamorphic lenses? And they are teaching Filmmaking in some so called film and TV academies in Lagos, Asaba, Calabar and Kannywood without any certification or accreditation.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series

distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.

Experience Last Night in Soho in Dolby

In acclaimed director Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller, Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.

 https://www.dolby.com/experience/cinema

Fair and White Unveils Jackie B as Brand Ambassador for Nigeria

Fair and White Unveils Jackie B as Brand Ambassador for Nigeria

Thursday, November 4, 2021 wi remain indelible in the minds of many beauty enthusiasts. It was indeed Thursday to remember.

The ambience was gay. It exuded glamour and panache laced with glitz.The atmosphere spelt funfair.

As invited guests- mostly celebrits, beauty experts, distributors and brand journalists- thronged the venue, no one was left in doubt as to the grand nature of the event.

Venue was Reserve Resturant, Karimu Ikotun, Victoria Island, Lagos and the gathering was at the instance of commodity conglomerate, Bozac Continental Ltd which was unveiling Jackie Lureino Bent, popular as Jackie B, as the latest brand  Ambassador of Fair and White range of beauty product.

Before Jackie, delectable Esther Agunbiade and Toke Makinwa have represented the brand as Ambassadors. 

Esther was the Brand Ambassador for the Gold range while Makinwa represented the So White & So Carrot Ranges.

The Bozac group holds the sole franchise for Fair and White brand in Nigeria.

A unisex international beauty brand, the Fair and White variants, are made  in France for people of colour by Labo Derma France.

The new brand Ambassador who is Senator Grace Bent's daughter, was a housemate in the 2021 Big Brother Naija reality show.

It was indeed an "A" rated event because it again afforded the Bozac group the opportunity to celebrate natural African beauty.

On hand to ensure a successful outing were Bozac's senior managers led by the son of the president of the group who is also a Director in the company, Kene Chibueze.

Mr Chibueze held fort for his father and he gave a good account of himself in that regard.

In his brief remark, he stressed that Bozac group has always promoted and will continue to promote African beauty.

Chibueze assured consumers and distributors of Fair and White that the brand, having been around in the past 25 years, will continue to maintain quality and excellence as well as beauty needs of African women.

Its believe in African beauty, he disclosed, accounted for the reason Bozac opted for Jackie B, a ravishing African beauty, as the new face of a variant of the brand,  Fair and White Gold which was launched in 2014.

According to Chibueze, "other products have tried to look like Fair and White Gold but of course, if it is not Fair and White, it cannot be like Fair and White. Our brand is distinctive, it is on a class of its own"

The Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of Fullpage Communications Ltd Ingram Osigwe who also doubles as Media Adviser to Bozac dazzled all with his superlative performance as compere for the event.

He on his part equally assured the public that scintilating advert strategies that will take the brand to its desired target audiences are in the offing.

Jackie B came with Mr Amadi Victor Obisike, owner of the Agency that handles her PR and her Personal Assistant, Chukwulobe Favour.

Looking queenly in her dress, Jackie B appended her signature to the endorsed deal amidst applause and clinging of glasses.

Bozac's team at the signing ceremony included the group's legal Adviser, Barrister Gabriel Airewele, Kene Chibueze 
Director, Oluwatoyin Ogunbowale
Human Resources Consultant, Sunday Adekoya , Sales Manager,
Prince  Emma Okon
Assistant  Sales Manager, Onyebuchi Oformata,

Sales representative,Ijeoma Ezenma, Sales representative, Modupe Adebimpe, Brand representative and Olaitan Adegun, Warehouse manager.

Evidently elated Jackie B revealed that a day after she left the BBNaija house, many companies made endorsement offers to her but she opted for Fair and White because she considered it a legacy brand, a brand that sticks to what it represents.

Being of Northern Nigerian extraction, the new brand ambassador pledged to take Fair and White to the nooks and crannies of the region and help open the frontier of northern market for it.

Her mother, Senator Grace Bent, she said, was happy with her decision to endorse the brand.
At the event were also Mercy Ikoro, 
Deputy Business Manager
The Sun Publishing Ltd, Onyekachi Evelyn 
CEO , Switkaybedding, Mogbogu Chinyere,
Complete Bridals  among other important dignitaries.

"Héliopolis" is a Masterpiece in Motion Picture

In 1970, Algeria became the first country in the Arab world to win an #Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category with the Algerian-French production “Z” directed by Costa Gavras.

“Héliopolis", Algeria's entry for the Best International Feature Film category of the 94th Annual Academy Awards is a very powerful historical drama about
the Algerian revolution, directed by Djaafar Gacem.

Synopsis:

In Guelma, Victory in Europe Day is a life-altering event for one Algerian family: French troops are about to commit a massacre against Algerian civilians.

In Guelma, which was once called Heliopolis in ancient times, the daily life of an Algerian family takes its usual course. But on May 8, 1945, the day the end of World War II was announced, demonstrations by the Algerian people against the French colonial power and for the country’s independence took place, which were bloodily suppressed by the French army and French settler militias. The event went down in history as the Sétif and Guelma massacre. 

"Héliopolis" is a masterpiece in motion picture and will end up a classic in the history of filmmaking in Algeria and the rest of the Arab world.

French is the best language of motion picture. 

I predict "Héliopolis" making it to the final nominees for the Best International Feature Film, Best Picture and the Best Original Screenplay.. But I don't know if it can win the second Oscar for Algeria, because of the outstanding films by the other countries competing for the Best International Feature Film award.

###

Heliopolis is also the title of an Egyptian film produced in 2009 directed by Ahmad Abdalla.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor, 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series
@247 NIGERIA @247nigrria on Twitter

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

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

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

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

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

The following is the official final list.

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

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

ARGENTINA – The Intruder / El Prófugo (Natalia Meta)

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

AUSTRALIA – When Pomegranates Howl (Granaz Moussavi)

AUSTRIA – Great Freedom / Große Freiheit (Sebastian Meise)

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

BELGIUM – Playground / Un monde (Laura Wandel)

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

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

BRAZIL – Private Desert / Deserto Particular (Aly Muritiba)

BULGARIA – Fear / Страх (Milko Lazarov)

CAMBODIA – White Building / ប៊ូឌីញ ស (Ivaylo Hristov)

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

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

COLOMBIA – Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

COSTA RICA – Clara Sola (Nathalie Álvarez Mesén)

CROATIA – Tereza37 (Danilo Šerbedžija)

CZECH REPUBLIC – Zátopek (David Ondříček)

DENMARK – Flee / Flugt (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)

ECUADOR – Sumergible (Alfredo León León)

EGYPT – Souad / سعاد (Ayten Amin)

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

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

FRANCE – Titane (Julia Ducournau)

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

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

GREECE – Digger (Georgis Grigorakis)

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

HUNGARY – Post Mortem (Péter Bergendy)

ICELAND – Lamb / Dýrið (Valdimar Jóhannsson)

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

INDONESIA – Yuni (Kamila Andini)

IRAN – A Hero / قهرمان (Asghar Farhadi)

IRELAND – Foscadh (Seán Breathnach)

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

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

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

KENYA – Mission to Rescue (Gilbert Lukalia)

KOSOVO – Hive / Zgjoi (Blerta Basholli)

KYRGYZSTAN – Shambala / Шамбала (Artykpai Suyundukov)

LATVIA – The Pit / Bedre (Dace Pūce)

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

LITHUANIA – The Jump / Šuolis (Giedrė Žickytė)

LUXEMBOURG – Io sto bene (Donato Rotunno)

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

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

MALTA – Luzzu (Alex Camilleri)

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

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

MOROCCO – Casablanca Beats / علّي صوتك (Nabil Ayouch)

NETHERLANDS – Do Not Hesitate (Shariff Korver)

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

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

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

PANAMA – Plaza Catedral (Abner Benaim)

PERU – Powerful Chief / Manco Cápac (Henry Vallejo)

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

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

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

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

SERBIA – Oasis / Оаза (Ivan Ikić)

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

SLOVAKIA – 107 Mothers / Cenzorka (Péter Kerekes)

SLOVENIA – Sanremo (Miroslav Mandić)

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

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

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

SWEDEN – Tigers / Tigrar (Ronnie Sandahl)

SWITZERLAND – Olga (Elie Grappe)

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

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

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

TURKEY – Commitment Hasan / Bağlılık Hasan (Semih Kaplanoğlu)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series 

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

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

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

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelchimaeyerengozi

The Leadership of Muslims Must Ban Paedophilic Marriage in Islam

 According to a study in 2020, Islam has 1.9 billion adherents, making up about 24.7% of the world population. Most Muslims are either of two denominations: Sunni (87–90%, roughly 1.7 billion people) or Shia (10–13%, roughly 180–230 million people).

The leadership of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) must ban the rampant sexual abuse of underaged girls by old men suffering from paedophilia (a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent girls) in Islamic communities worldwide.

Paedophilic marriage is the major cause of the millions of underprivileged girls out of school in northern Nigeria.
Any sexual intercourse with a Girl-Child is #RAPE.

Elizabeth Vargas reveals the heart-wrenching stories of child marriage victims, who against all odds, escaped the most dire of circumstances. These brave survivors tackle this taboo issue in their personal lives and help to shine a light on the national epidemic with the hope that no child will ever have to be a victim again.

 

This powerful investigation into Shia clerics in some of Iraq's holiest shrines uncovers a network of exploitation of young women and girls, trapped into prostitution and pimped out by a religious elite. Unprecedented undercover filming and victim testimony reveal how they procure young women for male clients, and are prepared to conduct 'pleasure marriages' with children.

Gyakie of Ghana is A Better Singer Than Tems of Nigeria

 #Gyakie #Ghana

#Tems #Nigeria

#Singers #heart #throat #sensous

#songs #vocals #music

#falsetto #acappella #voice #unpluggef

Jackline Acheampong who is professionally known as Gyakie of Ghana is a better singer than Nigeria's Temilade Openiyi, popularly known by her stage name Tems.

Gyakie sings from her heart, whereas Tems sings from her throat.

Her sensous falsetto is all that she has to offer and unplugged, Gyakie will make Tems an ordinary singer without powerful vocals.

Let Gyakie and Tems sing a cappella and you will hear the difference.

PS:

If you have not studied music or you don't have a good ear for music, you may not know the difference between the two singers.