Sand and Sea is a short documentary from my "Lagos in Motion" documentary film that is still in progress started in 2016. The location is the Elegushi beach in Lekki
Saturday, November 27, 2021
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
How the NDLEA Crippled Baba Suwe Before He Died
Babatunde Omidina, popularly known as "Baba Suwe"
(22 August 1958 – 22 November 2021)
(22 August 1958 – 22 November 2021)
Anyone who says he or she is shocked by the passing of the famous Nigerian comic actor, Babatunde Omidina, popularly known as "Baba Suwe" is ignorant of the circumstances surrounding his demise. The fact is Baba Suwe never recovered from the illness and trauma caused by his torture when he was arrested and detained by officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 2011. The NDLEA accused him of being in possession of substances suspected to be cocaine. Baba Suwe told The Punch newspaper that he was crippled after he was tortured by the NDLEA.
“I have not forgotten about my issue with the NDLEA and I will never forget because I am still bearing the pains and suffering from that encounter. I am still affected by the inflictions they meted on me at that time.
“As I speak with you, I cannot walk with both my legs. Just to visit the toilet in my room, I have to be carried there. Even using the toilet is a problem as well.
https://punchng.com/how-i-became-crippled-after-my-ndlea-encounter/
It is unfortunate that the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) and the Theatre and Motion Pictures Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN) failed to take up the case of maltreatment of Baba Suwe by the NDLEA. They failed him when he needed them most. Before he passed on, Baba Suwe appreciated how Yomi Fabiyi stood by him .
“The only time you cannot know true friends, especially in our industry, is when you party or have buffet; when they have nothing to lose or suffer no discomfort. If you fall terribly sick or run into any problem, that you need moral support, that is when you will know you amount to nothing to them."
- Yomi Fabiyi
Monday, November 22, 2021
Expo 2020 Dubai: Kuwaiti Singer Abdulla Al Ruwaished and Egyptian Singer Mohamed Hamaki to Perform on the Jubilee Stage
Looking for something to do in the evening? Let the voices of these incredible singers enchant you.
Abdallah Al Rowaished
24 November 2021 | 20:00 Jubilee Stage
Mohamed Hamaki
26 November 2021 | 22:00 Jubilee Stage
Expo 2020 Dubai:
Kuwaiti singer Abdulla Al Ruwaished and Egyptian singer, composer and poet Mohamed Hamaki. Al Ruwaished will perform popular ballads from his 40-year career on the Jubilee Stage on November 24, with festival favourite Hamaki presenting his pulsating rhythms and polished lyrics two days later on November 26.
Expo started on October 1 and concludes on March 31, 2022
Friday, November 19, 2021
Prince Emeka Ani in "Chukwuabiama Na Ezedibia": God and the King of Wizards
One of three #Nollywood movies acquired through Vuulr for global streaming .
Director: Evans Orji
Major Cast: Prince Emeka Ani, Agbaogidi Clement Cornel, Camilla Mberikwe
Population of Igbos:
Ṇ́dị́ Ìgbò. 50,366,800 (2021 est.)
Regions with significant populations
Ñigeria 45,880,000
United States
227,000
Igbo Americans, or Americans of Igbo ancestry, (Igbo: Ṇ́dị́ Ígbò Amerika)
Since the turn of the 21st century genealogy tracing by means of DNA testing is in part revealing the Igbo ancestry of African Americans, some notable celebrities including Blair Underwood and Quincy Jones.
1. USA (New York; Houston/Dallas, Texas; California; Maryland; Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois)
2. UK (London, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham)
3. South Africa
4. Canada
5. Germany
6. Netherlands
7. Malaysia
8. China
9. Thailand
10. Spain
11. Ghana
12. Benin
13. Equatorial Guinea
14. Japan
15. Finland
16. Sweden
17. South Korea
"ENOUGH! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour" Wins the Audience Choice Award at 2021 Arlington International Film Festival
Arlington International Film Festival | Nov 4-14, 2021 | Streaming
The Power of Coming Together
AUDIENCE CHOICE FILM AWARD
The act of creating an AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD is by nature creating a network of people from around the globe and giving them a voice. We have awards chosen by our jury but AIFF wanted to hear the audience’s voice.
Regardless of distance, you have had the opportunity of viewing
this year’s film program virtually
and casting YOUR vote for your favorite FILM
The Audience Choice Award that YOU voted for is…
ENOUGH! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour
Congratulations to filmmaker Daizy Gedeon!
2021 FILM AWARDS
Best of Festival: I’M AN ELECTRIC LAMPSHADE, John Clayton Doyle, U.S.A.
Best Narrative Feature: JACK LONDON’S MARTIN EDEN, Jay Craven, U.S.A.
Best Documentary Feature: LOS HERMANOS: The Brothers, Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider, U.S.A.
Best Narrative Short: THE LAST JAM JAR, Arpan Bahl, India
Best Documentary Short: HUNGER WARD, Skye Fitzgerald, U.S.A./Yemen
Best Animation Short: TIMES OF PLENTY, Claudio Costa, Italy
Best Experimental Short: WOMAN, Lillian Carter, U.S.A.
High School Student Filmmakers
Best of Festival: THE WALTZ OF TIME, Mario Martínez Sáenz, Spain
Best Narrative: BRO, CRITICS, Nigeria
Best Documentary: EVERY BODY’S BUSINESS, Amilieyon Pridgen, Jessica Torres, NY/U.S.A.
Best Historical Documentary: TAKING A SEAT FOR JUSTICE: The 504 Sit-in, Thomas Huang, Allen Tang, Andrew Wang, Andrew Yu, Rohin Garg, MD/U.S.A.
Best Animation: CLOUDY DREAM, Rayhaneh Einollahi and Bahareh Einollahi, Iran
Best Experimental: ELYSIUM, Ariana Jones, Georgia/U.S.A.
Best Musical: SINCE THEN, BRJDC Residents, VA/U.S.A.
Best Cinematography: KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, SWEET PEA, Sophie Meissner, U.S.A./Germany
Best Editing: I AM KEREN, Keren Chen, Canada
Best Lighting: FROM WHAT YOU LEFT BEHIND, Jodhi Ramsden-Mavric, Australia
Best Audio: COMA, Ruby Kim, CA/U.S.A.
Honorable Mention: BEYOND THE MODEL, Jessica Lin, CA/U.S.A.
Thursday, November 18, 2021
The MultiChoice Talent Factory and other Film Schools in Nigeria
The MultiChoice Talent Factory and other Film Schools in Nigeria
I have waited long enough to assess the progress of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) before writing about it
I was told that the primary purpose of the establishment is to train screenwriters and filmmakers that will produce regular content for the M-Net Channels on DStv. But it has done more than that, because the alumni are producing content for the global entertainment industry.
The MTF covers WEST AFRICA: Ghana & Nigeria; EAST AFRICA: Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania and SOUTHERN AFRICA: Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia & Zimbabwe.
The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) Academy has achieved within three years of its establishment since 2018 what other older film schools in Nigeria have failed to achieve for the advancement of the Nigerian film industry. In fact, MTF has exposed the shortcomings of the film schools that have been existing since 2010 to date, but they are still having unaccredited courses and poorly trained graduates who have been rushed through ad-hoc courses in overcrowded classes without in-depth hands-on training on the most important components of filmmaking and film studies.
In filmmaking, if you are good, your works will show that you are good from the script to the screen. In filmmaking, seeing is believing. You show more and talk less. A good film school is not judged by attractive curriculums or fine buildings, but by the quality of the faculty and the quality of the film and TV productions of the alumni in the film industry.
The alumni of MTF have won international awards and scholarships; including the Spotlight award at the 15th edition of the Mobile Film Festival held in Paris, France in 2019 and awards of scholarships from the New York Film Academy (NYFA) among other notable achievements.
The other film schools in Nigeria should use the template of the MTF for the improvement of their curriculums in accordance with the international standards of the best film schools in the world and they should join the International Association of Film and Television Schools (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision (CILECT)
https://www.cilect.org/
It is highly recommended to read the interview of MultiChoice Group CEO, Yolisa Phahle .
TBI Spotlight On Africa: MultiChoice Group CEO Yolisa Phahle – TBI Vision
https://tbivision.com/2021/10/26/tbi-spotlight-on-africa-multichoice-group-ceo-yolisa-phahle/
https://tbivision.com/2021/10/26/tbi-spotlight-on-africa-multichoice-group-ceo-yolisa-phahle/
- By Ekenyerengozi Michael China,
The Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series.
Sunday, November 14, 2021
Lagos in Motion! It's A Wrap?
#Lagos
#megaqcity
#documentary
#africa
#Amazon
#film #photography
It's A Wrap?
The moment I told my 📷 cameraman that he should stop, but the leading ladies still wanted to have more shots taken during the first phase of the principal photography of my documentary film, "Lagos in Motion" at the Elegushi beach in Lekki in 2016.
This screenshot and others are included in the photo book,
LAGOS in MOTION: A Photo Album of Africa's Largest Megacity (Volume 1): Ekenyerengozi, Michael Chima: 9781536934922: Amazon.com: Books
https://www.amazon.com/LAGOS-MOTION-Africas-Largest-Megacity/dp/1536934925
I am working on a revision of the photo book for the second edition with more screenshots from the second phase of the principal photography using Drylab Set Reports and Dolby Atmos. And I want to have some footage in Dolby Vision. The most significant advantage of Dolby Vision HDR over HDR10 is the addition of dynamic metadata to the core HDR image data. This metadata carries scene-by-scene instructions that a Dolby Vision-capable display can use to make sure it portrays the content as accurately as possible.
All the documentaries on Lagos produced by the @CNN , @BBC and other foreign film and TV producers have not been well researched. The most important parts of Lagos have been forgotten or left out. A documentary film on Lagos without Isale Eko is like a documentary on #London without the Westminster!
Producing a documentary film on any object or subject without comprehensive research on it is shallow and unacceptable.
I spent four years on the location of my proposed first feature film, "Naked Beauty" in the Agaja Village on Bonny Island in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. I studied both the demography, topography and also the physiognomy of the villagers before writing the screenplay with Dr. Chika Christian Onu, the multiple award winning director of "Living in Bondage" part two, "Glamour Girls" and over 80 other movies that are now classics of #Nollywood.
Saturday, November 13, 2021
The Scramble for Nollywood and The Status of Lagos State
The Scramble for Nollywood and The Status of Lagos State
Everyone wants to have a bite of a hot pizza.
I hope the current scramble for Nollywood by the major streaming video services from America is not like the scramble for Africa by European powers (between 1881 and 1914).
Entertainment is Power
I wonder if the Nigerian government knows the dynamics of the overwhelming power of our entertainment industry beyond the glitz and razzmatazz and surplus economic returns.
The internet has become the most powerful vehicle of the entertainment industry since the inventions of the cinema and television.
The sociocultural, socioeconomic and sociopolitical powers of entertainment can define and determine the future of a nation and the civilization of the people.
That is why California is the richest state in the United States.
The economy of California, with a gross state product of $3.2 trillion as of 2019, is the largest sub-national economy in the world.
California is the home of Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Mountain View, the headquarters of the entertainment industry and of the Big Techs, including Apple, Alphabet and Meta. And is home to five of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people.
Without the internet, these Big Techs will not be Big and without entertainment, they will not become the biggest tech giants in the world.
Lagos is the powerhouse of the economy of Nigeria and the capital of the entertainment industry in Nigeria, the home of Nollywood and the home of Yabacon, the Silicon Valley of Nigeria where there are the first tech unicorns in Africa. And Lagos can become to Nigeria what California is to America.
As it has been noted that if California were a country, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world, likewise Lagos would be the fifth-largest economy in Africa if it were a country.
The realization of the awesome developments of tech startups connected to the entertainment industry in Lagos is what has attracted the biggest American streaming video services to Nollywood.
Disney already has a base in Nigeria with the long term partnership with Kugali Media.
I am excited about the Scramble for Nollywood and the competition for our original content.
Only the best is good enough for us.
As we say in my mother tongue of Igbo language, NKIRUKA, which means that the future is greater.
This is the Big Picture of Nollywood I saw coming years ago. The future is here.
- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR®Series
247 Nigeria (@247nigeria) / Twitter
Friday, November 12, 2021
"The Hand of God" is One of the Best Films in 2021
#God
#netflix
#italy🇮🇹
#italian
#bestpicture
#cinematography
#academyawards
#Oscars
#italy🇮🇹
#italian
#bestpicture
#cinematography
#academyawards
#Oscars
#academyawards2022
#94thAcademyAwards
#94thAcademyAwards
"The Hand of God" (Italian: È stata la mano di Dio), the 2021 Italian drama film written, directed, and produced by Academy Award winner, Paolo Sorrentino is affirmatively one of the best films of the year.
The Cinematography should get a nomination at the 94th Academy Awards for Daria D'Antonio.
It competed for the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize.
It is the Italian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
The Story:
In 1980s Naples, young Fabietto pursues his love for football as family tragedy strikes, shaping his uncertain but promising future as a filmmaker.
"The Hand of God" is a story full of unexpected joys, such as the arrival of football legend Diego Maradona, and an equally unexpected tragedy. Fate plays its part, joy and tragedy intertwine, and Fabietto's future is set in motion. Sorrentino returns to his hometown to tell his most personal story, a tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.
Starring:Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo
My Verdict: It will get up to 4 nominations at the 94th Academy Awards for the Best International Feature Film, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
2 September 2021 (Venice)
24 November 2021
Running time
130 minutes
Release date
2 September 2021 (Venice)
24 November 2021
Running time
130 minutes
Definitely one of the top 10 must see movies on my Top Watch List of 2021.
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Chioma Ude To Speak @ Dubai Expo 2020: Canon Brings Women Trailblazers From The Middle-East and African Film Industry
Cinema – A Social Catalyst:
Dubai Expo 2020: Canon Brings Chioma Ude and other women trailblazers from the Middle-East and African film Industry to speak on the dynamics of the power of the cinema for sociocultural, socioeconomic and sociopolitical reformation and transformation.
PRESS RELEASE |
Advancing gender equality & celebrating women empowerment at Dubai Expo 2020: Canon to bring together women trailblazers from the Middle-East and African film industry in a thought-provoking panel discussion |
The panel discussion is envisioned to celebrate the creative efforts of women filmmakers who make an immeasurable contribution to the enrichment of the industry and to discuss how the industry can re-invent itself to reduce gender disparity |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, November 11, 2021/ -- In alignment with the company’s relentless commitment to promote gender equality and women empowerment, Canon (Canon-CNA.com) will bring together an esteemed panel of women entrepreneurs from the film industry in Middle-East and Africa at Women’s Pavilion, Dubai Expo 2020; Canon is the Official Printing and Imaging Provider of Expo 2020 Dubai taking place from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022; To register for the event, please click here -> https://bit.ly/3ohOq4y Canon Middle East (CME) and Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) announced today of their upcoming panel discussion on ‘Women in Filmmaking: In the spotlight and studying landscape of Cinema and Media today in Middle-East and Africa’ to be held at Women’s Pavilion, Dubai Expo 2020. As part of the company’s endeavor to celebrate women change-makers in the creative industries, a noteworthy panel consisting of women filmmakers from the Middle-East and Africa will be brought together on 18th November 2021 at the Women’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. The panel discussion is envisioned to celebrate the creative efforts of women filmmakers who make an immeasurable contribution to the enrichment of the industry and to discuss how the industry can re-invent itself to reduce gender disparity. The Expo 2020 Dubai Women’s Pavilion, is dedicated to celebrate the efforts of women in creative industries in order to reaffirm Expo’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Women’s pavilion is a platform that celebrates the significant parts that women, known and unknown, have played throughout history and continue to play in the present day, based on the principle that when women thrive, humanity thrives. |
Read the report on TALK OF THE TOWN By Orikinla
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)