Happy Birthday Dr. Chika Christian Onu, One of the Founding Fathers of Nollywood

Happy Birthday Dr. Chika Christian Onu, One of the Founding Fathers of Nollywood

Today is the birthday of Dr. Christian Chika Onu, one of the best and greatest filmmakers in Africa. He is famous as one of the Founding Fathers of Nollywood and the author of "The Unusual Story of the Early Years of Nollywood" distributed by Amazon and other booksellers.

Top Nollywood filmmaker, Christian Chika Onu received his PhD in Film Studies from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. 

He is famous as the director of the bestselling Nollywood movies "Living in Bondage 2", "Glamour Girls", "Peacemaker" and other popular movies for which he has won many awards in Nigeria and America. He is the co-author of "Nak-ed Beauty", the first Nigerian screenplay to be published and sold as book. The recce for the film production was completed on Bonny Island, Rivers State in 2008, but production has been delayed by the political violence in the Niger Delta. The screenplay is based on crude oil thieves and militancy before the Amnesty for Niger Delta militants, co-written by Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, aka "Orikinla Osinachi" after four years research on Bonny Island.

Dr. Christian Chika Onu who also studied filmmaking at the highly esteemed Colorado Film School in Denver, USA. 

Chika Onu has always been an outstanding achiever with numerous awards since he won the first prize in the J. F. Kennedy International Essay Competition in 1973 and went on to excel as President of the Oak Theatre during his undergraduate years at the famous University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) where he was also the Associate Editor of “The Muse” Departmental Magazine. In 1979 he won the British Council Award for the Best Creative Writer (University Press); Prime Director Award by Video/Film marketers in 2002; Member, Movie Makers Hall of Fame, Abuja in 2006; Pioneer Director Award Best of the Best (BOBTV) Expo, Abuja in 2008 and many other accolades of which the most recent are the 2014 TV and Film Achievement Award by Los Angeles Nollywood Film Association (LANFA) in August and Life Time Achievement Award in Cinema by Nollywood Africa Film Critics Awards (NAFCA), Los Angeles in September, 2014.

Dr. Onu is also the co-author of Naked Beauty, said to be the first Nigerian Screen play to be published and sold as book.

Dr. Chika Onu is a Director of over a hundred Nollywood movies many of which have won Awards and gained popular admiration and acclaim in America, South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria. Ten of these chart bursting movies include;

Living in Bondage 2 (1994)

Glamour Girls (1995)

True Confession (1996)

Evil Genius (1997)

Karishika (1997)

Ukwa (2002)

Fire on the Mountain (2002)

Peace Maker (2003)

Submission (2003)

My In-Law (2004)

Dogs’ Meeting (2005)

Rings of fire (2005)

Python King (2006)

Sweet Potato (2011)

Great Messenger (2011)

Evil Kingdom (2013)

African Tradition (2014)

My Peace o Mind (2015)

Dangerous King (2016)

To Love a Crippled Prince (2018).

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE UNUSUAL STORY OF NOLLYWOOD

Video: Nightfall in Lagos

Nightfall in Lagos

Jibowu on the Lagos Mainland in Nigeria on Tuesday night of November 22, 2022.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, author of "Lagos in Motion: Sights and Sounds of Africa"s Largest Megacity" distributed by Amazon and producer/director of the documentary film in progress since 2016 with more than 40 hours of footage so far. Final principal photography to start before Christmas.

#Lagos

#Mainland

#Nigeria

#Jibowu

#Africa

#Megacity

#documentary

#film

#photography

#Amazon

#publish

#producer

#director

#nightfall

#November

#Tuesday

#Christmas

The Most Popular Nigerian News Blog on Pinterest

New Nigeria on Pinterest is the most popular Nigerian news blog on Pinterest with an audience of 280, 000 viewers monthly.

www.pinterest.com/nigeriansreport

New Nigeria on Pinterest is going to become bigger, greater and larger with the mobile app coming soon before the 2023 presidential election in Africa's most populous country with over 200 million people and as of 2022, Nigeria had nearly 84 million internet users.22 Aug 2022. Everyone of them can use the app to post and share news on Pinterest.

We need a New Nigeria!

Cheers!

Best regards,
Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
The Publisher/Editor
+234 706 637 9246

Idris Elba to Join in Conversation at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend in Abidjan

PRESS RELEASE

Idris Elba to Join in Conversation at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend in Abidjan

Elba is an award winning actor, musician, filmmaker and philanthropist, well-known for roles such as Nelson Mandela

Access Multimedia Content

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, November 21, 2022/ -- The Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND 2022) (https://www.CANEX.Africa), taking place from 25 – 27 November 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, will feature international superstar Idris Elba. The actor is scheduled for the “When giants speak” Fireside Chat on Saturday 26 November, among other activities. Idris Elba will bring his wealth of experience and insights into the global film industry as part of the CANEX WKND programme, which includes panel discussions, Fireside Chats, Masterclasses and Live performances. With roots in Sierra Leone and Ghana, Elba represents the astounding success of people of African descent within the global entertainment industry. He joins a list of over 100 top speakers from Africa and the diaspora, representing a range of creative sectors, who have confirmed their participation in Africa's most sought-after gathering of creatives. Elba is an award winning actor, musician, filmmaker and philanthropist, well-known for roles such as Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire, and DCI John Luther in the BBC One series Luther, for which he won a Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Organised by African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, CANEX WKND is a major milestone in the Bank's implementation of its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme; a multi-faceted intervention aimed at supporting and developing Africa’s rapidly growing creative and cultural industries. Afreximbank has identified the African diaspora as an essential component of the CANEX programme. CANEX WKND will also feature some of Africa and the diaspora’s top creative names, experts, brands, and thought leaders that will include: Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya (Nigeria) Didier Drogba, Retired Professional Footballer (Côte d'Ivoire) Alex Okosi, Managing Director of EMEA Emerging Markets at YouTube (Nigeria) Elvis Adidiema, Director, Sony Music for French-speaking Africa (Congo) Abdul-Karim Abdullah, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Culture Management Group (CMG) and Afrochella Festival (Ghana) Magali Ohouens, Modern Art Specialist & Exhibition Coordinator at Cécile Fakhoury Gallery (Côte d’Ivoire) Armando Cabral, Founder and Creative Director, Armando Cabral (Portugal) and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Author (Nigeria), amongst others. Sessions are open to all registered CANEX WKND delegates along with all Masterclasses that commence on Thursday 24 November. For more information and to register for free go to www.CANEX.Africa. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of CANEX WKND 2022.   Multimedia Content: Download CANEX 2022 Institutional Videos Spot TV 30" https://bit.ly/3XevO6d Welcome Video by Pathé’O https://bit.ly/3GE7W6d Annoncement Video Yemi Alade https://bit.ly/3UUXY4B   Annoncement Video Jospeh Dahouet-Boigny https://bit.ly/3tKM9C7 Download CANEX 2022 promotional material https://bit.ly/3XlRL31 Media Contact and Press Relations: M. Amadou Labba Sall W: +20 120 532 0254   Email: asall@afreximbank.com M. Toussaint Alain W : +225 07 89 13 12 97 Email : toussaint.alain@aol.com Social Media: Facebook: https://bit.ly/3tO1RfS Twitter: https://bit.ly/3hPHnQS Instagram: http://bit.ly/3UXxsHi LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/3UHjKZs YouTube: http://bit.ly/3UYuZfN SOURCE CANEX WKND 2022

www.APO-opa.com

Highlights from the 2022 Lagos Book and Art Festival

 

Highlights from the 2022 Lagos Book and Art Festival

The 2022 annual Lagos Book & Art Festival (LABAF) opened on Monday November 14 at the popular Freedom Park on Lagos Island in Nigeria. 

LABAF 2022 is specifically dedicated to Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya, the most phenomenal Nigerian artist and the most published African artist who is famous for his intriguing prints, paintings and sculptures. He has exhibited at the Tate Modern in London, the National Museum of African Art of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C; the Malmö Konsthall in Malmö, Sweden, National Museum and National Art Gallery in Lagos among other places in his illustrious career as an iconic visionary of contemporary art in over five decades since 1957 to date. He celebrated his 90th birthday on August 30. 

Onobrakpeya spoke about his life and works as a artist during an exhibition of his installations.  A short documentary film on his popular Harmattan Workshop in his homeplace, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State was screened and Co-founder of CORA and LABAF, the polymath and patron of the arts, Toyin Akinosho spoke on how Onobrakpeya has been part of LABAF from the very beginning.

There was a symposium on "Our Inheritance: What I Took From Bruce" by Barret Akpokabayen, Kunle Adeyemi, Juliet Ezenwa, Oguchukwu Ejiofor and Nse Abasi Inyang.

Later famous veteran artist and administrator, Pa Timothy Adebanjo Fasuyi and Prof. Ebun Clark spoke about the early years of Onobrakpeya from being one of the "Zaria Rebels" at the Ahmadu Bello University whilst studying fine arts to the later years moderated by Mufu Onifade, artist and arts writer.

 

LABAF 2022 on the theme of "Pathways to the Future" runs from November 14-20 at the Freedom Park and virtually via Zoom and on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. 

Acclaimed Nigerian filmmaker, Tunde Kelani's "Saworoide" and "Lift"  by young filmmaker, Abraham Amkpa were screened on the opening day. Kelani was present for the Q&A interactive conversation with the audience on his political film produced in 1999.

LABAF 2022 is the 24th edition of the hybrid international book fair and art festival founded in 1999 by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), as a literary and visual festival for “freedom of creative expression to herald the rebirth of Democratic governance in Africa’s biggest nation”. There are over 50 books in focus with over 60 independent sessions of literary conversations, visual arts (fine and applied arts and crafts); performances in poetry, drama, dance, music and sociocultural interactions with participants in Nigeria and other countries. 

The Curator/Director, Jahman Anikulapo, said the discourse around "Pathways to the Future" is meant to “figure a way out of the ‘State of Flux’ which led us to a ‘Fork in the Road. See the programmes on https://www.lagosbookartfestival.org.

PAYFAST Decentralized Fintech Service

PAYFAST Decentralized Fintech Service

Business model:SaaS

Customer:B2C / C2C

International Digital Post Network Limited is developing iPost mobile video app for news, entertainment and social networking that was  shortlisted for the Fund for Internet Research and Education – FIRE Africa Awards 

(https://fireafrica.org/about_fire)

 for tech innovation in 2014 and currently developing PAYFAST  fintech app for decentralization of financial transactions between all the users for borrowing and lending; buying and selling and funding their Small Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) for the retail industry in Nigeria with over 39 million MSMEs.

The MSMEs industry in Nigeria is estimated to be worth $100 billion.

The SMEs sector is the backbone of major developed economies, as well as important contributors to employment, economic and export growth. In Nigeria, SMEs contribute 48% of national GDP, account for 96% of businesses and 84% of employment.

Both iPost mobile video app and PAYFAST will need OneLiquidity apps integration for payments in crypto currency, eCommerce payments and crypto wallets

PAYFAST, is a totally decentralized loan app that will most likely kill all the loan sharks and may compel other fintech services and banks to reduce their interest rate on loans to single digit amount or lose all their applicants for loans to PAYFAST that allows users to borrow and lend to themselves with only 5% interest rate.

There will be PAYFAST Cooperatives in every community with the PAYFAST Business Fund to fund the enterprises of members of the Cooperatives with loans from N50, 000 minimum to N1 million maximum. 

PAYFAST ultimate goal is to reduce poverty by 80% by wealth creation and distribution with Nigeria as the launch pad before other countries.

PAYFAST is the solution to the poor funding of SMEs; exploitation of underprivileged low income earners by loan sharks and banks and slow integration of advanced digital apps.

The primary purpose of PAYFAST Cooperatives is financial inclusion for (i) universal access to financial services;

(ii) providing basic  financial services (iii) access to livelihood and skill development, (iv) financial literacy and education for the economic empowerment of the underprivileged. 

What is Financial Inclusion?

Financial inclusion refers to the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to disadvantaged and low-income segments of society. In this way, they are being included in the financial services industry.

1.7 billion

adults worldwide lack access to basic financial services

63 %

is the amount of financially included adults in developing economies

Why is Financial Inclusion Important?

Without access to basic financial services, people in poverty are unable to perform many common functions that could drastically improve their lives. When they are financially included, they can start to build assets and take other steps to improve their standard of living. They can save money, qualify for a loan to expand a business; build a house; have a safe way to make payments to schools, medical services and so much more.

Contact:

Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima.

Announcing the Paramount Partnership with AFRIFF

Announcing the Paramount Partnership with AFRIFF

­­Lagos, Nigeria - November 9, 2022.

AFRIFF (African International Film Festival) 11th edition in 2022 is shaping up to become the most culturally and strategically significant film gathering of the year in African cinema. 

For 2022, the event is lining up a series of impressive feats including hosting Disney’s Marvel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever African premiere, in collaboration with Film One Entertainment. The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts & Sciences, organizers of the Oscars, is also present this year at AFRIFF to handle two workshops on the inner workings of the international film selection process and discuss the work of the Students Academy Awards. Furthermore, the Red Sea Fund and the Red Sea International Film Festival, are coming over from Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) to affirm their support for the African film industry. 

Paramount Africa, the multimedia entertainment powerhouse on the African continent added to the list of groundbreaking firsts at AFRIFF by announcing a strategic partnership with the African festival. 

Bada Akintunde-Johnson, the Nigeria Country Manager of Paramount Africa stated, “We are excited to be partners of the 11th edition of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). Over the years, it has become synonymous with all things Film on the continent. As we continue to expand our product offerings, especially on the continent, being part of AFRIFF is a step in the right direction as it aligns with our philosophy of leveraging the power of content to reimagine and celebrate the continent's people, culture, heritage, and arts.”

The multi-layered involvement of Paramount in AFRIFF includes the arrival on the grounds of Ms Syrinthia Struder, Executive Vice President of International Productions at Paramount Pictures, who is also a member of the AFRIFF 2022 jury. An opportunity for her to deepen her exposure to the breadth and depth of African cinema. Paramount will also be facilitating a pitch tank session where creatives and filmmakers attending the festival will be given the chance of a lifetime, 15 minutes to sell a project and convince a prominent African and global entertainment powerhouse of their content project viability or feasibility. 

Chioma Ude, AFRIFF founder and her team expressed their extreme delight at seeing these incredible developments at the festival. They all pondered on what it means for young and established Nigerian and African filmmakers who seldom get exposed to this level of excellence or get to meet this unique breed of film professionals. 

“What we witness now is what we have been building since the inception of AFRIFF back in 2010. We did not foresee the globalization of filmmaking and the thirst for African content. What we had in mind was to create a safe place for creativity, and innovation in films and an incubator for aspiring filmmakers. It’s a fact that African film has a voice, and the global community has heard it. African films have billions of viewers on the continent and across the globe, and we must address their demands in the most pragmatic yet sustainable approach.

Expanding on the need to capitalize on the African narrative momentum, Chioma stated: “Our next challenge, as African filmmakers, is to align African film business with what happens on the global stage, these discussions start at festivals through partnerships with major studios like Paramount who understand the power of telling indigenous stories for global audiences.”

AFRIFF is taking place from November 6-12, 2022, in Lagos with a pre-event Oscar Day on the 5th of November. More than 5,000 film professionals from across Nigeria, Africa and the globe are expected to attend, and the crop of Nollywood film industry will join the fray and add to the glamour of an event that is slated to become the most sought-after ticket in the city of Lagos.  

For more info, please click the button below and visit our website.

AFRIFF.

ABOUT AFRICA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (AFRIFF)

The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) is an international film showcase in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos. Founded in 2010 by Ms Chioma Ude, an ardent film lover and entrepreneur, AFRIFF has in the last decade, positioned its platform as the African destination for the celebration of Cinema and filmmaking talent. AFRIFF is a deliberate intervention to foster invaluable exchanges of ideas, production connections, and business relationships that deliver value, build capacity, and create wealth. It has leveraged its networks to attain strategic relevance in the African screen sector which has catalyzed the demand from local and international film stakeholders for AFRIFF to lead in the identification of sector specific deficiencies, and in the implementation of evidence-based interventions across the continent. 

Our programming is themed around African films, filmmakers and African cinematic impulses making the rounds in the international film circuit in categories such as feature, shorts, student shorts, documentary and animation.

Register For AFRIFF

https://www.afriff.com/register

Africa International Film festival - AFRIFF
Ornife Legacy Place, 8 Professor Gabriel Olusanya Street, 105102, Lekki,
Lagos, Nigeria.

+234 7033330439 I www.afrff.com I info@afriff.com I www.twitter.com/afriff/www.instagram.com/Afriff
www.facebook.com/Afriff I www.facebook.com/groups/Afriff I www.youtbe.com/c/AfricaFilmFest AFRIFF

Lagos is Having Two of the Biggest Events in Africa in 2022 from AFRIFF to Techpoint Africa Fintech Summit

Wow!

Eko for Show!

Lagos city is having two of the biggest events in the film industry and fintech industry in Africa in 2022: the annual Africa Iinternational Film Festival (AFRIFF) from November 6-12 at the Landmark Centre on Victoria Island and Techpoint Africa Fintech Summit 2022 on November 26 at Four Points by Sheraton on Victoria Island.

AFRIFF hosted an awesome African premiere of"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" on Sunday night with the physical presence of the famous director, Ryan Coogler and produce Nate Moore with top stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Winston Duke and Michaela Coel. 

I was at the Opening Night of AFRIFF on Sunday November 6 and then yesterday I was among those invited by Consul General William B. Stevens of the Consulate of the United States of America in Nigeria to a special reception for AFRIFF in the official residence of the  Consul General in Ikoyi. It was a good event to celebrate the amazing things the beautiful and wonderful Chioma Ude, the Founder and Executive Director of AFRIFF has been doing since launching the most vibrant iinternational film festival on the African continent in 2010.
"AFRIFF has become the biggest international film festival in Africa!" said
Consul General William B. Stevens and we all applauded Chioma.
AFRIFF 2022 is the best and biggest edition so far and giving the best opportunities of all possibilities for success to Nigerian filmmakers and other filmmakers in the rest of Africa.

The invited VIPs included Mr. Donald Duke, the former Governor of Cross River State; Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce, President of the Silverbird Group; Mr. Linus Idahosa, Founder and CEO of the Del-York Group, Hon. Steve Ayorinde, former Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture and also for Information and Strategy of Lagos State during the tenure of the immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; Mr. Jahman Anikulapo Oladejo; Co-founder and Executive Director of the annual iREP International Documentary Film Festival; Mrs. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Founder of the annual Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA); outstanding filmmakers Kunle Afolayan and Kenneth Gyang among other dignitaries from within Nigeria and from America.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series

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

"Nanny" is an Awesome Mystical, Paranormal and Surrealistic Horror Movie

 

"Nanny" is an awesome mystical, paranormal and surrealistic horror movie.

Aisha played by the Senegalese American actress and model, Anna Diop, is an undocumented young Senegalese woman working as a nanny for an affluent Manhattan family and she hopes her new job as a nanny will help bring her young son, Lamine to the United States. However, when a violent presence begins to invade both her dreams and reality, it theatens to destroy everything she's fought for. 

The young female director, Nikyatu Jusu is a genius of great imagination which can be seen in the gripping cinematography of this film.  The cinematographer, Rina Yang is a master of cinematic imagery and poetry in motion picture. It was really awesome.

"Nanny" deserved the Grand Jury Prize in the US Dramatic Competition it won at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

It was a great opening film for the 2022 annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) that started yesterday evening at the FilmHouse Cinemas in the Landmark Centre on Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

#Afriff2022 #Nanny #Nigeria #film #nigeria #cinematography #Africa #drama #filmfestival #Sundance

Special Invitation To Opening Night of AFRIFF 2022

SPECIAL INVITATION

Dear Michael,

We are delighted to invite you to the Opening Night Film Screening of the 11th Edition of The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF).