Breaking News: MAMI WATA Nominated for Film Independent Spirit Awards for the Best International Film

 Breaking News! 

Nigeria's phenomenal filmmaker, C. J. "Fiery" Obasi's  multiple award winning film, "MAMI WATA" has become the first ever Nigerian film to be nominated for the Best International Film of the annual  Film Independent Spirit Awards which have been pointers for the nominations for the annual Academy Awards, popularly called the Oscars. This is first in the history of filmmaking in Nigeria.

"MAMI WATA", a 2023 West African mythological fantasy film shot in black-and-white written and directed by Obasi, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize in the World Dramatic Competition for the  cinematography.

The film has won several awards, including three awards at the  FESPACO - Prix de la Critique Paulin S. Vieyra (African Critics Award), Meilleure Image (Cinematography Award) and Meilleur Décor (Set Design Award). It  was acquired by Dekanalog for North American distribution. 

It is currently the Nigerian film with the widest Internatonal theatrical release in the history of Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

"MAMI WATA" is Nigeria's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations 2024

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

Anatomy of a Fall

France

Director: Justine Triet

Godland

Denmark/Iceland

Director: Hlynur Pálmason

Mami Wata

Nigeria

Director: C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi

Tótem

Mexico

Director: Lila Avilés

The Zone of Interest

United Kingdom, Poland, USA

Director: Jonathan Glazer

The 39th Spirit Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 on the beach in Santa Monica, CA hosted by Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant. 

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
The first book series on Nollywood and Nigerian film industry.

#mamiwata

#fieryobasi

#nollywood

#filmindependentspiritawards

#spiritawards2024

#nominations

#academyawards

#oscars

#nigeria

#sundance

#sundancefilmfestival

#cinrematography

#awards

The Cinematographer

In the beginning The Cinematographer came to us in the cloak of black and white and we gazed spellbound in awe of the cinematic universe.

The Cinematographer 

- by  Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, an NFT art to be up for exhibition and auction on Opensea and Artprice before Christmas.

This is the final part of The Cinematographer in total abstract of the same image.

The Cinematographer is going to attract many bidders when it is up for exhibition and auction. Because, it really an awesome of genius. A unique masterpiece of artwork in celebration of the cinematographer that has never been done before in such magnificence in the history of Fine Arts and NFTs. 

Please, if you have seen a better artwork celebrating the cinematographer before this one, let me know.

To me, it is priceless like my "Signature of God" on. the Algorand blockchain.

This is a special artwork in honour of cinematographers in film and TV productions. 

They are the painters on whose painters on whose palette the art of storytelling in motion picture is made. 

You cannot capture any image in motion picture without a cinematographer. 

Imagine a painting without colours.

Imagine a cart moving without a donkey or horse.

Imagine car without an engine.

Imagine a life without a soul.

Then imagine a film or TV production without the  cinematographer.

There is no creation without the creator. 

The Cinematographer is the painter of the painting on the canvas.

A director without a cinematographer is like driver driving a car without engine.

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael Chima.

© All rights reserved. No copying, duplication and reproduction of any part of this content in any format of media without the authorization and permission of Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima and International Digital Post Network Limited.

#cinematographer

#cinematography

#cinema

#motionpicture

#director

#filmmaking

#filmmakers

#filmproduction

#tv

#art

#nft

#auction

#exhibition

#celebration

#masterpiece

#artwork

#artform

#finearts

#history

#bidders

#genius

#painting

#canvas

#pallete

#car

#engine

#donkey

#horse

#creation

#imagination

#opensea

#artprice

#algorand

All That Glitters is Not Gold in Nollywood

All is Not Well in Nollywood.and the Nigerian Film Industry.

All that glitters is not gold. 

Majority of the producers. directors, actors. actresses and other practitioners in the Nigerian film industry are facing critical economic challenges ignored by the Nigerian government.

An official of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) invited me for a meeting on how to get distribution for thousands of new movies, because only about 100 -200 get acquired by the MultiChoice Group, Startimes, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Showmax. The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) stations and local private TV stations don't have enough budgets to acquire the movies and series. The are grossly underfunded. 

The loads of local content without acquisition and distribution are either on YouTube or put aside in drawers. The producers are heart broken and depressed, because their investments have failed to produce the returns on investment and have left them bankrupt.

The cinemas are having challenges due to high costs of recurrent expenditure in Nigeria.

If, you are in doubt, you must be from another planet. 

We have humanitarian emergencies in Nollywood that most people are not bothered about. 

I have always helped whenever I could in spite of my own critical economic challenges.

I have done my best for the overall benefit of all in Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry and I am still doing my best locally and globally to increase the appreciation, acquisition and distribution of Nigerian movies and series.

Presently, I am targeting new Internatonal markets in the Americas, Asia and Eastern Europe where I have attracted potential partners for acquisition, distribution and co-production.

The federal government and responsible ministries must address these challenges if we want the best for Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

- By EKENYERENGOZI Michael CHIMA,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series.
The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry since 2013.

#nollywood
#economiccrunch
#bankruptcy
#producers
#directors
#filmmakers
#actors
#photographers
#cinematographers
#acquisition
#distribution
#production
#partnerships
#partners
#netflix

#amazon

#showmax

#primevideo

#movies

#series

Memory of October 20, 2020 Has Been Released on Selar

"Memory of October 20, 2020" photo documentary on the aftermath of the tragic EndSARs protests in Lekki on October 20, 2020 in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria is of historical significance showing one of the survivors having sleepless nights of the nightmares. The photo documentary shows the 🌃 nightmares of his trauma.

View on Selar

https://selar.co/016e11

#memoir 

Welcome New Month of December

 

HALLELUJAH!

Welcome the New Month of December of Prosperity, Success, Triumph and Victory with all the thanksgivings to Almighty God.

Cheers!

"Memory of October 20, 2020" Has Been Released on Selar

Memory of October 20, 2020 Has Been Released on Selar

"Memory of October 20, 2020" on the aftermath of the tragic EndSARs protests in Lekki on October 20, 2020 in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria is of historical significance showing one of the survivors having sleepless nights of the nightmares. The photos show his trauma caused by his nightmares.

View on Selar

https://selar.co/016e11

#memoir 

#art

#memory

#digitalart

#endsars

#lekkimassacre

#lagos

#nigeria

#october

#2020

#protests

#riots

#police

#justice

#selar

ULI OMA T-Shirts and Sweatshirts

 

ULI OMA
Beautiful Uli

This is from my Uli Si Naka Chi series.
Inspired by the Uli body painting of the Igbos of Eastern Nigeria.
Available on art canvas and can be minted as an NFT for only one art collector.
No duplication.

The Uli Oma T-shirts, Sweatshirts and Tote bags are available by made on demand in limited edition.

I am very proud of how much I have been doing for the international appreciation and promotion of our Uli Art and Igbo Poetry form of verse which have not been celebrated since Prof. Uche Okeke passed on to eternal glory.

By Ekenyerengozi MichaeI Chima,

Email: ekenyerengozimichaelchima@gmail.com

#uli
#oma
#uliart
#igbo
#art
#bodyart
#bodypainting
#nft
#Nigeria
#tshirts
#sweatshirts
#poetry
#ucheokeke

The Nigerian Creative Economy: Beyond Nollywood and the Entertainment Industry

The Nigerian Creative Economy: Beyond Nollywood and the Entertainment Industry

Overview

Nigeria - Media and Entertainment

According to PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook for 2022-2026, Nigeria’s media and entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing creative industries in the world. It has the potential to become one of the country’s exports, with projected annual consumer growth rate of 8.8% (CAGR). PwC indicates that in 2021, Nigeria’s film industry contributed 2.3% ($660 million (239 billion naira)) to GDP. They project that the industry will increase its export revenue earnings to over $1 billion. The motion picture and music combined contributed about $1.8 billion (730 billion naira) to the country’s GDP in 2020.

The country’s television and video market grew 7.49% to $806 million in 2020, up from $732 million in 2018. The industry is projected to earn about $900 million in 2023. The market is driven by subscription revenue, which accounted for 72.26% of total TV/video sector revenue in 2018. TV advertising accounts for 21.31% of total revenue, while physical home videos account for 5.33%. Subscription-based movie streaming are very popular in Nigeria, attracting players like Netflix, Iroko TV, and Startimes. Although Netflix subscription has long been available in Nigeria, they made their official debut in Nigeria in February 2020, joining several major distributors of filmed content in Nigeria. In August 2022, Amazon Prime Video announced the launch of the localized version of its streaming service in Nigeria. According to an IMF report, the industry is projected to generate an estimated revenue of $10.8 billion by 2023 and account for 1.4% of GDP. The report indicates that in 2020, Nigeria overtook South Africa in pay TV subscription as the country currently has over 6.9 million pay TV households as of 2021.  It is projected to grow to upwards of 7.4 million by 2023. A new study by Research and Markets, shows that Nigeria will contribute about 10 million, or 21.2%, of Africa’s pay television subscribers by 2025.

The music sector of Nigeria’s entertainment industry also recorded significant growth over the years. Stakeholders include artists, musicians, producers, promoters, managers, distributors, and marketers. As of 2021, the music industry employed about a million people and generated over $8 billion for the economy. In the past six years, the growing numbers of new production studios and artists enabled a more vibrant and self-sustaining industry, producing globally recognized music. In this environment, Nigerian musicians have developed a vast spectrum of music genres. The industry has won prestigious awards with artists like Wizkid and Burnaboy claiming Grammy awards, attracting more and more investments..

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/nigeria-media-and-entertainment

Which creative industries drive the creative economy of every country?

The industries are the following:

 Advertising, architecture, arts and crafts, design, fashion, film, video, photography, music, performing arts, publishing, research and development, software, computer games, electronic publishing and TV/radio.

As Dr. Reuben Abati said on The Morming Show of Arise TV on Thursday, November 23, 2023;

We cannot talk about growing the creative industry without a Cultural Policy.

Do we have a Cultural Policy?

Do we even have a Film Policy for Ñollywood and the Nigerian film industry?

Ñollywood is actually a dysfunctional film industry without a film market.

Without an insurance policy.

Without a single film commission.

Let me just go straight to my critical basics of the economics of the creative industry in Nigeria with an important query. And that's all. There is no need for a thesis on the economic crisis of Ñollywood and the Nigerian film industry.

Currently, the Nigerian film industry is a big canoe with holes and different sorts of characters with different agendas; including the real creative professionals, jobbers and of course the opportunists. 

They will make a big 

Kafkaesque and Soyinkasque drama.

Only the creatives with bankable assets and products can grow the creative economy. And not those who are expendable liabilities in the creative industry; that collected loans from the Bank of Industry of Nigeria and other banks and cannot account for the loans due to misappropriations and diversions of the millions of naira they collected. 

What happened to the N3 Billion Grant of the Project ACT Nollywood launched by the administration of former, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR?

Who were the benefitiaries?

Where are the assets and products of the beneficiaries?

Where are the 75 movies produced?

Where are the students trained in filmmaking?

Until there is a forensic report on the Project ACT Nollywood Grant, any establishment for an investment in the creative industry to grow the creative economy by the federal government lacks accountability.

Read the article on 

How The Project ACT Nollywood Grant Was Embezzled - by 

*Eyengho, is President, Association of Nollywood Producers, ANCOP, and Vice President, International Federation of Film Producers Associations, FIAPF.

http://www.metroparrot.net/2015/08/how-n3-billion-project-act-nollywood.html

The federal government should have a forensic report on the previous government investments in the creative industry before the establishment of a new initiative for the acceleration of creative economy.

- Ekenyerengozi MichaeI Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series.

Founder/President,

ZENITH International Film Festival,

https://nigeriansreportng.blogspot.com/2023/11/zenith-international-film-festivals.html

When the So Called Masterclass is not a Masterclass

When the So Called Masterclass is Not a Masterclass

"What makes a work of art a masterpiece is not the craft.
But the Imagination of the artist."
- Ekenyerengozi MichaeI Chima.

Some years ago, I was invited to participate in a Masterclass on  Documentary Filmmaking by the Public Affairs Section of the Consulate of the United States of America in Lagos in the Documentary Showcase Program with American documentary filmmakers. Prominent Nigerian filmmakers in Nollywood were also invited. But the workshop was rushed by the American filmmaker teaching what was nothing new or different, but documentary filmmaking for beginners and what the Nigerian filmmakers already knew. He was teaching us what students in high school were taught in America.

Then the workshop ended abruptly without the completion of the most important sessions.

The American filmmaker started  the presentation of Masterclass  certificates to all the participants. But I refused to accept my own certificate with my name already written on it.

"We never had any masterclass on documentary filmmaking," I said.

The others were compelling me to accept it. I reluctantly collected it. But I dumped it later in the drawer of my desk in the office of Supple Communications Limited.

Finis.

#art

#artist

#masterpice

#craft

#masterclass

#workshop

#filmmaking

#filmmakers

#Nollywood

#America

#Nigeria

#documentary

#documentaryfilm

#showcase

#unitedstates

#consulate

#Lagos

#presentation

#certificate

#office

RECOMMENDED BOOKS BY EKENYERENGOZI MICHAEI CHIMA

Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.