Showing posts with label Nollywood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nollywood. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Akokwa':s Day of Glory in Lagos


 Akokwa's Day of Glory In Lagos

By Ingram Osigwe 

The venue was exquisite. The ambience was cosy. And the event is gay and grand. Indeed,  Saturday,  February 17th,  2024 was a day to remember. It was a day the ancient kingdom of Akokwa was honoured and beamed live to the world, through the instrumentality of one of its illustrious sons,  Chief Celestine Ebubeogu ( Ide Akokwa),  Chairman, Tiger Foods Industries Limited,  makers of the finest brands of food spices.

Term it Akokwa's Day of Glory and you won't be wrong for that was indeed what it was at the Eko Hotels and Suites, the venue of the 21st Sun Newspaper Awards where Chief Ebubeogu was conferred with the Sun Newspaper Industrialist of the Year Award. The Award was in recognition of Chief Ebubeogu's contributions to industrialization and job creation in the country via Tiger Foods' massive backward integration policy and broadening of its marketing and production frontiers.

As Ide's citation was being read, heads bowed in awe, mouths murmured in appreciation and hands clapped in admiration: Right there at the Eko Hotel and Suites, amidst pomp and pageantry and in the full glee of live TV cameras beamed around the world, Akokwa was described as a land of patriotic industrialists and job creators who have done so much to provide employment to unemployed Nigerians. 

Chief Ebubeogu who was unavoidably absent and was represented by Tiger Foods Managing Director,  Don Ebubeogu,  shared the Award category with two industrialists namely former Minister for Industry and Master Energy boss, Dr Uche Samson Ogah and Chief James Uzuh(Omeiheukwu),  Chairman,  J - Jumac  International Company Ltd.

In his speech,  the elated Chief Ebubeogu thanked consumers ofe Tiger Foods brands for their loyalty and patronage over the years;  he also expressed immense gratitude to the Sun Newspapers for the Award,  noteing that the honour would go a long way to spur him to do more for humanity and Nigeria.

In a show of strength, conviviality and brotherhood hundreds of eminent sons and daughters of Akokwa across Nigeria emptied into the Eko Hotel and Suites to celebrate and rejoice with one of their own.

Some of them include  Principal Partner, Maple Partnership law firm, Barr Oke

y Muomalu, Chairman Panda Hotel & Suites Lagos , Chief Willie Obi, CEO Golden Destiny Hotel Chain Lagos , Chief Isreal Orjiekwe, Chairman, Koil Nig Ltd, Chief Luke Okeke,

Chairman, U Frank Nig Ltd, Chief Uche Offor, MD, Full page Comm Ltd, Chief Ingram Osigwe and CEO Mega Maritime Services Chief Ifeanyi Ikejiaku among numerous others. 

Similarly, friends of Ide Akokwa from neighouring towns came in solidarity. 

Such was Chief Abraham Ikechukwu Otti( Mighty Mighty), an Umuchu,  Anambra state born and Port harcourt based businessman &  philanthropist. 

Incorporated over two decades ago as Spices Manufacturing Company,  Tiger Foods,  with Ebubeogu's strategic managerial skill, has not only cemented its status as a driving force in the food industry but has also set an unparalleled standard of excellence and innovation in the industry.

Industry watchers opine that Tiger Foods has soared higher, even beyond the imagination of the founders. With strategic vision, Tiger Foods has successfully grown into a prominent and respected brand within the food industry and among consumers.

It's worth mentioning that Tiger Foods sources most of its raw materials locally thus proudly producing made-in-Nigeria brands.

The company has a robust backward Integration Program spanning the length and breadth of Nigeria which has ensured that it now boasts of a processing capacity of 10,000 Metric tons of raw material annually.

The darling of consumers, Tiger Foods' products, widely circulate in many African countries where they are exported. 

Beyond Africa, the company is now on the cusp of opening new frontiers in the USA and UK following hot demands.

A galaxy of other Awardees and guests who graced the colourful Sun Awards include the President/CEO of Pwan Group Dr Jayne Onwumere who received the Sun Investor Of The Year Award alongside other top dignitaries from sectors of the economy like Aliko Dangote (Dangote Group), Innocent Chukwuma (Innoson Motors), Tony Elumelu (UBA Bank).

Other awardees and guests include Peter Mbah (Governor of Enugu State), Dapo Abiodun (Governor of Ogun State), Mohammed Yahaya (Governor of Gombe State), Olufolake Abdulrazaq (First Lady of Kwara State), Peter Obi (LP Presidential Candidate), HRM Obama Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojájá II (Ooni of Ife), His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III (Olu of Warri), Uma Ukpai (founder/President) Uma Ukpai Evangelical Association), Femi Bakre (MD/CEO Parallex Bank), Moruf Oseni (MD/CEO Wema Bank), Gbenga Komofe (MD/CEO Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission), Adaora Umeoji (Deputy Managing Director Zenith Bank), Pharm Uche Nwana, CEO, Sylken Nig Ltd, Lady Adaeze Chukwudozie, Vice Chairman of the Dozzy Group, Ngozi Ezeonu (Nollywood Actress) and a host of others


Ingram Osigwe, The CEO, Full Page Comm Ltd.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

NOLLYWOOD FILM CITY is Coming Soon


















The location for the buildings of the NOLLYWOOD FILM CITY has been found in Akwa Ibom State in the south-south region of Nigeria. The land to be called Dakkada is available for my proposed development of the film city on the model of 21st century smart city with IoT and the following:

 Nollywood Plaza with Cineplex.

 Nollywood Centre with AI film and TV studio, Dolby Atmos and Vision Studio and Drylab Set Reports. 

A film commission Nollywood Estate of 500 apartments.

Artificial lake

Helipad

Regular power and water supply. The pictures are sample of the de,s,velopment plan for the layout and the types of buildings of our NOLLYWOOD CITY.

Sunday, December 31, 2023

"Breath of Life" is the Best Nigerian Film of the Year 2023



2023 has been a great year for Nollywood.
Nigerian filmmakers made outstanding movies in 2023 and several of them won notable awards locally and globally, including C. J "Fiery" Obasi's multiple award winning mythological fantasy film, "MAMI WATA", Nigeria's entry for the Best International Feature Film
Category of the 2024 annual Academy Awards; , winner of the Best Nigerian Film at the 19th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).
"MAMI WATA" premiered at the annual Sundance Film Festival and the cinematographer, Lílis Soares won the Special Jury Prize in the World Dramatic Competition for the film's cinematography in black and white. The film won three awards at FESPACO; Prix de la Critique Paulin S. Vieyra (African Critics Award), Meilleure Image (Cinematography Award) and Meilleur Décor (Set Design Award). The first Nollywood film to win these highly coveted international awards.
It is nominated for the Best  International Film Category of the 39th annual Independent Spirit Awards in the United States of America; the first for a Nollywood film.

Babatunde Apalowo's "All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White" was joint winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2023 annual Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF).

“Funmilayo Ransom Kuti" by Mrs. Bolalenle Austen-Peters won the Oronto Douglas' Overall Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay awards at the 2023 annual AFRIFF.
Editi Effiong’s crime thriller, "The Black Book" for Netflix became the first Nigerian film to be number one on the Global Netflix Chart of the most watched movies on the world's largest streaming platform.

"Orah" by Nigerian Canadian filmmaker Lonzo Nzekwe premiered at the 2023 annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Finally, Funke Akindele's new film "A Tribe Called Judah.” is the icing on the cake of the best Nigerian films of 2023.

In overall assessment of all these outstanding films, Nigerians Report Online has selected BB Sasore's "Breath of Life", the Best Nigerian Film of the year 2023.

 "Breath of Life" is an Unforgettable Journey of Discovery of the Power of Faith, Love and Triumph of the Human Spirit

"Breath of Life" is a period drama set in Ibadan in the 1950s. It is about "Timi", a gifted clergyman who turns into an "old lonely curmudgeon when his family is tragically taken from him. Until Elijah, a humble man with big dreams of becoming a priest, comes into his life. Through Elijah, Timi not only learns to live again, but also realizes purpose for all his gifts and wealth."

The Oscar performance of Wale Ojo as "Timi" has proven that he is indeed  more than an actor of actors, but also an auteur of genius in his excellent interpretation of one of the greatest portraits of unique and unforgettable characters in Nigerian drama.
No other actor in Nollywood would have been able to play a better  challenging role of such an iconic character of "Timi" as Wale Ojo did exceptionally well.
He is among the best actors in the world in the same class with Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins of Hollywood for his mastery of being absorbed in the personality of every character he has played the leading role in different movies. This is a rare  accomplishment among actors in Nigeria, because only few of them have such command in characterization and intellectual depth.

Overall, in concise and precise analysis, the "Breath of Life" is a breathtaking cinematic drama of intellectual and spiritual insights on the triumph of faith, love and the human spirit in the conquest of the existential realities of life in the world. The survival, triumph and victory of the human spirit in the vicissitudes of the trials of life.

The director, producer, cinematographer, screenwriter, composer of the soundtracks and production designer have made a film that will become one of the timeless classics of filmmaking in Nigeria. "Breath of Life" is more than the typical Nollywood movie. It is a beautiful story in motion picture that will resonate with people in different societies in the world, because it is a universal journey of discovery of the true essence of human existence on Earth.
It would be more appreciated dubbed in other languages for the rest of the world to share in the beauty of this drama of the worth of every breath of life.

"Breath of Life" is one of the best films of the year and the kind of Nigerian film that should have been in the Official Selection of the annual Cannes Film Festival in competition for the Palme d'Or.

Principal cast:
Wale Ojo, Bimbo Manuel, Sam Dede, Tina Mba, Sambasa Nzeribe, Genoveva Umeh, Chimezie Imo, Demola Adedoyin, Melly Atari and others.

Produced by
Eku Edewor and Aderinola Adeyokunnu.
Written and directed by BB Sasore, Ola Cardoso is the Director of Photography and Kelechi Odu is the Creative Director.


More details on
https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Breath-of-Life/0MAIUKK9AP09W0F2HQ99XWI0DD

A must on the watchlist of everyone who loves great movies.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,
Publisher/Editor,
NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series,
The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry since 2013, printed in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America and distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers in paperback, hardcopy and Amazon Kindle.
"





Friday, December 1, 2023

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 



Thursday, November 23, 2023

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







Tuesday, November 21, 2023

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.