Month: March 2010

Superstar Janet Jackson is Final Headliner for Essence Music Festival

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JANET JACKSON

30 Mar 2010 13:00 Africa/Lagos

ESSENCE Confirms Superstar Janet Jackson as Final Headliner for This Year’s ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL July 2, 3 and 4 in New Orleans

RADIO PERSONALITY “NEPHEW TOMMY” CONFIRMED AS HOST FOR NIGHTLY CONCERTS AT ANNUAL WEEKEND-LONG CELEBRATION OF MUSIC, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY CELEBRATING THE MAGAZINE’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY AND 40 YEARS OF MUSIC

NEW YORK, March 30 /PRNewswire/ — Multiple Grammy Award-winning, recording artist, actress and songwriter Janet Jackson will now add another first to her iconic career when she makes her ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL debut this Fourth of July weekend–July 2, 3 and 4–in New Orleans as the third and final headliner. Janet Jackson will perform on July 2, the opening night of the ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL. The announcement was made today in celebration of Janet’s iTunes release of “Nothing” the theme song she performs, co-wrote and co-produced for Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? opening nationwide April 2, 2010.

janet_jackson_essence_music_festival

Janet Jackson is an Academy Award nominee, who has also sold over 100 million records worldwide and is one of the best selling artists in contemporary music. She joins Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys on a bill that features some of today’s greatest African-American artists. This marks the superstar’s first-ever appearance at the annual event and Janet Jackson’s first full performance since her 2008 concert at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“This year’s ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL line-up is headed up by three of the most talented and powerful women in music today,” said Michelle Ebanks, president, Essence Communications Inc. “With the return of both Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys, and the first-ever performance from Janet Jackson, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Essence’s 40th anniversary.”

This year’s multi-generational list of ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2010 performers not only celebrates ESSENCE’s 40-year commitment to music, but also honors the local music of New Orleans. The full list of acts confirmed for this year’s weekend-long celebration of music, culture and community–set for July 2, 3 and 4–is as follows: Alicia Keys, Arrested Development, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, DJ Soul Sister, Estelle, Hot 8 Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Irvin Mayfield and NOJO, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers, Lalah Hathaway, Leo Jackson and the Melody Clouds, Little Freddie King, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Mary Mary, Mint Condition, Monica, Rebirth Brass Band, Ruben Studdard, Sam & Ruby, Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs, Soul Rebels Brass Band, Trey Songz and WAR.

In addition to adding Jackson to the bill, the ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL can now confirm actor, writer, comedian, and entrepreneur Thomas W. Miles II–known to millions of radio listeners as “Nephew Tommy” on the number one syndicated rated radio show, The Steve Harvey Morning Show–as the master of ceremonies for the ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL’s nightly concerts at the Louisiana Superdome. Prior to developing his career as a radio personality, Tommy was chosen as the exclusive opening act to tour with the legendary Luther Vandross for three years. Throughout his career, Tommy has built a following as a stand-up comic and his comedy shows are sellouts in venues across the country.

For additional information about ticket sales, accommodations and the latest news about the ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL, visit www.essence.com/festival.

Last year, the ultimate destination for entertainment, empowerment, culture and community celebrated its 15th anniversary with a record-breaking 428,000 attendees. What began in 1995 as a one-time event to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of ESSENCE magazine has now grown into one of the country’s “Top 10 Leading Brand Events” by Advertising Age.

The ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL is the nation’s largest annual gathering of African-American music and culture; in its 16-year history, it has featured an array of performers including Alicia Keys, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Beyonce, Chaka Khan, Destiny’s Child, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gladys Knight, LL Cool J, Jamie Foxx, John Legend, Kanye West, The Isley Brothers, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, Maxwell, The O’Jays, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton, Patti LaBelle and Yolanda Adams.

The presenting sponsor for the 2010 ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL is Coca-Cola. Other 2010 sponsors include Coors Light, CoverGirl Queen, Ford, McDonald’s, Olay, Pantene, Tide, TV One, U.S. Army and My Black is Beautiful.

The 2010 ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL is executive produced by Essence Festivals LLC and produced by Rehage Entertainment. Essence Festivals LLC is a division of Essence Communications Inc. (ECI).

ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS INC.:

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media and communications company dedicated to African-American women. With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online, the Essence brand is “Where Black Women Come First”. The company’s flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood, Window on Our Women (WOW I & II) and Smart Beauty I, II & III consumer insights, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 40 years, ESSENCE magazine, which has a brand reach of over 8 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women’s lives. Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at www.essence.com.

Source: ESSENCE magazine

CONTACT: Dana Baxter, +1-212-522-1634, dbaxter@essence.com, Sheila
Harris, +1-212-522-1089, sharris@essence.com, both of ESSENCE; or Marcee
Rondan of MSO, +1-818-380-0400, ext. 248, marcee@msopr.com for ESSENCE

Web Site: http://www.essence.com/

Key Dates Announced for 83rd Academy Awards®

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Key Dates Announced for 83rd Academy Awards®

Beverly Hills, CA — The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday,

February 27, 2011, Academy President Tom Sherak announced today.
The ceremony will again take place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Key dates currently scheduled are:
• Saturday, November 13, 2010: Governors Awards presentation
• Wednesday, December 1, 2010: Official Screen Credits forms due
• Monday, December 27, 2010: Nominations ballots mailed
• Friday, January 14, 2011: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT
• Tuesday, January 25, 2011: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater
• Wednesday, February 2, 2011: Final ballots mailed
• Monday, February 7, 2011: Nominees Luncheon
• Saturday, February 12, 2011: Scientific and Technical Awards presentation
• Tuesday, February 22, 2011: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT
• Sunday, February 27, 2011: 83rd Annual Academy Awards presentation
# # #
ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.
FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
AWARDS PUBLICITY
8949 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD | BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90211-1907
(310) 247-3090 TEL | (310) 271-3395 FAX | PUBLICITY@OSCARS.ORG | WWW.OSCARS.ORG/PRESS

Interview with Phillip Noyce, the Director of “SALT”

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With thanks to TRAILER ADDICT

Who is Phillip Noyce?

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Director Phillip Noyce (L) and wife Vuyo DyasiDirector Phillip Noyce (L) and wife.

Well, in one sentence, I can introduce Philip Noyce to you as the Australian Director whose film Dead Calm launched Nicole Kidman into stardom in 1989 and lest you forget, he directed the film adaptation of Tom Clancy’s spy thriller Clear and Present Danger  starring Harrison Ford in 1994.

He has worked with Angelina Jolie  in the 1999 film The Bone Collector starring Academy Award winner Denzel Washington.

“A true director is not a director because he necessarily understands the technical aspects of making movies. That can be learned. What can’t be learned is a voracious appetite for telling stories. Directors spend most of their lives caught up in telling stories. It’s a lifelong passion. Don’t wait around. Work on your own stories. It’s quite cheap.”
~ Phillip Noyce

Chiwetel Ejiofor in Hot Pursuit of Angelina Jolie in “SALT”

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Angelina Jolie and Chiwetel Ejiofor in SALTChiwetel Ejiofor confronts Angelina Jolie in “SALT”.

Britain’s “first Black movie star” Chiwetel Ejiofor, OBE. who is still basking in the box office success of 2012 is playing another major role with Angelina Jolie (Evelyn Salt) in SALT, one of the most anticipated blockbuster films this summer. Phillip Noyce directed the film.

Chiwetel is a complete actor from the stage to the TV and to the cinema. His awesome talent is a testimony of his genius. His Nigerian father must be smiling at him from heaven with thanks to God for blessing him with such an accomplished son who is making his Nigerian Igbo people proud in the world.

Chiwetel was born on 10 July, 1977 in East London and began acting at 13 in school and at the National Youth Theatre. Steven Spielberg introduced him to a wider audience in Amistad and Woody Ellen made him one of Radha Mitchell’s suitors in Melinda and Melinda.

“Chewy” (his nickname among buddies) proved his genius as a sadistic crime boss in Four Brothers and then as the Operative in Joss Whedon’s sci-fi flick Serenity that catapulted him to stardom on the silver screen.

salt_poster

In Salt, Chiwetel plays Peabody, a young CIA counter-intelligence officer working for Winter, “the mentor of Evelyn Salt, an agent fingered as a Russian sleeper spy. With Peabody in hot pursuit, she must clear her name and figure out the identity of the real spy”. This is a must see thriller. The première comes up on July 23.

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL TRAILER OF SALT, FIRST BY A NIGERIAN FILM MAGAZINE

THE PLOT OF SALT
As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt’s efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: “Who is Salt?” Written by Sony Pictures.

Cast

Angelina Jolie … Evelyn Salt

Liev Schreiber … Winter

Chiwetel Ejiofor … Peabody

Zoe Lister Jones … Zoe Kinnally
Yara Shahidi … Cleo
Gaius Charles … Todd Bottoms

Victor Slezak … 3-Star General

James Schram … Corporal Davis – U.S. Military
Corey Stoll … Shnaider
Daniel Olbrychski … Russian Ex-Secret Agent

Cassidy Hinkle … Young Salt

Kevin O’Donnell … Francis
Tobias Campbell … 12-year-old Schnaider

Gary Wilmes … Paul Tracey

Michelle Ray Smith … Lead Technician

Harry L. Seddon … Cop escorting Evelyn Salt from Bombing

Nicole Signore … Driver

Victoria Cartagena … Portico Checkpoint Agent

Nick Poltoranin … Russian Thug #1

Hristo Hristov … Russian Thug #3

Marion McCorry … CIA Director Medford

Cecilia Foss … The Ritual Matchmaker

Ivo Velon … Basayev

Philip Willingham … Camera man

Zach Shaffer … Security Officer

Brian Distance … Air Force Tech Sgt. Honor Guard

James Cronin … Joe Oates

William Henderson White … Russian Reporter

Jewel Elizabeth … Mourning Granddaughter
Dionne Audain … Coms Agent / Radio Op

Xavier Rafael … Secret service agent

Angelo Lopez … 202. SS Bunker Tech #3

Frosty Lawson … CIA Agent
Ethan Ladd … 7-year-old Schnaider
Mardi Jones … CIA / SWAT team

Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor are all seen filming their new movie 'Salt' in Washington, DC. 2Chiwetel Ejiofor and Liev Schreiber in “SALT”.

See more photos of Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor are all seen filming SALT in Washington, D.C.

Celine: Through the Eyes of the World

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Celine: Through the Eyes of the World – Available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc – Tuesday, May 4. (PRNewsFoto/Columbia Records) NEW YORK, NY UNITED STATES

COLUMBIA-RECORDS-CE

22 Mar 2010 11:00 Africa/Lagos

Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, an Expanded DVD Edition of the Acclaimed Documentary & Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert, a New Live DVD/CD, Available Tuesday, May 4

NEW YORK, March 22 /PRNewswire/ — Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, a home edition of the acclaimed feature film, newly expanded for its DVD and Blu-ray Disc release, and Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert, a DVD/CD of live performances from Celine’s record-breaking world tour, will be released on Tuesday, May 4.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100322/NY74021 )

Lensed during the Canadian superstar’s 2008-2009 Taking Chances World Tour (the second highest-grossing ever for a solo artist), Celine: Through the Eyes of the World opens a window into the real life, both on-stage and off, of the best-selling female recording artist of all time.

Director Stephane Laporte and team enjoyed unprecedented access to the decade’s top performer as she played concerts in five continents, 25 countries and 93 cities, selling more than three million tickets during her first major tour in nine years.

“This was an amazing world tour, but there’s a lot more than just concert footage on this film,” said Celine. “I let the cameras follow me everywhere. There are a lot of ups and downs, and it’s very personal… It’s definitely the most intimate journey that I’ve ever shared with my fans.”

Clocking in at three hours, the home version of Celine: Through the Eyes of the World includes an additional hour’s worth of footage not seen in the film’s limited theatrical run in February 2010.

Working with choreographer/director Jamie King, Celine Dion created a multi-media state-of-the-art production for the two-hour concerts on her monumental Taking Chances World Tour, the eleventh of her career. Running from February 2008 through February 2009, featuring both Anglophone and Francophone setlists, Celine’s Taking Chances Tour broke attendance and box office records at venues around the world.

Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert, a DVD/CD souvenir combination set chronicling the event, will be available.

A special limited edition deluxe two-DVD set — featuring both Celine: Through the Eyes of the World and Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert and a 52 page booklet and fold-out souvenir postcards — will be available direct-to-consumer through Celinedionstore.com.

The movie “… does more than highlight her performances during her last world tour, it also allows fans rare glimpses of her offstage life. The documentary shows Dion as a goofy jokester, a doting mother, a tender wife, a wide-eyed tourist, a devoted daughter and more. The cameras tag along for intimate moments the superstar is happy to share with fans.” – MSNBC “…whether frolicking with admirers in Johannesburg or accepting France’s Legion of Honor metal in Paris, wowing throngs or greeting a sick child backstage, she [Celine] emerges as a paragon of greatness and goodness… Celine’s film tour de force.” – USA Today”Celine is the James Brown of her generation — the hardest working woman in show business.” – Globe & Mail “The film succeeds because it lets us in on Celine the person as much as Celine the performer.” – Boston Herald”… you can’t help but be impressed by this fascinating portrait of a superstar trying very hard to keep her feet on earth while her career keeps soaring ever upward.” – The Toronto Star”Celine: Through the Eyes of the World a must-see… Dion’s goal was for her world to remain human, real and authentic. Mission accomplished.” – Le Journal de Montreal”it also shows the behind the scenes action that an ordinary ticket holder would never get to see […] fascinating.” – The Sunday Telegraph

“A Celine we rarely see.” – La Presse”You have the best seat in the house…” Chicago Tribune

Having sold more than 200 million albums around the world, Celine Dion is one of the most immediately recognized, widely respected and successful performers in pop music history. During her spectacular career Celine has been honored with over 1000 awards. She is a five time Grammy Award winner, including Album of the Year and Best Pop Album for Falling Into You (1996); and Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “My Heart Will Go On” (1998). Her recordings have won two Academy Awards®: Best Original Song in 1992 for the title song of Beauty and the Beast (with Peabo Bryson), and Best Original Song in 1998 for “My Heart Will Go On” (From Titanic). She has earned seven American Music Awards, 20 Juno Awards (Canada) and an astonishing 40 Felix Awards (Quebec). In 2004, Celine received the Diamond award at the World Music Awards recognizing her status as the best-selling female artist of all time. In 2007 she was honored with the Legend Award at World Music Awards in recognition of her global success and outstanding contribution to the music industry.

Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert (DVD)

1. I DROVE ALL NIGHT
2. THE POWER OF LOVE
3. TAKING CHANCES
4. HITS MEDLEY (IT’S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW, BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME, TO
LOVE YOU MORE)
5. EYES ON ME
6. ALL BY MYSELF
7. I’M ALIVE
8. SHADOW OF LOVE
9. FADE AWAY
10. ALONE
11. MY LOVE
12. THE PRAYER
13. POUR QUE TU M’AIMES ENCORE
14. TRIBUTE TO QUEEN MEDLEY (WE WILL ROCK YOU, THE SHOW MUST GO ON)
15. SOUL MEDLEY (SEX MACHINE, SOUL MAN, LADY MARMALADE, SIR DUKE, RESPECT,
I GOT THE FEELIN’, I GOT YOU (I FEEL GOOD), IT’S A MAN’S MAN’S MAN’S
WORLD)
16. LOVE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS
17. RIVER DEEP, MOUNTAIN HIGH
18. MY HEART WILL GO ON

Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert (CD)

1. OPENING
2. I DROVE ALL NIGHT
3. THE POWER OF LOVE
4. TAKING CHANCES
5. IT’S ALL COMING BACK ME NOW
6. BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME
7. TO LOVE YOU MORE
8. NEW MEGO’S FLAMENCO
9. EYES ON ME
10. ALL BY MYSELF
11. SHADOW OF LOVE
12. ALONE
13. MY LOVE
14. THE PRAYER (duet with Andrea Bocelli)
15. SOUL MEDLEY
16. IT’S A MAN’S MAN’S MAN’S WORLD
17. LOVE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS
18. RIVER DEEP, MOUNTAIN HIGH
19. MY HEART WILL GO ON

www.celinedion.com
www.celinedionstore.com

www.columbiarecords.com

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100322/NY74021
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN8
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Columbia Records

CONTACT: Kim Jakwerth of Marleah Leslie and Associates, +1-323-464-9669,
kim@marleahleslie.com; or Fran DeFeo of Sony Music Entertainment
+1-212-833-5784, Fran.defeo@sonymusic.com

Web Site: Columbia Records
Celine Dion

“To Comfort You” Wins Jury Award for Best Picture at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival

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comfort you
22 Mar 2010 05:38 Africa/Lagos

‘To Comfort You’ Best Film in Beverly Hills Short Film Festival; Stars Susan Blakely and Pauley Perrette Share Best Actress Award

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE TRAILER.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire/ — “To Comfort You,” a film that deals with a mother’s love for her HIV stricken daughter, won the prestigious Jury Award for Best Picture at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival and its stars, Susan Blakely and Pauley Perrette shared the Best Actress Jury Award on Sunday night.

The film, directed by Marc Saltarelli, written by Tom O’Leary and produced by Barney Cheng won Best Drama and Best Film of the festival.

“To Comfort You” is executive produced by Park Walkup and is a co-production of Out of the Park Productions and Line 9 Films.

Blakely, a former Golden Globe winner for Best Actress in the ground-breaking mini-series, “Rich Man, Poor Man” who also appears in TNT’s “Southland” and Perrette, star of CBS top rated drama series, “NCIS” have starred together in the feature film, “Hungry Hearts” which was released in 2001.

Contact: Stephen Jaffe, Jaffe & Co., Inc. (310) 275-7327, e-mail: info@stevejaffepr.com

Source: Line 9 Films
CONTACT: Stephen Jaffe of Jaffe & Co., Inc., +1-310-275-7327,
info@stevejaffepr.com

Bruno Chatelin Talks to Hope Obioma Opara of EKOIFF

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Hope Obioma Opara
Bruno Chatelin, a co founder of filmfestivals.com (launched in 1995) and was in charge of the launch of over 250 films during his tenure as Marketing Director and Managing Director for Columbia TriStar Films and Twentieth Century FOX. He interviewed Mr. Hope Obioma Opara, the President/Co-founder of Eko International Film Festival (EKOIFF)

Bruno Chatelin: Hope, you are the president of EKO international Film Festival in Lagos, Nigeria, what is your background

I am the Managing Director/CEO of Flonnal Limited and Supple Communications Limited, with an MBA in finance, an associate member of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) and the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM).

I have been in publishing for over a decade and started publishing Supple magazine in August 2008 and the magazine has become the most advanced Nigerian magazine with a special focus on motion pictures and film festivals (www.supplemagazine.org). I am also the publisher of the book “Scientists Discover Hell: As Astronauts Find Heaven” available on Amazon.com

As the President/Co-Founder of Eko International Film Festival, I am committed to promoting the sustainable development and advancement of the motion picture arts and science in Nigeria and the rest of the world. I want Nigerian filmmakers to improve the quality of their movies to world class standards.

I have been to international film festivals such the Festival of 3 Continents, the Cannes Film Festival and already invited and accredited by the International Film Festival Rotterdam and I want us to have a similar world class film festival in Lagos , Nigeria .

BC:What does Eko means?

Eko is the traditional Edo Benin name for Lagos and it means war-camp and similar to the word Oko which means farmland.
For more details. See the Origin of Eko (Lagos) on http://www.edo-nation.net/eko.htm

BC: Can you please tell us about the origins of the project: who came with the idea first, how and why?

Eko International Film Festival is the idea and concept of my co-founder and Festival Director Ekenyerewngozi Michael Chima who created it in August and posted it on fest21.com the first social network for the film and festival professionals, with a festival directory of 4000 festivals.

www. fest 21.com/en/ festival / eko _ international _ film _ festival.

BC: What team have you formed around this project and what is their background?

The Organizing Committee presently is a team of five members: Hope Obioma Opara – The President/Co-founder, Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima – The Founder/Festival Director, Barr. Biola Ladipo – The Legal Adviser, Wale Adenuga, Chike Ibekwe and Annabell Mbock, an actress from Nigeria.

BC: Tell our friends filmmakers what the festival mission is, which film are you looking for, what can they expect from their participation?

Eko International Film Festival is an annual film festival to be held in the mega city of Lagos state in South West Nigeria, from July 7-12. The mission is to promote the appreciation of local and international films in Lagos and use the film festival to attract filmmakers to exotic locations of Nigeria and boost tourism.
We are expecting films in four main categories; documentaries, drama, fiction and horror. We may add musicals and animation later.

BC: What is the situation of the film industry in Nigeria ?

The Nigerian film Industry began as big screen industry with films shot only celluloid and the first Nigerian film Palaver was shot in 1904. But the film industry collapsed in the late 1980s due to the economic recession and the popularity of VHS cassettes prompted Nigerian producers to start making home videos of typical Nigerian drama, horror and comedy from the early 1990s. The home videos in the local dialects of Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa became very popular among the majority of Nigerians who are the poor lower class and middle class families. The popularity made many Igbo business men to venture into mass importation of video cassettes and mass production of home videos which made Nigeria to become the largest movie making industry in Africa and the second largest in the world after India with an annual production of over 800 movies in the video-format and popularly called Nollywood after Bollywood and Hollywood. The popularity of home videos distracted millions of Nigerians from the cinemas from the 1990s to the early 21 st century. But there is a revival of the cinema culture with the establishment of new public viewing centres in all the cities and towns in Nigeria such as the popular Silverbird Cinemas, and ambitious Nigerian filmmakers are now making films for cinemas.

BC: Who is supporting the festival, state, city, private companies and sponsors?

Eko International Film Festival is being organized by Supple Communications Limited and is seeking the cooperation and support of local and international sponsors. We have attracted the interest of some Nigerian banks and we expect to close deals with the prospective sponsors early next year.

BC: Is EKO IFF going to be fun?

EKO IFF is going to be great fun for the filmmakers and the lovers of films in Nigeria and the thousands of film aficionados we are expecting.

ekoiff

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Lancelot Imasuen’s “Home in Exile” Comes with Great Expectations

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HOME_IN_EXILE01

Lancelot Odua Imasuen is one of the most accomplished directors in Nigeria’s socio-cultural movie industry, popularly called Nollywood. He was the focus of Nollywood Babylon, the documentary film directed by Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal and was one of the main attractions at the Sundance Festival in 2009 and he also got interviewed on CNN Screening Room. Therefore, public expectations are always high whenever Lancelot Imasuen premieres a new movie.

If one can judge a movie by the trailer, then Lancelot Imasuen’s Home In Exile should attract thousands of people to the cinema. The shots look good and show that the director knows what he is doing and has a very good director of photography. But as it is common in most Nollywood movies, the actors are yet to perfect their skills, because they do not know that there is a difference between acting for the theatre and acting for film. Film is not stage drama. And in most cases, they are camera conscious. The cast of leading Nollywood stars like Desmond Elliot, Justus Esiri, Francis Duru and Uche Jombo should pull crowds to the cinema.

The world premiere of Home in Exile was at the popular Odeon Cinema in London and reports said it was well received and it was screened at the Carlow African Film Festival on Friday 17th October 2009.

The full review will be published after we have seen the movie at the cinema.

~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

Movie summary.
A young prince and heir to the throne of his father graduates from a medical school in the US, and convinces his fiancé and best friend to come with him home to help him set up a befitting medical centre to carter for the health needs of his beloved home land not minding the offer of good life by the American government, but some thing goes wrong.
His fiancé excitedly sits on the King’s throne against the tradition of his people and consequently must become the wife of the King — as tradition demands.

SHOWING AT CINEMAS IN LAGOS FROM FRIDAY MARCH 19, 2010.
*TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE CINEMA*
(OR CALL 08053818141 for further details)

Venues:
———–
*SILVERBIRD CINEMAS, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, LAGOS
*OZONE CINEMAS, E-Centre, Commercial Avenue, Sabo Yaba, LAGOS
*GENESIS DELUXE CINEMAS, Shoprite, Lekki, LAGOS