ON a day that members of the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) were busy quarrelling over who becomes their next president, some screen took to the streets of Lagos on a walk to sensitise Nigerians on the evils of domestic violence and jungle justice. Decked in a purple T-shirt on white pants and canvass shoes, the stars including Fathia Balogun, Foluke Daramola, Moji Olaiya, Ayo Adesanya, Ronke Oshodi Oke, Bisi Ibidapo-Obe and Yomi Fash Lanso stopped at designated points on the long trek to condemn domestic violence and jungle justice.
They particularly frown at how three women were tortured and sodomised for allegedly stealing pepper at Ejigbo Market. “All hands must be on deck to bring the perpetrators of that act to book,” said Daramola, at one of the stop point in Ikeja. “They must face the music. They don’t have any right to batter any one. If you say they stole, you would have handed them to law enforcement agencies and not take laws into your hands.”
Fathia said she was glad to be part of the walk, as it afforded her opportunity to meet and talk with her fans directly. “Some of these people, especially the school children who joined in the walk, look up to us as role models so this walk has helped us to meet and enlighten them on issues such as domestic violence and other forms of abuses,” Fathia said.
Held under the auspices of Nollywood G-10 stars, Moji Olaiya assured that the idea of the walk would be sustained so as to reach all the nook and crannies of Lagos and its environs.
Nigerian Short, Five Others To Premiere In Europe And USA
LINE Up, the short film by Nigerian director, Folashakin Iwajomo, is among short films produced under the African Metropolis project that will premiere in Europe from today at the renowned International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). Also, the 13-minute short alongside other films in the project will screen in North America in February. The screening will count as the USA premiere of the engaging short films at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in California. The compilation of six short fiction films, set in six major African cities, tells urban tales about life in African metropolises. Besides screenings and a panel discussion in Rotterdam, Marie KA, one of the African Metropolis directors, will talk about her experiences at Berlinale Talents 2014 programme.
The Berlinale Talent is Berlin International Film Festival’s yearly platform for the most promising emerging filmmakers. The African Metropolis Short Film Project is an initiative of the Goethe-Institut South Africa and South African Executive Producer, Steven Markovitz, with support from Guaranty Trust Bank and the Hubert Bals Fund of International Film Festival Rotterdam. With short films set in Lagos (Director: Folasakin Iwajomo), Abidjan (Philippe Lacôte), Dakar (Marie KA), Johannesburg (Vincent Moloi), Cairo (Ahmed Ghoneimy) and Nairobi (Jim Chuchu), the filmmakers’ work shows the face of a modern and cosmopolitan Africa and challenges long-standing clichés about the continent.
In the Line Up, 10 men in a taxi, strangers to each other, head to an unusual line up, where they must strip and subject themselves to blindfolds and inspection by a mysterious woman and her charge. Only seven go home that night, big money in their pockets. The ritual is replayed again and again, and the attrition continues. For one man, the rumours of how much ‘the chosen’ make spurs him on – he is desperate for the money to pay for a child’s operation.
Iwajomo’s film confronts the perils of the poverty trap and the abuse of the desperate, in an allegory for the exploited. Iwajomo teaches video editing at his alma mater, the International Film and Broadcast Academy, in Lagos. His first short film, Blood On My Hands, won the best short film award at the Goethe Institut Lagos short film night, and the same film was nominated at the Durban International Film Festival in 2010. His second short, Not Today, won best screenplay at the In-Short Film Festival in 2011. He also won the MTV Shuga one minute short film competition on HIV/AIDS with his film, Point Blank.
Busy January For Moviedom
IT’s been a busy month for movie. A couple of flicks have been released and others have been scheduled for release before the month draws to a close. The much anticipated movie, Rosy, the Trouble Maker, has hit the market. It is directed by Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen and produced by Ani Amatosero. Also in a movie outlet as from tomorrow is Charles Novia’s Alan Poza. The movie features award winning actor O.C. Ukeje in lead role.
Also, in January, precisely on January 31, the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) will head to the polls to elect a new president and executive council members for the association. Zik Zulu Okafor who has since completed his two years first term tenure is seeking re-election for another term. The producer and writer may be returned elected, as he is the only candidate that has purchased and submitted the electoral forms before the close of submission last Wednesday.
© Shaibu Husseini