The biggest ever African movie première in London taking place this coming Thursday, 24th February. The Empire Leicester Square, London shall host a huge red carpet movie premiere for Mirror Boy, a movie written and directed by Obi Emelonye about a young ‘African’ boy born in the diaspora who returns to Africa on a journey of self-discovery.
Congratulations to Obi for his vision as writer and director as I’m sure he has struck a chord with many Africans in the diaspora with this epic.
I also have it on very good authority there will be a seriously huge presence of black stars from every industry in attendance that night, all keen to watch this movie and of course lend their support and salute their fellow black star for having the audacity to hope and dream.
You cannot pay me enough to stay away! Priceless….. … Oh, does it really get any better than this?
We have all watched with much interest and fascination all the block-buster Nigerian movies on our television channels or on DVD, and they have been super to watch. Stories about things that happen in everyday life in Africa unfold in their movies and make it so easy to understand and relate to.
Such a joy to watch as we empathise with certain actors and crown them our favourite stars and at times our most hated villains! Other times, African stories filmed in the UK or the USA capturing the essence of African love and drama entwined with the ups and downs of western living make it so believable for us to enjoy as we contemplate when oh when will Hollywood ever tell our story, our own African story as it is, with our own African actors?
As truth be told, we could have waited in vain to see a multitude of black/African Hollywood ‘A Listers’, but alas we can only count them on one hand! Moreover, Hollywood, with all your rigid criteria, we have super talented, able-bodied, hungry and well-trained beautiful black/African actors and Nollywood is breaking all the barriers with living proof. After feasting our eyes on the early works of the great names in the business such as Liz Benson, Zack Orji, Clarion Chukwura, Sam Dede, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Jide Kosoko, Olu Jacobs, Hilda Dokubo, Pete Edochi, Sam Loco Efe, Ashley Nwosu, Segun Arinze, Fred Amata, Charles Okafor etc and the list continues, we were then slapped with new fresh talent which was threatening to take us to another level of drama, intrigue and seduction. And boy did they deliver!!
They of course, came in the form of Eucharia Anunobi, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Stella Damasus Aboderin, Bob Manuel Udokwu, Uche Jombo, Patience Ozokwo, Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), Ramsey Noah, Yemi blaq and Chidi Mokeme just to name a few. And now we have such a huge bottomless pit of genuine, contemporary and gifted actors to choose from where beauty is not even in short supply. Current blockbuster movies tempt you as they grace our movie screens with a sensational array of the latest, hottest actors who are at the top of their game.
We’re talking about Ini Edo, Jim Iyke, Tonto Dike, Mercy Johnson, Rita Dominic, Desmond Elliott, Van Vicker and Genevieve Nnaji etc. Now Genevieve has even been interviewed on Oprah and by CNN, which leaves me wondering, what next for this woman as international stardom grips?
Well, she has totally soared to even greater heights now as she earmarks her red carpet début of Mirror Boy with co-stars Osita Iheme and Fatima Jabbe, (who just happens to be Associate Producer as well as Gambia’s biggest movie star!) at this fabulous massive event.
What will be Hollywood’s reaction to the phenomenon sweeping the movie industry right in the heart of London’s West End? Africa is representing itself on the world stage – at last!
Thank you Nigeria for putting Africa on the stage, thank you Nigeria for Nollywood!
Now the second biggest movie producer behind Bollywood in terms of numbers of movies produced – surpassing Hollywood! Yes, I said Hollywood!!
Grab your tickets now as several black/African celebrities who are proud of their heritage will be in the house!
No comments:
Post a Comment