The Hype: A sting in a tale

This is the latest movie from the stable of my favorite Ghanaian producer Shirley Frimpong-Manso's sparrow productions, the lady who gave us such hits as life and living it and the perfect picture. She also made scorned, which was not as good as the other two in my opinion. A sting in a tale stars Lydia Forson, Majid Michel, Adjatey Anang, Doris Sackitey, Abeiku Acquah, Joselyn C. Dumas and others.




About the movie:

A Sting In A Tale is "a twisted tale of two unemployed graduates who embark on a journey to make it in a world where you need more than what you have to get what you want. Kuuku is overwhelmed with the urgency to succeed and frantically searches for a reward to his severa...l years of school. Frustrated and constantly reminded of his failure by the presence of his girlfriend, (Frema) ; Kuuku will do anything to make the odds work in his favor.

Nii Aryee, Kuuku’s abstemious looking friend is more positive about the future until the rejection letters begin to mount and his landlord comes to town. Driven by the fear of poverty, these two friends go in search of a destiny that takes them to the most obscure places. In a tale where the unexpected is always lurking in the shadows, from the natural to the supernatural, among all ploys, grief and struggles, nothing prepares you for the sting, in a rather bizarre ending."The Grand Premiere is on Friday, Nov 6 @ The Conference Center, Accra, Ghana
source

Trailer:


I hear its out in Ghana and from preliminary reports, is pretty good.

Hope it lives up to the promise.

Ciao

The Hype: Laviva

I have been hearing rumors about this movie for a while now, but for some reason, it has never been released. Much as War movies are not my thing, this was supposed to be another ground breaking cinematic achievement by the fabulous Izu Ojukwu, which is why I am featuring it here.

The film features the late JT Tom West, who died last year, as the chief of the ECOMOG detachment; Francis Duru as a garrulous ECOMOG soldier; and Hank Anuku as a rebel. Joy Egbunu stars as Laviva. She loses her father to the war and openly demonstrates hostility towards the ECOMOG soldiers, in spite of admonition from her mother and other members of the community who feel it is dangerous to do so.

Laviva is also obsessed with the desire to bring peace to her country and along the line falls in love with the ECOMOG chief, JT Tom West. She is the rallying point for peace and stability among her peers and people at a time when many had lost their nerves to the weariness of war.

Produced by AMAA 2007 Best Director, Izu Ojukwu, the movie showcases the abundant talent in Nollywood, given the richness of its shooting, directing, costumes, editing and coordination. Shot three years ago, Laviva captures the tortuous experiences, intrigues and romance that played itself out when Nigerian troops led ECOMOG to salvage a country torn by civil war. It is a story of how Nigerian soldiers, in the midst of hate and fire, planted peace and hope.

source

Short excerpt/long trailer:





There are very few Nollywood movies out there that would appeal to the male demographic. This looks like something the dudes will enjoy LOL! I hope it lives up the the promise. Oga Izu, abeg, release am o!!

The Hype: Nnenda

So I came upon this star studded movie by accident. I was researching "Through the glass" and digging through Stephanie Okereke's website, when I came upon the most intriguing poster. I did some digging and found nothing everywhere I looked, so I forgot all about it.

However, it looks like now a trailer and a theme song have been released. Not only that, also sounds like it was recently premiered in Lagos. What I cannot understand is why there isn't any more noise about this movie, considering the caliber of stars involved.

It stars Stephanie Okereke, the scrumptious Ramsey Nouah, Francis Duru and also Van Vicker . And it is directed by my fav. Nolly director - Izu Ojukwu!! I am hyping it for the first two stars and the director obviously. I am still yet to get on the Van V. love train!! LOL.

Anyways, here is the trailer:




And the theme song:


While I can't seem to find a summary anywhere, the movie seems to be about orphans and their plight in Naija.

The force behind this Event Prince Tonye Princewill, the Rivers State AC and FOOPP Leader will be in attendance at the Premiere aimed at creating awareness of the plight of orphans in Nigeria.

The movie, according to the Rivers State born Producer, Adonijah Owiriwa is inspired by the plight of orphans in Africa hence the Orphan Child Awareness Campaign spearheaded by the Prince of Niger Delta Politics, Prince Tonye Princewill.

By his involvement in this project Prince Tonye Princewill intends to use his veritable network of contacts to throw light on the unfortunate plight of orphans with the hope of assuaging their suffering.

Source

Sounds like good stuff. While I am not particularly crazy about the theme song, the trailer looks really good. I hope that we can get to see it soon. Will review it when I get my hands on it.

Ciao.

The Hype: Mind Game

So, although Van Vicker from Ghana is the hottest thing in Nollywood at the moment, no movie of his has ever made it to this blog, mostly because I am not enamored of his acting, producing or directing (yes, he does the last two!!) And I doubt that any movie of his that I have ever seen will - well there is one exception (Reloaded) but that contained a stellar cast. However, I have chosen to "tentatively" plug this movie, mostly because I am totally in love with the leading lady - the queen herself Omotola! In addition, I am curious as to what a Ghanaian, Nigerian, Haitian combo will look like.

The movie is Mind Game, directed by Nigerian director, John Uche.

Story:

In this heart racing, conflict stricken, suspense cut drama, Betty (Omotola Jalade Ekeinde) gets entangled in her worst nightmare and all hell breaks loose one holy afternoon when she returns home from work unexpectedly to find her husband Richard (Van Vicker) in a compromising position with a friend of his in their study only four months after their wedding, during which he deliberately avoids consummating their marriage...
Shocked beyond comprehension, she is torn between divorcing him, and staying in the marriage...

Trailer:


The movie stars Nigeria's sweetheart Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Ghanaian heartthrob VanVicker, and Haitian movie stars Reginald Lubin and Carlin Kenol.

Fun trivia: The Haitian movie industry is called Bellywood!

Hope its as good as it looks.

Will review it once it comes out.

Ciao.

The hype: I sing of a well

African film is undergoing a renaissance indeed. Really good things are happening. Last time we were talking about a new South African movie. This time, we are travelling to Ghana.

New director Leila Djansi is creating an ambitious trilogy named Legion of Slaves. The first part of the series, titled I sing of a well was premiered in Ghana late in October. Hopefully, we will see a dvd soon.

Summary
the story is set in the ancient Ghana empire in the days of Mansa Musa, it tells of Soraya and Dume, two young lovers threatened by the arrogant Prince Wenambe who is basking in his new found throne and alliance with Mansa Musa, but is Mansa Musa really his friend or a slave raider himself in disguise and what happened to Dume? and why did Soraya marry Prince Wenambe?

Trailer:


Even more exciting? Jimmy Jean Louis of "Heroes" fame is going to narrate the first installment of the movie.

More info on the website and facebook page.

Early reviews are pretty encouraging.

It looks really good. I hope it delivers.

Will happily review it when I get my hands on it.

Ciao.

White Wedding

So I just came across this new South African movie, which has also been submitted for oscar consideration. There is no guarantee that it will be one of the top five movies considered for the foreign language Oscar. However, if it makes it, there may be hope for an American release, like there were for Tsotsi and Yesterday. After having searched high and low for for South African movies in the US, I think somebody has to create an outlet to start selling those films outside of SA. There is a burgeoning market for African film, and it they don't meet it, they may start to get the Nigerian treatment. Anyways, on to the hype before I get sidetracked:



White wedding is a dramatic comedy that explores South Africa's favorite issue - racial relations, while also dealing with love, infidelity, romance among other themes.

Here's a trailer for your viewing pleasure:



The blurb on the website reads:

The loyal, committed and very decent Elvis (Kenneth Nkosi) leaves Johannesburg on Tuesday en route to pick up his best friend and best man Tumi (Rapulana Seiphemo) in Durban. The two will then journey on to Cape Town to begin rehearsals for Elvis’s wedding to the beautiful Ayanda (Zandile Msutwana) at an upmarket hotel in glamorous palm-fringed Camps Bay under the cloak of Table Mountain.

But things don’t go according to plan. Tumi, a serial flirt, has a spat with his girlfriend that leads to his car being rendered unusable; eventually the duo get on their way but Tumi’s short-cuts don’t end up making up for lost time.

As Tumi and Elvis struggle to find their way through the Eastern Cape they are picked up by Rose (Jodie Whittaker), a young English doctor who fled the altar after discovering her fiancée was serially unfaithful to her. Now there’s an unlikely trio on the road, with romantic sparks igniting between the flirtatious Tumi and their spirited British companion. Who knows if they’ll make it on time, whether the wedding will be delayed or cancelled or come perilously close to not even happening if Ayanda ditches dependable Elvis for dashing Tony, the township boy turned flashy entrepreneur.

“White Wedding” is an appealing, feel-good movie about love, commitment, intimacy and friendship and the host of maddening obstacles that can get in the way of a happy ending. Uplifting and at times uproarious this is a movie that affirms the dream that romance can overcome any obstacle.

If you have watched Tsotsi, you will notice that the two male lead actors also played high profile roles in Tsotsi - and did it pretty well I think. So I am looking forward to this one, even if race is a subtext here.

You can see just a little bit of the race issue in this video:


For those who don't understand the issue with the song De La Ray, here is the song and the controversy is explained here. You can read all about the original De La Ray dude as well.


This movie has already been released in SA: in theaters and on dvd, so I guess I have to get someone to get it for me from there. On the other hand, if anyone knows where to get SA movies in the Western hemisphere, please let me know.

I will also be cheering for them as the Oscar nominations come in. If Nollywood is not ready, we might as well show some love to an industry that is doing well.

Enjoy, and let me know if you find a copy anywhere.

The Hype: The Figurine ( Araromire)

Kunle Afolayan, son of the late Yoruba movie legend Adeyemi Afolayan(aka Ade-love) is apparently living up to his legacy with his new movie The Figurine.

Kunle used to work in a bank before quitting in 2005 to attend NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY in London to study Digital Filmmaking (source) (I suspect that website of his is really old, so I will update it if something more current shows up).

Anyways, his latest movie is making waves, as it is said to be in a different league compared to our usual Nollywood movies. The movie is currently in theaters in Nigeria (yay, exciting), and word on the street is that its really good.

The synopsis

Two buddies and A girl………all down on their luck have their lives changed after one of them discovers “ARAROMIRE” a mysterious figurine in an abandoned shrine which according to ancient legend bestows seven years of good luck . But, no one told them about the next seven years…..

The movie stars Ramsey Nouah, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, Omoni Oboli and Kunle Afolayan himself.

The trailer:


A teaser:


There is a lot of stuff out there about the movie already. I have not seen it, so I cannot review it yet, but I just can't wait! In the meantime though, you can check out the following:

The website of the movie, some cool behind the scene pics here and here, a review here and some gorgeous Lagos premiere pics here.

In addition, if you are outside Naija, there are a whole bunch of premieres still planned:

London Premiere:

Start Time: Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 9:00pm
End Time: Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 12:30am
Location: ODEON Cinema, Greenwich
Street: Bugsby Way, SE10 0QJ
City/Town: London, United Kingdom

More info about London Premiere


US premiere:
NJ Premiere Event & After Party
Friday, November 13th
6pm- 10pm
The Spot
45 Commerce Street
Newark, NJ 07102
- Ticket $30 // $50 couples


NYC Showtime
Saturday Novemember 14th 2009
6pm-8pm : 8pm - 10pm
Abingdon Theater
312 W. 36th Street
New York, NY 10018-7570
-Tickets $10

NYC "meet the Cast" party (After Party)
11pm - 3am
Le Cirque
151 East 58th street
btw Lexington and 3rd Ave
New York, NY
- gate fee $20

Buy your US tickets


Pretty cool huh?

Some exciting stuff to look forward to on dvd. Hope it comes out soon.

The Hype: Through the glass

Stephanie Okereke, Nigerian actress extraordinaire has apparently decided to take it to the next level with her movie "Through the Glass". The movie, currently in Nigerian theaters, was directed and produced by Stephanie herself. Yes o, the cinema culture is coming back and people are now going to the theater to watch our own movies. And even better is the fact that homegirl is making a fistful of money.

Yayy for Steph. Congrats lady, you are an inspiration. I am so proud of you.

Here is a trailer to whet your appetite for those of us outside Naija who cannot watch it on the big screen yet.




The movie has been premiered both in the US and in Nigeria.

Read all about the California premiere here

The Nigerian premiere was more recent. Check it out here and here

And you can get the scoop on Stephanie talking about making the movie here and here.

Can't wait to see it on dvd.

Ciao.

The Hype: Grey Focus

Hiiii!
In addition to reviewing movies, we will also be talking about exciting movies that are yet to be released. The first one that has been chosen for this category is Grey Focus.

Here is a trailer to whet your appetite:




Made by firstime? Filmmaker Imeh Esen, the movie was the Winner - Best Picture, Screenplay and Direction - 2008 ZUMA FILM FESTIVAL.

Synopsis:

The past never dies. Akan (Curtis John Miller) finds out that one phone call is about to shatter his serene lifestyle in the United States. Suddenly the past meets the future as he has to relive the violent experiences of his Nigerian past. His membership in a brotherhood is exposed as well as the reason he joins them and the reason he might be running.

Inspired by true events, Grey Focus shocks the viewer with it’s blatant exposure of an ever increasing phenomenon in Nigerian University campuses.

source

The movie also includes the very yummy Yemi Blaq.

Although its been finished for over a while now, I think its still going through the film festival circuit, so I have no idea when it will be out. But I hope its soon though. I really want to see it. It sounds like a good movie.

You can check the rest of the cast and crew out on the movie's website.

Look out for it. I think its good stuff.

Ciao