African Entertainment
Apr 19th

FOREST WHITAKER IS IGBO, DNA PROVES

By Jane bond

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•Whittiker gets chieftaincy title after DNA reveals his Igbo identity

For Forest Whittiker and his compatriot Danny Glover, it was sweet home coming on Sunday April 5, 2009 when the traditional ruler and people... of Nkwerre, Imo State, welcomed him with a chieftaincy title after taking part at the just-concluded African Movie Academy Awards in Bayelsa.“The sleepy town went in wild jubilation when the motorcade entered the ancient palace of Eshi of Nkwere while the traditional drummers and women dancers welcomed the guests with songs of praises. “The African-American A-List Hollywood stars were introduced to the people and chiefs of the town by Chief Nze Chukwuka Anyiam-Osigwe, the eldest son of the Anyiam-Osigwe brothers who is also a titled chief of Nkwerre.

The elated Anyiam-Osigwe told the crowd at the palace of Eze Dr. Chijioke Jeki Okwara IV, that the coming of Danny Glover and Forest Whittiker was the greatest thing to happen to black history as history was made on the day the two men re-established their connection with their roots.“Forest Whittiker has done a DNA which revealed that he has Igbo ancestral root and a link with Nkwerre people. The eldest Anyiam-Osigwe said: “This is our lost brother. We have found him and brought him home. It is only an Nkwere man that can find his way home after many years. We are a people from unparalleled kingdom. We are a pride of Igboland. Today, our brother Whittiker and his friend Mr. Glover will be made Nkwerre Chiefs and it is not an easy task to be an Nkwerre chief because there are only 30 Nkwerre chiefs in the whole world,’’ he said.

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After introducing the Hollywood stars to the people and chiefs, the King ordered that they be brought into the inner chamber for traditional rites preceding their final confirmation as chiefs. It was an emotional one for Whittiker who has been working all his life to establish direct contact with his ancestral Igboland and the quest was made possible by attending the UBA-AMAA awards in Nigeria as a star guest. “After the traditional rite of hand-washing before the breaking of kolanut, which signifies purity and cleansing the Eze Okwara IV, Eshi of Nkwere called on the Eze Anyiam-Osigwe, the eldest of the Anyiam Osigwe brothers, to once again confirm if the guests were worthy to be made Chiefs of Nkwerre. Before the 20 heads of villages that made up of Nkwerre, Eze Anyiam-Osigwe proclaimed the worthiness of Glover and Whittiker to be chiefs of Nkwerre.

“Danny Glover is a member of our family for his attitude and ways of assistance to us. Being an Nkwerre chief will help us socially, culturally and economically as our dream of a film village and film institute will be realised with Danny and Whittiker as chiefs of our town. They are good people. We present them as worthy of being chiefs of Nkwerre,’’ Anyiam Osigwe declared. “Upon the public affirmation of the duo as worthy of the honour, Eze Okwara asked the palace chief to bring out a live eagle, a symbol of strength, vigour and power to complete the chieftaincy rite. The king removed the feathers of the eagle and stuck it in a red cap before both men wore their caps as red cap chiefs of Nkwerre. Whittiker was honoured with the title of Nwannedinambar of Nkwerre, which means a brother in foreign land, while Glover had the title of Enyioma, which means a good friend of Nkwerre. “The traditional ruler of Nkwerre told the people at the ceremony that good things were happening to the black race, with a black man becoming American President.

“The black race is an intelligent race. You will see how the Obama stimulus package will bail out the world economy already in recession. It is the same level of black intelligence that made it possible for our son and brother to get to the height of their career as Hollywood stars.”

When you get to America tell them you have discovered your root,’’ he told Whittiker . He went further: ‘’This meeting today will bring a relationship of partnership between Nkwerre and African-America through cultural exchange and economic opportunities,’’ the monarch explained.

While accepting the honours, the two men thanked the people and the king for accepting them and recognising their achievements as movie stars and for them finding worthy to be honoured. They promised the people that they would live up to the demand of their traditional offices.

Source:     http://www.compassnews.net/news/
Photos:     Simply Habeeb.blogspot.com

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Apr 18th

South African film wins 3 awards at the African Movie Academy Awards AMAA

By Jane bond
South African film wins 3 awards at the African Movie Academy Awards AMAA
Gugu and Andile, directed by Minky Schlesinger, walked away with 3 awards at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in Nigeria last week, including Best Picture in and African Language, Most Promising Actor and Most Promising Actress.
 
 
The film was nominated in 10 categories, and came home with awards for most promising Actor (Litha Booi) and most promising actress (Lungelo Dhladha), and the award for Best Film in an African Language.

GUGU & ANDILE is a 90minute feature film produced by Luna Films (now rebranded as Fireworx Media) as a part of the Shakespeare in Mzanzi series for SABC in 2008. In the tradition of Romeo & Juliet, it's a love-story set against the backdrop of the war that raged through South Africa's townships in the early 1990s. It tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers, unlucky enough to be born into families on opposite sides of the political and cultural divide...

Producer Bridget Pickering said: 'This is an incredible recognition for the years of hard work that the team put into developing the script, and despite the challenge of a limited budget, the production crew and director Minky Schlesinger pulled out all the stops under testing shooting conditions in the Thokoza township in the middle of the rainy season to bring the film in on budget and still focus on creating a compelling story with strong visuals that remained true to that difficult period in South Africa's history.'

Producer Neil Brandt, who was in Nigeria with the lead cast, director and production designer Flo Ballack (nominated for best Art Direction), to collect the awards, said: 'The AMAAs was a truly fascinating experience, with the selection of films exceptional, and of course the opportunity to engage with fellow filmmakers from across the continent is an opportunity not to be missed. The awards ceremony itself was a well-produced live televised event, with stars such as Salief Keita providing entertainment, and Hollywood Danny Glover and Forest Whitaker providing some glamour.

Our young lead actors, for whom this was their first time out of South Africa, could hardly believe it when they were personally congratulated by Danny and Forest! I strongly recommend that more South Africans submit their films to the AMAAs in future years. We at Fireworx are certainly going to be using this opportunity to explore future co-production opportunities with filmmakers in Nigeria.'

For more information on Fireworx Media, go to www.fireworxmedia.co.za.
For more information on the AMAAs go to http://www.ama-awards.com/

AMAA 2009 NOMINATION LIST (Fireworx Media nominations only)

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND
1. From a Whisper
2. Battle of the Soul
3. Seventh Heaven
4. Gugu and Andile
5. Grey Focus

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
1. Small Boy - Michelle Bello
2. Five Apostles - Ifeanyi Onyeabor
3. Agony of the Christ - Jude Odoh
4. Gugu and Andile - Flo Ballack
5. Revolution - Eddybongo Uka

MOST PROMISING ACTOR
1. Litha Booi - Gugu and Andile
2. Mavila Anthana Keriario - Battle of the Soul
3. Ruffy Samuel - Dead End
4. Segun Adefila - Arugba
5. Sherrif Ramzy - Seventh Heaven

MOST PROMISING ACTRESS
1. Bhaira Mcwizu - Cindy’s Note
2. Bukola Awoyemi - Arugba
3. Lydia Farson - Scorned
4. Lungelo Dhladhla - Gugu and Andile
5. Mfouemon Bea. Flore - Ma Saah Sah

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
1. Femi Adebayo - Apaadi
2. Abubakar Mvenda and Ken Ambani - From a Whisper
3. Mac Mathunjwa - Gugu and Andile
4. Yemi Blaq - Grey Focus
5. Joel Okuyo Prynce - Battle of the Soul

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
1. Aggie Kebirungi - Battle of the Soul
2. Mercy Johnson - Live to Remember
3. Mosunmola Filani - Jenifa
4. Daphney Hlomuka - Gugu and Andile
5. Chika Ike - The Assassin

BEST FILM IN AFRICAN LANGUAGE
1. Gugu and Andile - South Africa
2. Arugba - Nigeria
3. Mah Saah Sa - Cameroun
4. Uyai - Nigeria
5. Apaadi - Nigeria

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. From a Whisper - Marius Van Graan
2. Seventh Heaven - Ramses Marzouk
3. Cindy’s Note - Izu Ojukwu
4. Gugu and Andile - Greg Heimann
5. Battle of the Soul - Stephen Njero and Tony Matomi

BEST PICTURE
1. From a Whisper - Kenya
2. Arugba - Nigeria
3. Gugu and Andile - South Africa
4. Battle of the Soul - Uganda
5. Seventh Heaven - Egypt

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Wanuri Kahiu - From a Whisper (Kenya)
2. Tunde Kelani - Arugba (Nigeria)
3. Minky Schlesinger - Gugu and Andile (South Africa)
4. Math Bish - Battle of the Soul (Uganda)
5. Saad Hendawy - Seventh Heaven (Egypt)
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Mar 25th

STEPHANIE OKEREKE IS NEXT

By Jane bond
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Actress Blessing Effiom Egbe and Stephanie Okereke at the Premiere of Through the Glass in Los Angeles, California

Nigerian screen queen

March 23, 2009 06:24PMT By Jayne Usen


 In the Beginning

 Nollywood actress, Stephanie Okereke landed her first acting roles in the 1997 movies Compromise and Waterloo. Over the years, the Imo State-born actress has grown to become one of Nigeria's foremost actresses, having featured in over a hundred movies.

She got her big break in 2003 in the movie Emotional Crack, which earned her two awards (out of eight nominations) at the Reel Awards for the Best Actress, English and Actress of The Year. The following year, Emotional Crack premiered at the African Film Festival in the United States.

This opened the door to many opportunities for the actress. As a result, Hollywood came calling in 2005 and the beautiful actress auditioned for a role in The Good Shepherd, which featured Robert DeNiro, but an unfortunate car accident on her way to the AMAA awards in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State hindered her chances of appearing in the film.

Ups & Downs

The actress, who is also a model, was the second runner-up in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria contest in 2002, which was won by Chineye Akinlade nee Ochuba. Despite the fame, the English and Literary Studies graduate of the University of Calabar has had her own fair share of problems and scandal.

In 2007, the leggy actress called it quits with her husband of two years, Chikelue Iloenyosi, a former player with the Nigerian national football team, who nursed her after her 2005 accident. Okereke was able to bounce back after the incident and she landed a role in the MNET sponsored series, Snitch, shot in South Africa in 2006. She played a Nigerian undercover agent in the series.

Taking Control

Having trained at the New York Film Academy, the talented actress cut her teeth as a director, scriptwriter and producer last year with the movie Through the Glass. The movie, shot in the US, featured a Nigerian and American cast. During the movie premiere last year, it was a double celebration for the Nollywood star as she also received an Award of Recognition from the California Legislature Assembly and launched her clothing line "The SO Collection."

With several awards in her kitty, Stephanie Okereke is one actress, who is set to leave a lasting impression on Nollywood and beyond.

Source 

http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/5394629-147/story.csp

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