Around And About Moviedom In One Week
Rogers Ofime
Some events and personalities made headlines in Nollywood in the last one-week. The spotlight is on them…
All Hail Moviedom’s MVP
Rogers Ofime
If there is an award for the most valuable player of Moviedom based on the outcome of the just held 2022 edition of the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award (AMVCA, then the award should rightly go to multiple award-winning TV/Film producer, Rogers Ofime.
The content producer turned out the real winner of the award ceremony of the eight edition of AMVCA as three productions, which he signed as executive producer and producer, were adjudged the best in their categories.
At the AMVCAs, a yearly event presented by MultiChoice, which recognises and celebrates African talents, Voiceless, which Ofime produced, was adjudged Best Indigenous Language Movie or Series – (Hausa). The other productions, which the University of Ife and Ibadan trained theatre artiste produced are The Johnsons, which deservedly got the Best Africa Magic Original Comedy Series crest and Mystic River, which received the Best TV series – Drama or Comedy award.
Founder and CEO of Native Media, Ofime has led Native Media to produce award-winning movies and television programmes including Oloibiri, Taurarin Zamani, Zone 222 and Hotel Majestic. He is currently supervising postproduction work on a compelling drama titled Conversation in Transit as directed by Robert Peters. The movie shot in a train is promoted as Nollywood’s first-ever movie on a moving train.
Born in Lagos, Ofime studied Theatre Arts at the Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Ibadan and graduated from Robertson College in Canada with a certificate in Business Administration. Married to Olabimpe and blessed with children, one of Ofime’s high as a producer was when he commissioned by Mnet to produce a daily soap opera Tinsel on the M-net/Africa Magic platform.
While working on Tinsel, he worked with a 120-member film crew, 15 recurring actors and 500 supporting actors. The show has gone on to become one of the most viewed television series in Africa. It also made him the first Nigerian producer to produce a multi-camera, studio-based daily television soap opera in West, North and East Africa.
Kanayo O. Kanayo Hugs
The Sixties Club
IT was a gathering of who is who in the entertainment, business and political landscape and it was an all-white affair. Venue was Muson Centre, Onikan Lagos. Family, friends and associates of veteran actor and lawyer, Kanayo O. Kanayo, turned out in their numbers to felicitate him as the multi-award winning actor celebrated his 60th birthday.
It was an opportunity for KOK, as the recipient of the national honour of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) is simply called, to appreciate God for sparing his life to witness the day and to thank his family and friends for the support they have given him over the years. The actor also used the opportunity of the shindig to launch a foundation named, The Kanayo O Kanayo Foundation.
A top rated actor who has shown total commitment to excellence, KOK is perhaps one of the few actors of the Nigerian motion picture industry who can be aptly described as an actor with a strong screen presence. Always the lead actor in movies, a movie producer was once quoted as saying that a movie is considered a best seller if KOK stars in it. Even his colleagues in the industry speak very highly of him. For them, whatever Kanayo does, he does it very well and leaves a memory behind.
An iconoclast by industry rating, acting for KOK who hails from the small wine-tapping town of Nru Umueze Oboama, in Ezinihitte Mbasie, Local Council of Imo State began in 1982. A gifted actor who enjoys mass appeal both within and outside Nigeria, Kanayo’s debut performance on screen was as Chief Omego, a supporting actor in the groundbreaking home video production, Living in Bondage. He had done some acting on television prior to his debut on home video.
However, it didn’t take long after Kanayo’s debut on home video before he became an instant choice for producers. Today, KOK who made two unsuccessful attempts to represent his community of Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency in Imo State at the Federal House of Representatives is celebrated as an actor of outstanding ability.
A former Chair of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Studies (HIHOTOURS), KOK is star of four of NTA’s rested soaps, Ripples, Checkmates, Village Headmaster and the New Masquerade, KOK and over 120 movies including Desperate Billionaire, Living Dead, Blood Money, Apaye, and Up North.
Light Out On Actor And Voice Over Specialist Johnson Davidson
MOVIEDOM brought you the story nearly three Saturdays ago, of how notable actor and voice over specialist Johnson Davidson, who was battling kidney related health challenge, needed help to run regular dialysis. Well, the story this time is that light has dimmed on the multi-talented Davidson.
Moviedom gathered that the notable Studio Engineer (Heavy Metal Studios), Voice Over artist, Actor, Music Producer, Jingle Producer and Entertainer passed on, on Wednesday in a private facility in Owerri, Imo State. News of his death came almost 24 hours after the writer and entertainer Emma Ugolee shared a video of the actor writhing in pain.
Condolence messages have been pouring in for the Davidson, who is best known for voicing so many commercials and jingles, including most of the early commercials of the telecommunication giant glo and the radio jingle of Zeb Ejiro’s box office hit Domitila.
Award winning filmmaker Uzodinma Okpechi described the late Johnson Davidson as a very important resource.
“Dude practically owned radio advertising with uncountable jingles and radio commercials. His Heavy Metal Studio situated at Eric Moore in Surulere was a beehive of activities. It is sad he had to go the way he did. May his soul rest in peace,” Okpechi wrote and shared on the elite whatsapp group for creative—Filmic.
For Filmmaker and CEO of Teen Africa TV Charles Novia, the industry has “lost another library of information and history.”
Novia wrote: “For those who might not know Johnson Davidson, he will go down in the history of the industry as one who did unforgettable voice overs in pidgin from the 90’s till the end of 2000’s. If anyone remembers his breakthrough voice over for Domitila, which began with the catch phrase ‘Ashawo no be work oo’ and hundreds of other voice overs, if not thousands. He will be sorely missed.”
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