Lights Camera Action Film Festival Synopses Africa cont’d

Movie one to twelve can be found here,if you missed out on the action for LCA Film Festival, you can find out here and here

Mr. Adams:  A story of a couple in love, who got married and gradually drifted apart until an unpleasant event thrusts them into charting a way forward.

Dir. Edwin Irabor, Nigeria, 2014, 17min

Nollywood

Nollywood is the story behind Nigeria’s domestic movie industry, the second biggest producer of films in the world. Despite having only 14 cinemas in a country of 170 million people, Nigeria’s film industry, dubbed “Nollywood”, churns out as many as 50 films a week, sometimes for as little as $10,000 a piece. Many are released straight to DVD and sold cheaply on the streets. When it comes to sheer volume, the $5bn film industry makes more films than the US and is only rivalled by India, the world’s biggest movie industry. So, how did Nigerian films become so popular? Nollywood tries to answer that question and more with those who know the industry best – Nigeria’s filmmakers, actors and actresses, directors, producers and film critics. Weaving in the rich footage of the young industry’s most-watched and game-changing movies, this Al Jazeera World film explores an explosive and vibrant industry that produces movies that are popular not just in Nigeria but also across the continent, and its culture and its key players.

Dir. Abba Makama, Nigeria, 2014, 47min

Olu Amoda: A Metallic Journey: A one-hour-long audio-visual narrative, which explores, the creative and expansive three-decade-long journey, of international award-winning Metal Artist, Olu Amoda. It meticulously chronicles Amoda’s metallic passion, and mission, to expand the vocabulary of sculptural expression based on materials. It also examines how he carefully chooses specific metal-materials for their shapes, texture and properties. He explains, with some sense of humour, how he uses these found, used, dated and repurposed objects to give them socio-artistic relevance and, imbue them, with new communicative meaning.

Dir. Tam Fiofori/Joel Benson, Nigeria, 2015, xx min

Once: Panshak is a relentless 10 year old boy whose closest friend is Abubakar, a muslim.Both boys do almost everything together but when Abubakar starts to push him away, Panshak tries to find ways to be like him to get closer to him.

Dir. Jay-Franklin Jituboh, Nigeria, 2015, 26 min.

Prey: PREY is a short film in the tradition of classic Alfred Hitchcock psychological suspense thrillers….. A first for African cinema in showcasing genre filmmaking in Nollywood cinema. It is directed and written by award winning filmmakers Sunny King and Edith Nwekenta. Their last short film UNSPOKEN won Best Film at the London Independent Film festival 2013 and Best Shortfilm at the Nollywood Movie awards 2013.

Dir. Sunny King, UK, 2015, 14 min

Saworoide: Lapite, a crowned prince of Jogbo, has eliminated all opposition to ensure he ascends the throne and becomes rich. After the mysterious death of his main rival, Adebomi the new king starts to help himself to the enormous resources of forest trees in his kingdom. His people’s protests are ruthlessly suppressed, but as their resolve to depose their self-serving king grows, Lapite finds himself struggling to secure not only his wealth, but also his power and relationships in a beautifully written allegory for modern times.

Dir. Tunde Kelani, Nigeria, 1999, 105 min.

Soko Sonko (The Market King): When her mum gets sick, Kibibi’s dad must take her to the market to get her hair braided before school begins. This is a hilarious, fish-out-of-water roller coaster of a journey about a well-intentioned dad who goes nowhere no man has gone before…because only women have been there!

Dir. Ekwa Msangi, Kenya/USA, 2014, 22min

The Legacy of Rubies

MFALME, a young forest boy is kidnapped and brought to a strange palace in a place called Airegin, with the claim that he is the blood son of the dying King Obankosi and the chosen successor to the throne. Not just that, he is given a mandatory assignment which he has to fulfill before he can either accept or reject their offer. So, accompanied by the little palace boy with whom he struck up a friendship, he is forced on a journey he least reckoned with.

Dir. Ebele Okoye and Shrinkfish Media and Animation, Germany/Nigeria/USA, 2015, 26min

Sex Okra and Salted Butter

Hortense a nurse of African origin in her forties, abandons her family to be with her lover, Jean-Paul – an oyster cultivator in the Arcachon Bay. Her husband, Malik (Marius Yelolo) remains in denial about his wife’s departure as he is left to look after their children – two boys aged 12 and 6. While Malik dreams of returning home to Mali, the rest of his family (including his eldest son Dani whose homosexual identity is suddenly revealed to Malik) embrace life in France. The unexpected arrival of the beautiful and mysterious Amina further complicates the family situation, alongside a close relationship that develops between Malik and his lonely neighbour Mme Myriam.

Dir. Mahamat Saleh Haroun, France, 2008, 81min

The Sim

A young girl caught in a computer simulated world and must fight her way through to survive. However, a shocking reality awaits her when she finds her match in a stronger opponent. A cool, animated, fight sequence every comic or game lover would love to watch.

Dir. Eri Umusu, Nigeria, 2014 , 3.57min

Sobukwe

 A Great Soul Sobukwe celebrates the life of Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, restoring him to his rightful place as a leading figure in South African history. Despite his pivotal role in the struggle for liberation (and as the founder of the Pan Africanist Congress), there isn’t a single piece of archive of the man who was once one of the most watched, recorded, and popular political prisoners in the world. Even the current South African government has failed to recognise his place in history and the relevance of his message today. This seeks to fill that gap, standing as a monument to a great man, a global visionary, teacher, political leader, philosopher, and humanist who was well ahead of his time, declaring his commitment to a “non-racial” society in a racist world by asserting that “there is only one race, the human race.”

Dir. Mickey Dube, South Africa, 2013, 100min

Timbuktu

Not far from the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu, now ruled by the religious fundamentalists, proud cattle herder Kidane lives peacefully in the dunes with his wife Satima , his daughter Toya, and Issan, their twelve-year-old shepherd. In town, the people suffer, powerless, from the regime of terror imposed by the Jihadists determined to control their faith. Music, laughter, cigarettes, even soccer have been banned. A formidable work of anger and compassion set against Mali’s bloody cultural struggle with Islamic militants.

Dir. Abderrahmane Sissako, France/Mauritania, 2014, 100min

White Wedding

Set against South Africa’s breathtaking landscapes, WHITE WEDDING is a high-spirited modern day road comedy about love… The loyal, committed and very decent Elvis leaves Johannesburg to pick up his best friend and best man Tumi in Durban. The two will then journey on to Cape Town to begin rehearsals for Elvis’s wedding to the beautiful Ayanda. But things don’t always go according to plan. 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

Dir. Jann Turner, South Africa, 2009, 93m