Akinrowo set to bring to the screen, The Kiss of Death

Theatre/filmmaker, Leke Akinrowo, in conjunction with Optiva Capital Partners, has concluded plans to bring to the big screen, a true-life-inspired film project titled The Kiss of Death. The film, according to Akinrowo, hopes to make a global impact and be the beginning of something wonderful coming to Nollywood.

The feature film, which is set to kick off soon with a large percentage of the scene shot in the North, will examine some cultural and religious issues in the face of an emergency. It would be directed by Terry McMahon, a renowned Irish filmmaker, who has worked on several Nollywood projects.

Speaking at a media parley to herald the film, in Lagos recently, Akinrowo said: “The Kiss of Death tells a tragic love story of a Lagos boy who went to the northern part of Nigeria to serve.

“He performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), an emergency lifesaving procedure on a young lady in Hijab, which was not taken lightly by the North as it was misinterpreted, resulting in a cultural clash.”

“The implications of that and all the issues surrounding it are the things that the script explores. It’s a human angle story; the kind of story that is based on a real-life situation. I became fascinated with it, and a friend of mine asked if there was something we can do about it, that is if we can make a movie out of it. So, after the discussion progressed, I decided to go try my hands at writing it. At the initial stage, we’re going to produce it differently,” the filmmaker added.

Written and produced by Akinrowo, who is also the Founder/CEO of Riveting Integrated Entertainment Limited (RIEL), an entertainment company with interests in film, theatre, music, television, publishing, events, promotion, artistes’ management, and arts’ distribution, the film parades fairly well known young and old faces in Nollywood.

“We are also trying to use this project as an opportunity to deepen the relationship between the film industry in Nigeria and the more advanced, more developed film industries across the world,” he explained.

Intrigued by the script, a cast member of the movie, Francis Onwochei lauded the project, saying: “I think it will make a brilliant picture, particularly because of the unique topic that it treats. Then when you also marry this with the idea of Terry McMahon coming to give life to it, it shows you that the makers of the film intend to make it something big that will make an impact globally.”

Speaking on the involvement of Optiva Capital Partners, the Executive Director of the company, Amaka Okeke-Lawal, reiterated the company’s interest in youth empowerment through entertainment.

She said: “We help in youth empowerment, we want to empower people. Entertainment is key; when you speak about entertainment that’s a huge sector and we love entertainment. The storyline is amazing. And how can we not be a part of this?

On how he intends to make a bold statement with the movie McMahon said: “Audiences respond to human beings doing impossible things. This is compelling enough on the page already, and our responsibility now is to take it off the page and turn it into something universal.”