Around and about Nollywood in one week

It is the last week in February and the week of the Presidential election in Nigeria and some screen celebrities are sharing clicks with political stories. Here is a pick for the week…

Segun Arinze

For Segun Arinze, Politics Is NOT war
FORMER President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) and current President of the Association of Voice-Over Artists of Nigeria (AVOA), Segun Arinze has sued for peace as Nigerians head to the poll to elect a President today. Arinze who is simply called Presido also urged Nigerians not to fight over their political choices.

In a video with telling visuals, which he voiced and shared on his social media handles during the week, the singer, voice artist, actor and show producer who captioned the post: Politics is Not War, urged Nigerians to ensure that they get it right this time with the choices they will make at the polls.

According to Arinze: “Politics is all about choices; your choice might not be mine and mine might not be yours. But whoever you decide to support is within your fundamental right.”

Continuing, the actor who is also popular as Black Arrow (a character he played in Chico Ejiro’s hit movie, Silent Night) said, “What we need now is love, not war. Let’s be kind to one another. Let’s stop bullying people because of their preferences and choices… Nigerians, we are at a crossroads and we must get it right this time.”

Born Segun Aina Padonu, the Badagry born actor is not known to have publicly declared his support for any of the Presidential candidates. But his colleagues like Kate Henshaw, Toyin Abraham, Iyabo Ojo, Kanayo Kanayo and a host of others have publicly done so for different candidates.

Kunle Afolayan Is Jury President For FESPACO’s Perspective Section
AWARD Winning filmmaker Kunle Afolayan is off to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso this weekend for the 28th edition of the Festival of Pan African Cinema in Ouagadougou dubbed FESPACO.

The filmmaker known for many hit flicks including Anikulapo and Citation will be attending the biennial event as President of the Perspective Section of the festival, which begins on February 25 through to March 4.

No doubt, Afolayan’s invitation to head the jury of the Perspective section is in recognition of his remarkable contribution to African entertainment. Afolayan who has had his films, The Figurine and Citation, screened in Ouagadugou during the festival in 2011 and 2021 respectively, disclosed plans to host a networking session for filmmakers during the festival.

By far, the largest film festival in Africa, this edition is held under the theme ‘African Cinema and Culture of Peace’’.  A total of 170 films were selected by a Pan- African selection committee out of the 1,142 submitted films, according to the general delegate of FESPACO Moussa Alex Sawadogo.

The opening film of FESPACO 2023 is Bravo Burkina by US based Nigerian filmmaker, Oyejide Wale. However, 29 films will compete for the festival top prize — Yennega’s Golden Stallion. The selected films competing for the golden stallion include, The Planters’ Plantation, directed by Dingha Eystein Young (Cameroun), Sira, by Appoline Traore (Burkina Faso) and Mami Wata by C. J. ‘ Fiery’ Obasi (Nigeria).

Actress Favour Daniel Buried
THE remains of fast rising Nollywood actress and skitmaker, Favour Daniels, who died in a boat accident on Tuesday, has been laid to rest. Aged 26, Fvour passed on after she was involved in a boat accident on Sunday, February 5, 2023. It was the elder sister of the deceased Elizabeth Daniels that announced Favour’s sad demise on Instagram.

Writing under a photograph of the late actress that she shared, Elizabeth wrote: “It is with a heavy heart but in total submission to our creator’s will that I wish to announce the passing of my youngest sister Favour Agiounim Daniels, known and loved by so many. Nickname Amama, Omo, Omoge, small pin charger and the names go on. My Amama, my baby girl, I will miss you. She had a boat accident on the 5th of February. Sleep on, daughter of the zone, until we meet again.”

Mama Rainbow Is In Jerusalem To Pray For Nigeria
VETERAN actress Esther Idowu Phillips aka Mama Rainbow or Iya Rainbow is in Jerusalem for holy pilgrimage. But that is the news. The news is that the 80-year-old actress declared in a caption accompanying a video and pictures of her praying in the holy land and shared on her social media handles that she is in Jerusalem to pray for Nigeria.

“I am in Jerusalem all because of Nigeria” was how the stage and screen actress who calls herself ‘Iya Nigeria’ captioned the post, which first appeared on her Instagram handle. In another post, the mother of five who received a lifetime achievement award from the organisers of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in 2022 said she was not happy with the situation of things in Nigeria.

Decked in a white garment church dress Mama Rainbow said, “I am not happy with what is going on in the country. It is my prayer that God will put an end to the fuel scarcity, high cost of living and other problems before we return home.”

Meanwhile, the actress has just published her memoir. Sharing the picture of the book titled Esther Idowu Phillips: The Goldsmith Daughter… Memoir of a Nigerian Movie Legend, Mama Rainbow wrote: “Goldsmith Daughter. You can get it all over the bookshops.”

As expected, fans have already started placing orders for the book.