Around and about Nollywood in one week

It’s already three weeks into October and some moviedom practitioners are in the news for the right reasons…

African Cinema Summit Ends In Accra
The second edition of the Africa Cinema Summit organised by the National Film Authority of Ghana in collaboration with Silverbird Cinema and the Moses Babatope Nile Group closed on Thursday, October 11, in Accra, Ghana. The summit, which focused on improving the quality of local content from Africa and improving cinema infrastructure availability on the continent opened on Monday, October 7 and it attracted top industry players including the Sierra Leone and Ghana-born Hollywood actor, Idris Elba; Adjetey Anang, Omoni Oboli, Kunle Afolayan, Ayo Makun aka AY, Kene Mkparu, current President of the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria, Ope Ajayi and representatives of major financial institutions such as AFREXIM and IFC. Held under the theme ‘The Relevance of Cinema in African Communities’, with a sub-thee that was focused on growth in the quality of local content production and consumption, the summit, which made a huge impact, also focused on strategies to draw audiences back into the cinemas from Cape to Cairo. The highpoint of the summit that facilitated a confluence of policymakers and cinema industry stakeholders was the presentation of industry awards to deserving practitioners in the continent who have contributed to the growth of cinema in the continent. Five Nigerian motion picture practitioners — Moses Babatope, Kemi Adetiba, Ayo Makun, Funke Akindele, Omoni Oboli and Kunle Afolayan — were honoured at the summit. Moviedom salutes the Nigerian practitioners who were recognised. They truly deserve the ACS plaque for their invaluable contribution to the growth of cinema in the continent.

Kunle Afolayan Goes To America
THOUGH the filmmaker Kunle Afolayan was at the Africa Cinema Summit in Accra up until Monday night, the prolific filmmaker left Accra for the United States on Tuesday to be part of the African Creative TV Initiative (ACTV), a programme designed to empower African TV creators with the skills and tools needed to compete globally. Afolayan best known for Anikulapo, October 1, Phone Swap and other critically acclaimed titles was joined by fellow filmmaker and theatre producer and director, Bolanle Austen-Peters. The initiative, according to Afolayan on his social media handles, will take them to Los Angeles, Washington DC, Virginia and Atlanta where they will take part in a series of workshops and networking events. Spearheaded by the USC (University of Southern California) Southern School of Cinematic Arts through the American Film Showcase (AFS) and in collaboration with the US Department of State, the programme fosters leadership and creative excellence across Africa’s burgeoning TV industry. The opportunity also provides participants a platform to forge connections with global networks and explore potential collaborations that could transform the African television landscape. The African Creative TV (ACTV) initiative focuses on professional development and networking opportunities for television writers, producers and other technical fields such as art direction, cinematography, editing and line producing

Omoni Oboli’s Wives On Strike Out
THE new chapter of Omoni Oboli’s popular series, The Uprising: Wives On Strike 3, was released in cinemas across the country on October 16. The movie co-produced by Tomi Adeoye and Oboli is a sequel to Wives on Strike: The Revolution, which follows the market women’s fight against domestic violence after one of them was beaten to death by her husband. It was released in 2017 and follows the classic film, Wives On Strike, released in 2016. Distributed by Moses Babatope’s Nile Group, this sequel brings back the original cast – Omoni Oboli, Uche Jombo, Ufuoma McDermott and Chioma Akpotha alongside veteran actress Hilda Dokubo. This diet also stars Segun Arinze, Julius Agu, Kalu Ikeagwu, Emeka Okoye, Sanni Danja, and Okey Bakassi

Upbeat Is The Rhythm For Funke Akindele’s New Offering
DECEMBER 2024 is released period for the new offering by Nollywood actor and filmmaker, Funke Akindele. The new offering, a spinoff from the Jenifa franchise, is titled, Everybody Loves Jenifa. Close sources say that the new offering contains core elements that have made the Jenifa franchise popular.