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Spotlight on stars of Tunde Kelani’s Cordelia

By Shaibu Husseini
13 May 2023   |   3:55 am
The new movie by legendary filmmaker and culture advocate Tunde Kelani titled Cordelia is ready for public viewing. However, the movie will have its world premiere at the 30th edition of the prestigious New York African Film Festival.

The new movie by legendary filmmaker and culture advocate Tunde Kelani titled Cordelia is ready for public viewing. However, the movie will have its world premiere at the 30th edition of the prestigious New York African Film Festival.

Kelani’s Cordelia, a screen adaptation of a work of fiction by renowned dramatist and poet, Femi Osofisan, has been selected to screen at the Lincoln Centre on Monday May 15.

Set in Nigeria during the early 90s under military rule, the gripping tale of sacrifice, bravery and courage follows a university professor, who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a military coup.

When the movie opens in New York and on home soil in June, the audience will definitely find captivating, the performance of the stellar cast which the 75-year-old founder/director of the epoch-making Mainframe Productions pulled to make the film tick.

The spotlight is on some of the leading actors—-Omowunmi Dada, Yvonne Jegede, Keppy Ekpeyong, Kelechi Udegbe, and Femi Adebayo who contributed in giving the movie that was executive produced by Tayo Oladimeji and Kunle Adebiyi its acting credit.

Omowunmi Dada (Cordelia)
An actress who has continued to impress with every new role, Omowunmi is in Cordelia as Cordelia. Humble, simple, friendly and hardworking, Omowunmi star of Oloture, Omugwo and Ayinla put up an incredible performance and proved that she could be relied upon as an actress.

A product of the Creative Arts Department of the University of Lagos who was born and raised in Lagos, the actress, model and voice over artiste has been having a good run as an actress since she stepped up a few years back.

The award-winning actress has continued to show stuff as a performer and has proven that she is good at what she is doing. The star of King Invincible, Zena, The Antique, Majele, Catcher, and Jimeji has proven with her acting chops that she has her eyes on the summit of the acting profession.

Yvonne Jegede (Remi)
NOTABLE actress Yvonne Jegede is in Cordelia as Remi. The actress, producer, model and television host played her role to the hilt and left no one in doubt that she can be relied upon as an actress.

Notable for producing 3 is Company, Yvonne rose to prominence after she made a cameo appearance in the music video African Queen by 2Face Idibia alongside Annie Macaulay. She started out in Nollywood in 2004 and the star of Missing Angels has since then featured in countless movies including Okafor’s Law, Single and Married, 10 Days in Sun City among others.

Keppy Ekpeyong (Col. Nwankwo Peters)
NOTABLE Nollywood actor, Keppy Ekpeyong, is in Cordelia as Col. Nwankwo Peters. It is his first in a Kelani movie and the native of Akwa-Ibom state who is roundly applauded for his craft and his ability to grab attention with credulity and easy mien showed stuff and lived the role delightfully.

Keppy is without a doubt, one of Nigeria’s best. A veteran and one of the few actors in Nollywood whom ardent fans of the movie would cheer at each time their names appear on the starring list of a movie, Keppy has not looked back since his debut outing in Tade Ogidan’ long rested soap, The Boy Next Door, which was produced over 30 years ago.

A dependable actor and producer, Keppy studied Linguistics and holds a second degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos. Keppy served out the compulsory National Youth Service scheme at the programmes department of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). It was at the NTA that he further acquired some acting chops and helmed his acts. He returned to the acting turf afterwards and straight away he landed a lead role in the long-rested television soap ‘Ripples’ where his acting chops became more manifest. From television, Keppy moved over to Nollywood and in 1993 Keppy and friends including a one-time President of the Nigerian Actors Guild Emmanuel Oguguah got together to produce ‘Unforgiven Sin’ a movie in the Igbo language medium and on the cast system which won a couple of awards and which threw up a number of acting talents including the former President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria Zack Orji. After ‘Unforgiven Sin’ Keppy stayed on. He found a lot of expression in his own manifestations. He got married in between to a pretty damsel and mother of his two lovely children and has since then continued to pump on because his passion as he alludes lay in acting and the world of showbiz generally.

Kelechi Udegbe (Major Kawale)
Kelechi Udegbe is in ‘Cordelia’ as Major Kawale and the actor and voice over artist who is having his first in any movie by Tunde Kelani showed stuff. Best known for starring as the lead character in Officer Titus, Kelechi has since his screen debut in 2009 starred in several films and soaps including Behind The Smile, Ojuju, Taxi Driver: Oko Ashewo, Horn Free Day and Kpians: The Feast of Souls.

Femi Adebayo

Femi Adebayo (Rasaki)
Notable Nollywood actor and producer Femi Adebayo is in ‘Cordelia’ as Rasaki. SON of the veteran actor and filmmaker Chief Adebayo Salami, who is popular as Oga Bello, Femi best known for his deep role portrayal in the epic movie ‘King of Thieves’ never disappoints when he is given a role to interprete. The lawyer who has had to hang his wig and gown for a full time career as a filmmaker lived the role of Rasaki believably. Star and producer of the hit film Jelili, Femi has proven over time that he could be relied upon as an actor and also as a producer. A native of Ilorin in Kwara State, who attended the University of Ilorin where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master of Arts degree in Theatre Arts, Femi began acting in 1995, the same year he featured in a Tade Ogidan movie titled ‘Owo Blow’. The always smartly dressed actor has starred in several Nigerian films, but mostly Yoruba films including Sonto Alapata, Wura Ati Fadaka, Ma Wobadan and the comic movie Buga.

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