HE wears several caps: actor, voice over artiste, singer, Master of Ceremonies and administrator. This has placed Segun Aina Padonu or Segun Arinze for short, in a position where he has continued to remain relevant in all the scheme of things Although not as regular on our screen as those early Nollywood years when Arinze will feature in almost seven of every ten movies produced and released in Nollywood, the multi-talented actor whose smooth voice has laced a number of commercials and non-commercial advertisements has continued to samba well on and off the entertainment circuit.
Also popular as ‘Black Arrow’ an alias he earned for his portrayal of the role of ‘Black Arrow’ in that action movie of the nineties by Chico Ejiro titled ‘Silent Night’, Segun first shot into prominence after the release of his debut album ‘Dreams’. He became notable as a singer with an irresistible voice. His hit track from his debut album ‘Nwanyi Ganga’ was on repeat on radio and at club and party scenes. Later, Segun, son of the late Bamidele Padonu of Badagry became notable as one of Nigeria’s most gifted show host and voice over artiste who makes jingles and commercials a delight to listen to. And when Nollywood ticked, Segun who loves to eat the local delicacy ‘amala with gbegiri and ewedu’, instantly became a household name. He emerged as one of Nollywood’s undisputedly ‘bad boys’ and the producer’s first choice for an actor who can add zest to a picture. When producers seek a compelling and imaginative performer, it is Segun Arinze that they buzz up. And since he joined Nollywood, Segun’s rating has not dropped. The talented and resourceful actor who speaks his native language Yoruba as well as Hausa and Igbo fluently and who is rightly respected by many for his charm and geniality is one of the not too many actors in the Nigerian screen acting space whose popularity is so overwhelming and whose simple precepts are roundly admired. Indeed the star of ‘Shadow Parties’, ‘Breaking Point’, ‘Oloture’, ‘A Soldier’s Story’, ‘Who’s The Boss’, ‘Cold Feet’, ‘Gold Statue’, ‘The Call’, ‘A Place In The Stars’, ‘Tatu’ and so many stage productions including ‘Transistor Radio’ and Femi Osofisan’s ‘Once Upon Four Robbers’ has remained on the top rung and it is believed that the actor of ‘Eye for Eye’’ and ‘Not My Will’ fame is likely to hang on there as long as he exhibits his kind of art that comes from the guts.
*******
REVIEW
Title- The Governor
Producer- Dom Onu
Director- Ndubuisi Okoh
Actors- Lary Koldsweath, Alex Usifo, Rita Edochie and others
Movie Producer Dom Onu who also shares in the acting credit calls this story with a derivative plot that shifts between two story lines “The Governor”- a take on what some people go through in their quest to assume political leadership.
Daniel (Alex Usifo) is the choice for Governor for this state that was not identified. Mrs. Daniel (Rita Edochie) thinks it will not be a smooth ride for her husband who is been sponsored by some political godfathers. Ndubuisi Okoh whose task it was to interpret the script cut straight to Daniels needless struggle to assume leadership of the state. The twist here comes when before a sorcerer Daniel with no threat at all to his ambition is advised to defile his own daughter if only to be assured of victory at the polls. He does and suffers the consequences. Part of which is the fact that he did not eventually make it to government house.
This is a story that teeters unsteadily between artfulness and ludicrousness. Wonder why a man who has been assured of victory at the polls would elect to go through all that ritual of defiling his own daughter. It doesn’t just add up. It doesn’t really. A few of us who saw the movie gave thumb up to the scenic designer and director of photography but concluded that there was an attempt to force the plot to appear intricate so as to earn a yippee status for the movie. Our verdict? Don’t expect too much. To God Be…. no let’s lift this new one from the movie Butterfly…. “We thank You God”.
******
Filmdom Notice Board
Africa International Film Festival, AFRIFF is here
The 10th anniversary edition of Africa’s most vibrant and innovative film festival, the Africa International Film Festival is scheduled to hold from Sunday, November 7 until Saturday, November 13. This year’s festival will open with Michael Pearce’s eagerly anticipated sci-fi thriller – ‘Encounter’ which stars Emmy award winner and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Riz Ahmed and Oscar-Winning actress, Octavia Spencer. The festival will close with Bolanle Austen-Peters’ Collision’. Organizers revealed that the festival received a record-breaking number of submissions (over 4000) this year from over 100 countries, the highest it has received to date and will screen almost 150 projects – including features, shorts, documentaries. Founder and Executive Director of AFRIFF Chioma Ude, AFRIFF expressed excitement at the possibility of hosting the 10th edition which couldn’t hold last year because of the global pandemic. “I am super excited to announce our 10th-anniversary edition, following the global pandemic! It is with the greatest pleasure that we once again bring our varied programme of the very best of cinema and film content to the forefront. We are proud to theme this year’s festival as one dedicated to AFRICANS for AFRICA, those who enable us to dream and to celebrate storytelling which challenges society. I am also very excited to announce that we will dedicate a day to anime and gaming to continue our vibrancy and innovation. We will continue to focus our efforts on training and supporting more filmmakers than ever before, as well as building global bridges, and promoting further cross-cultural exchanges.” Ude said
******
Africa Movie Academy Awards holds November 28
Organisers of the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) have announced that the 17th edition of the global film reward system will hold on November 28, 2021, in Lagos. The organizers also disclosed that the nominee list for this year’s award ceremony will be announced on October 28. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, founder of the Africa Film Academy (AFA) main organizers of the AMAA, said that for safety reasons and travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many filmmakers will not be able to attend the event physically. Anyiam-Osigwe added that this year’s award ceremony will be a hybrid of both physical and virtual participation. The AFA founder also announced Steve Oluseyi Ayorinde as the president of the jury for the second consecutive year. Ayorinde served as a Commissioner for Tourism under the administration of former Governor of Lagos State Akinwunmi Ambode. He is also the Chairman of the Governing Council of AMAA, a position he has held for over ten years. The academy also said it will launch a new initiative, “100 film project”, which is aimed at training and supporting African creative.
*******
A jury president announced for Berlinale 2022
Screenwriter, director and producer M. Night Shyamalan will serve as president of the International Jury at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival. The successful American immigrant filmmaker originally from South Asia has been captivating audiences worldwide with his genre films over the past three decades. His breakthrough, the 1999 psychological thriller The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis, was the second highest grossing film of that year and received six Academy Award nominations. Today, Shyamalan remains one of the most recognised names in filmmaking. “I’m pleased and honoured that M. Night Shyamalan has accepted our invitation to serve as president of the Jury. Throughout his career he’s shaped a universe in which fears and desires stand side by side, where young people are not only the protagonists but also the driving force for overcoming dread. Within the US movie business Shyamalan is a unique figure, a filmmaker that has remained faithful to his vision. This truthfulness to one’s ideal is also what we are looking for in our selection,” said the Berlinale’s Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian. On his part, Shyamalan said being asked to be a part of Berlinale is deeply meaningful to him. ‘’It represents the highest imprimatur for a filmmaker. Being able to support and celebrate the world’s very best talent in storytelling is a gift I happily accepted’’ he said. Shyamalan studied filmmaking at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts; during his final year he shot his first feature film ‘Praying with Anger’, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. His impressive filmmaking includes 14 feature films as a cinema director
******
Filmdom WORD BITES:
“The Legend of Nollywood Awards aims at identifying and recognizing great men and women who through their art, ingenuity, foresight, and vision laid the solid foundation for the establishment of the vibrant motion picture industry called Nollywood. The pleasure and excitement we derive in annually hosting this award lies in the fact that we strongly hold that the labour of our heroes past should not be in vain. We believe that those who toiled to bequeath a vibrant motion picture industry to society should not go unrecognized’’
– The Actor, Producer and administrator Paul Obazele on the motivation for founding the Legends of Nollywood Award
******
“Acting has greatly rewarded me. I mean what more can I possibly ask for. It has made me popular and easily recognizable. It has opened doors for me and I am grateful to God for his grace and mercies’.
–Notable Actress Ajoke Silva Jacobs on the gains of acting
*******
Star Fad & Hobbies
The Actress Queen Nwokoye –
“Well honestly, I don’t do anything extraordinary. I mean I don’t go out of my way to look good. I know I used to work out but I am not regular again. However, I do a lot of fruits and water. I think also that I am just blessed. As for my favourite food and colour, my favourite food used to be and is still bread fruit. I like white as colour and when I am not working, I stay indoors with the family. I am an indoor person. I can be indoors for months as long I have enough movies, novels to read and there is network on my phone. I don’t go out. I just want to chill at home, relax and play with my daughter and family’
*****
The Actor Ali Nuhu-
“After so many years in the industry, I mastered the art of balancing between my work and family. As for whether my children are taking after me, well I think they are all gifted. I produced a movie recently and my children all acted in the movies as child actors. At the moment Ahmad still acts even though he is more interested in Football. I will only guide them and I won’t dictate what they should do in terms of career’
******
MILESTONES AND ROUGH CUTS
#GOOD ENDING FOR FESPACO 2021– The 27th edition of the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, the largest African film festival, ended on Saturday 23 October. Reports indicate that over 150,000 festival-goers from 64 countries were able to see more than 500 works. 17 films were in the running in the fictional feature film category for the Yénnenga Gold Standard, Fespaco’s highest award which the film The Mercy by Rwandan Joël Karekezi won in 2019. However, it was Somali director Ahmed Khadar that won the Yennenga Gold Standard on Saturday with his film The Gravedigger’s Wife.
The 40-year-old director did not take part in the closing ceremony of the festival in the Burkinabe capital. The president of the jury Mauritanian Abderrahmane Sissako presented the award and declared that for any filmmaker, the Yennenga is the best prize to have. Other winners of FESPACO 2021 include Best decor: “La Nuit des Rois” (Night Of The Kings) by Philippe Lacote (Ivory Coast), Best Editing: “Souad” by Amin Ayten (Egypt), Prize for the screenplay: “Nameless” Mutiganda Wa Nkunda (Rwanda), Image prize: “This is not a burial, it is a resurrection” by Jeremiah Lemohang Mosese (Lesotho), Sound Award: “Freda” by Gessica Geneus (Haiti), Best Music: “The Gravedigger’s Wife” by Ahmed Khadar (Somalia), Gold standard documentary feature film: “Garderie Nocturne” by Moumouni Sanou (Burkina Faso), Best Actress Award: Zainab Jah for “Farewell Amor” by Ekwa Msangi (Tanzania), Silver standard: “Freda” from Gessica Geneus (Haiti), Bronze standard: “A story of love and desire” by Leyla Bouzid (Tunisia), Best Actor Award: Alassane Sy for “Baamum Nafi” (Senegal)
******
#ABUJA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NOMINEES:
Organizers of the 18th Abuja International Film Festival have announced the nominees for the 18th Abuja International Film Festival scheduled for the beautiful city of Abuja from 1st to 4th November 2021. The organizers revealed that a total of 1952 films were received from 61 countries as entries for the 18th edition and of these numbers 113 films were selected from the following genre of Features, Shorts, Documentaries, Experimental and animations. According to Fidelia Duker, the Festival Officer Communication informed the media that the festival was excited to be back as a physical one after the 2020 edition that was pure hybrid and on virtual in its entirety. According to her, the 2021 edition will be Physical with all COVID-19 protocols observed as a part of the festival will also be virtual. This year the festival jury has chosen a total of 31 films and filmmakers as nominees who will be gunning for the different categories of the prestigious awards on the 4th of November 2021in Abuja. Details of the nominees list can be sourced at www.abujafilmfestng.org
Comments are closed.