Entertainment
Five Nollywood Movies Nominated For Paris Awards
Five Nigerian movies have been nominated to compete for the “People’s Choice Award” at the 2017 edition of Nollywood Week Paris Film Festival.
The movies include award winning “’76″ directed by Kemi Adetiba and ‘Dinner’, directed by Jay Franklyn Jitubah. Others are ‘Gidi Blues’ and ‘Green White Green’ which were directed by Femi Odugbemi and Abba Makama and The Wedding Party.
The prestigious People’s Choice Award is sponsored by Angenieux, a leading manufacturer of high quality optic cinema lenses for the broadcast and film industries. The company will gracefully put its optics at the disposal of the winner of the award giving them a chance to combine their creativity with French technical knowhow during their next shoot”.
Nollywood week Paris Film Festival started in 2013 and is organized by Okada Media, an organization based in Paris, France, which show cases the best of the Nigerian film industry with the aim of finding a larger audience and more sustainable distribution system for quality films.
The festival offers festival goers a chance to discover a dozen movies selected by a Jury of professionals. Nigerian film makers are encouraged to submit short films, animations and Nigerian television series for consideration. Also, musical performances as well as seminars and workshops dedicated to the African Cinema industry have been lined up to enrich the industry.
The annual event which is scheduled to hold from Thursday, May 11 to Sunday, May 14 at Cinema L’Afriequin in Paris France, ends with the traditional presentation of the Nollywood Week People’s Choice Award which rewards some of the best talents of African Cinema.
Nigerian movies have not won any international, especially the Oscar and this has been attributed to poor quality of production and bad subtitles.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, recently, announced a tripartite partnership involving the ministry, United Nation (UN) World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and global news leader, CNN to leverage on Nollywood to promote tourism in Nigeria.
Lai Mohammed, who announced the plan at the Annual general meeting of the Association of Tour Operators (NATOP) held in Lagos last Tuesday, said talks were at the advance stage to forge a very strong and effective partnership to use the country’s comparative advantage in film production through Nollywood to promote tourism in Nigeria.
“This is a path we have not trodden before, but we are sure will go a long way in making it possible for us to push tourism from the back burner to the mainstream of the economy”, he said noting that government set up a presidential council on the ease of doing business as part of its efforts to improve Nigeria’s ranking on the tourism competitive index of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Popular businessman and socialite, Pascal Okechukwu, aka Cubana Chief Priest, has said that his relationship with singer Davido is beyond money and gossip.
He stated this in a recent interview with BBC Igbo.
“Davido is my friend. He is my in-law; he married Chioma who is from Imo State where I hail from.
“So the relationship I have with Davido is beyond money and gossip,” he said.
DAILY POST reports that Chief Priest disclosed via his Instagram page that his outfit for the wedding of the singer, Davido and his wife, Chioma, in Lagos on Tuesday cost seven million Naira.
The socialite recently appreciated Davido for not “discarding” Chioma.
He stated that the DMW boss has made Imo State proud by choosing to marry from the state.
Nigerian singer Simisola Kosoko, popularly known as Simi, has lent her voice to the ongoing anti-tax hike protests in Kenya.
The Tide’s source reports that Kenyan youths are marching against tax hike in widespread demonstrations tagged ‘RejectFinanceBill2024.’
Five people were shot dead and dozens wounded after police clashed with protesters who stormed the parliament building in Nairobi on Tuesday, according to Amnesty Kenya.
Reacting via her X handle on Tuesday night, Simi declared her support for the demonstrators.
She stated that “it is both powerful and heartbreaking for a people to have to fight and die for freedoms and rights.”
The singer wrote, “I stand with the people of Kenya. It is both powerful and heartbreaking for a people to have to fight and die for freedoms and rights. Godspeed and Strength. [Hash tag] RejectFinanceBill2024.”
In a series of other posts, she wrote: “Wow. When you’ve had enough, the fight is almost inevitable.
“African leaders- have not you done enough?
“I can’t wait for the day Africa is not a weapon fashioned against Africans. All of this amazing Black power and human resource, but the majority are not likely to thrive unless they run.”
Famous Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Davido was spotted among other top artistes at Asake’s ‘Lungu Boy’ tour concert in Atlanta, Georgia.
Asake’s performance at his sold-out show at the 17,000-capacity State Farm Arena in Atlanta began on August 16, 2024, and is set to run for 10 days.
In a trending video on social media, Davido appeared backstage with American rapper Quavo to support Asake during the live performance.
Other musicians in attendance included Nigerian hitmaker Zlatan and American rapper Russ Millions.
The Tide’s source reports that Asake’s ‘Lungu Boy’ tour is set to cover six U.S. cities, where he will headline notable venues including Madison Square Garden in New York, the Toyota Center in Houston, and the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
Asake’s tour comes just days after the release of his latest hit, ‘Lungu Boy,’ which features several superstars, including Wizkid, British rappers Central Cee and Stormzy, Travis Scott and Brazilian singer Ludmilla.
‘Lungu Boy’ set a new record for the biggest opening week on Spotify Nigeria, garnering 18.9 million streams in its opening week and breaking the previous record of 14.4 million streams held by Davido’s ‘Timeless.’