By David Ajiboye

Malawian top actress, Flora Suya, is a top contender in this year’s Best Actress category at the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), scheduled to take place on Saturday,  April 10, in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.Suya’s role in the movie, Season of a Life, earned her the nomination, alongside other A-list actresses like Ghanaian Jackie Appiah, Lydia Forson, Naa Ashorkor Mensah-Doku, Stephanie Okereke and Bimbo Akintola, who just got her first nomination at AMAA for her excellent performance in the movie Bond and Fred Amata’s Freedom in Chain.

The chairman of College of Screeners, Mr. Shuaib Hussein said that Flora Suya might be the revelation AMAA has thrown up this year, adding that the award was fulfilling its mission and set objectives, as other African countries were coming out strongly in the business of film making.
“Flora Suya’s role in Season of a Life is superlative.  She is a complete talent that will go places in her acting career.  It is also a wake up call and challenge for our top actors and actresses to up their games. Nominations for awards anywhere in the world is a function of quality of work, professionalism and not whether anybody is an A-list star or not,” said Hussein.

Hussein also said the entries received from  North African countries, with Algeria and Egypt as strong contenders in the Best Animation category continued to attest to the popularity and acceptability of AMAA as the most respected recognition platform for the film industry in Africa.
Kunle Afolayan’s Figurine and Izu Chukwu’s Nnenda and The Child,  were among 30 films that made the nominations for this year’s African Movie Academy Awards, out of the over 280 entries received across Africa.

At a colorful nominations party held at Mensvic Hotel, East Legion, Accra, Ghana last Saturday, the nominations were announced by Hussein, chairman of College of Screeners.

In the Best Actor’s category are Ramsey Nouah, Lucky Ejim, Majid Michael, Odera Ozoka and John Osie Tutu, for their roles in The Tenant, Sin of a Soul, The Figurine, Soul Diaspora and I Sing of a Well.

Kunle Afolayan, Shemu Joyah, Shirley Frimpong, Leilla Jewel Djansi, Jude Idada and Lucky Ejim will slug it out in the Best Director category.  At the star-studded nominations party in Ghana included Mr. Richard Mofe-Damijo, Delta State Commissioner for Tourism and Culture; Rita Dominic, Segun Arinze, Osita Iheme, Paul Obazele, Ejike Asiegbu, Dickson Iruegbu, Kunle Afolayan, Steve Ayorinde, Muma Gee, J. Martins, among others.

Mr. Emeka Mba,Director General Nigeria Films and Video Censors Board(NFVCB) delivering his address at the African Film/Television Programmes Expo held in Abuja.

Some dignitaries rendering the national anthem at the event

Nollywood Actor,Francids Duru making a remark at the event.

Oba Dosumu,the traditional ruler of Owu Kingdom presenting an award to top Nollywood producer.

More pix from the Event

More pix from the event.

More pix from the event

More pix from the event

By DAVID AJIBOYE

Nigeria’s popular actress Rita Dominic will pay a visit to Malawi with an aim of promoting DStv’s Africa Magic and Africa Magic Plus channels which beam African movies mainly from Nigeria.

Her trip is sponsored by Multichoice Malawi Limited in conjunction with Sunbird Hotels, Nation Publications Limited and she is expected to arrive in the country next week.

The 34 year old actress is expected to arrive in the country on Tuesday and will attend cocktails in Lilongwe and Blantyre. During the cocktails the Nollywood superstar will sign autographs, pose for pictures and present prizes.

Dominic, who is single, is featured in over 30 movies such as Stolen Heart, Street Life, To Love a Thief, Fate of a Liar, Paint of Love, Love Paradise and Lean on Me among others.

Despite being single, Rita says she has a taste for  “what I find attractive in a guy – cool, polished, intelligent and 100% dress sense.”

She first appeared in a movie in 1999 and has risen in fame together with other actresses and actors like Oge Okoye, Ini Edo, Omotola Jalade Ekainde, Jim Ike, Monalisa Chinda, Emeka Ike, Desmond Elliot, and Genevieve Nnaji among others.

She was quoted in the local media that she was looking forward to seeing Malawians.

“I am told that Malawians are warm-hearted people and I can’t wait to see them.” Dominic said

The superstar is expected to leave the country any day after the 15th May 2009. This is the first time for a Nigerian movie star to officially come to Malawi.

The Nollywood drama queen has come a long way in the industry right from her days on TV programs such as Children’s Variety (on the NTA), Junior Opinion.

From the time Rita Dominic was about three years old attending YMWCA nursery school Aba to Constitution Crescent Primary school in Abia State, Nigeria, it was obvious she was destined for fame and craved attention at the time, mostly because of her unique singing and dancing talent.

Rita, who’s hobbies include acting, singing, watching movies, reading and traveling, graduated from the University of Port-harcourt with a BA (1-honours) Degree in Theatre Arts in 1999.

She hails from the Abiah Mbaise local government area in lmo State and belongs to the Royal Waturuocha family. Blessed with stunning looks, Rita enjoys spending time with her friends and family when she is not on a movie set.

By DAVID AJIBOYE.

Nollywood star actress Thelma Okoduwa took a bold step recently and walked down the aisle with her long time boyfriend, Onya Ojiji. The white wedding took place at the Blue Island Event Centre in Lekki, Lagos. Thelma who is well-loved by her Nollywood colleagues had fellow actress Rita Dominic as her Maid of Honour while various Nollywood stars including Uche Jombo and Genevieve Nnaji were in attendance. Their guests danced into the night away with the couple as they celebrated the blissful union.

[View with PicLens]

By Ali Baylay

Aminata is a pastorial story of a tyrant Chief, Adikali Momo who can marry any woman or underage girl of his taste in his chiefdom. This time, he wants Kelfala (Mohamed Bobson Kamara), the village drunk’s daughter, Aminata (Aissatou Bah) to be his nineteenth wife. Being a poor husband, Kelfala is easy to consent to the marriage, but his wife, Aminata’s mother couldn’t because her brother was once murdered by the same chief for dating a girl the chief wanted. However, the chief must have his way if not, Kelfala and his wife would be banished from the village. That is what the poyo drinking courtiers make us believe.

Chief Adikali Momo (Muctar Cole/screenwriter) must always have his way, even if it takes to rape the poor girl, Aminata, which he does, while his guards beat Philip, her youthful lover to the point of losing his mind. Aminata runs from the houshold and during her odyssey to nowhere, she’s rescued by a loving family, in whose home she delivers Chief Adikali’s baby boy and, she’s later put in school and goes on to become a lawyer, and comes back to prosecute her raper, Chief Momo and put him away for all the injustices. There’s a grand resolution to this flick, as Philip, once considered dead or insane arrives in a jeep, grown and successful, upon the crowning ceremony of Aminata’s son, and both have a long kiss as the movie fades out.

Aminata is a straight forward story that has the characteristics of the nusery recitation, “The house that Jack Built”, one reads in elementary. The plots are many here, and are arranged by incident building on another incident. Any story that could not be summerized in one sentence has a plot defect, such as Aminata. Summarily one can claim Aminata to be the underdog versus the status quo, wherein the underdog becomes the topdog in the end.

The actors, Muctar Cole (Chief Adikali) and Mohamed Bobson Kamara (Kelfala) seem to be veteran actors for, their postures and deliveries aren’t forceful, and they both prove helpful in making other actors come alive. However, the younger Aminata and philip do not have the same screen nuances and ideosyncracies of the older ones which to a trained eye create unbelievable screen characters. One is easy to observe the unbelievable screen time from when Aminata dissppears from the village, and the chief’s guards looking for her to the scene where she vomits, indicating pregnancy.

One characteristic trait of Aminata is that  writers, producers, cinematographers, and actors produced a piece of art that uniquely fits Sierra Leone, because imitating productions of neighboring Nigeria and Ghana would have killed the essense of the final product. The dawning of the day like cocks crowing, in this little village in the opening sequence of Aminata, ironically marks the dawning of new age of cinema in this West African enclave once referred to as, Athens of West Africa. Soon, larger than life celebs in the likes of Genenvieve Nnaji, Kanayo .O. Kanayo, Rita Dominic, John Okafor (Mr. Ibu) etc shall be cropping up all over the place. Kudos, mister producer!