9jaNollywoodstars

The Yoruba movie industry like other genre of the Nigerian movie industry is witnessing a turn-around that is sure to place the industry in good stead in the larger movie industry. Some years back, no Yoruba movie was complete or good enough if the faces of some top artistes were missing. Then, a comedy movie without the face of Babatunde Omidina (Baba Suwe) and epic without Lere Paimo (Eda Onileola) was most likely to end up in the trash bin.In the same way, serious movies without the faces of Bayo Salami (Oga Bello), Yinka Quadri, Taiwo Hassan, amongst several others was considered unmarketable. Yes, give it to them. They were about the best in the trade and they gave their best churning out one blockbuster after another.The ladies too were not left out. Women like Mama Rainbow, Lanre Hassan (Iya Awero), Orisabunmi were top of the list for choice roles.

However, the tide has changed. Today, we have a new set of artistes who wow their fans with superlative performances that is gradually easing away the memories of the older artistes from the consciousness of the movie watching public.Top of the list of the new kids on the block are younger men like Yomi Fashlanso, Funsho Adeolu, Muyiwa Ademola Saheed Balogun, Bolaji Amusan (Baba Latin), Yemi Solade, to list a few. The ladies have an even longer list. Few among them are Opeyemi Ayeola, Lola Alao, Foluke Daramola and Bukky Wright.However, one particular feature of these young men and women is the level of their education. Most, if not all are university or polytechnic graduates. The consensus among movie aficionados is that education has played a major role in the emergence of these new kids on the block.

Yemi Solade:
With a good physique and a command of both Yoruba and English languages, Yemi has proved that he is indeed an all-round actor. Also, his ability to interpret roles has won him hordes of fans. A good example is Yemi’s role as a Ghanaian immigrant in “Madam Dearest”.Yemi Solade’s other hit appearances include N150 million and Awenibaku.

Mr. Latin:
This Abeokuta, Ogun State-based comedian has almost taken the shine off the other Yoruba movie comedians. His ability to make you laugh without necessarily going to the extreme has endeared him to many.Other reason his fans claim they love him is his subtle manner of interpreting difficult roles. Mr. Latin is sure going to make you laugh any day. A pip into his role in the flick entitled: ‘Sondoko” tells the story of a good interpreter of roles.Among Latin’s several other good flicks are Imported Lomo, Pink Lady, Obaj’oba lo and Sondoko.

Yomi Fashlanso:
Yomi has several things in common with Yemi Solade. Young, handsome and good command of both English and Yoruba languages put him in good stead for movie roles.He belongs to the new class of emerging force in the Yoruba movie industry that is crying for positive change.This force, though not known to many, is gradually bringing its idea of a good industry to bear on the industry. Olokada Iboji.

Muyiwa Ademola:
Muyiwa Ademola belongs to the class of the younger generation of Yoruba artistes that are gradually taking over both production and acting aspects of the industry from the older generation.With a good feature that makes him one of the toasts of the industry’s young ladies, Muyiwa has been able to merge his knowledge of production into good role interpretation. His emergence on the scene few years ago received a good stamp with a five star performance in movies like Ori, Ile amongst several others.

Saheed Balogun:
Saheed Balogun remains one of the few young men who has been able to blend together roles in both modern and epic movies. Saheed’s performance in a soap opera few years ago, his ability to drum and dance has proved that he is an all-round artiste.Married to a fellow artiste, Saheed’s good command of ancient Yoruba dialect means he fits in squarely into epic movies. Handsome and educated, Saheed has acted in roles that are too numerous to mention. He has acted the role of thug, drunkard, cultist, and banker to mention a few.He belongs to ranks of the younger generation that are presently dictating the pace in the industry. Among Saheed’s hit movies are Omo Alhaja, Mafikangbakan and Oju Ina.

Funso Adeolu:
Funso’s story is not in any way different from that of the other emerging young forces in the industry. His good command of the English language has come handy in movies with modern theme.

Bukky Wright:
Bukky, with little doubt, is presently on top of her world. From the time she burst into limelight with A-list performance in Saworoide and Agogo Eewo, this petit lady has churned out goods movies to the delight of her fans.To prove her mettle as an all-round artiste, Bukky’s role in television soap, Super Story was the icing on the cake of a solid career. She has used her petit stature to several good advantages, with roles as student, young girl etc.

Opeyemi Ayeola:
Yemi is no doubt the leader of the pack among the younger female artiest, judging by the number of roles she has played in recent movies. One particular attribute of this young lady is her total dedication and ability to interpret roles.Though still single, Opeyemi, most times has acted as wife and mother in Madam Dearest and Iyawo Panda deserves accolades from movie buffs.In Madam Dearest, she proved beyond any reasonable doubt that she belongs to the A-list of actresses in the Yoruba movie industry. Few of her works include Iyawo Panda, Ige Adubi.

Foluke Daramola:
As a graduate of International Relations, Foluke, from the onset was equipped for a life in the soap box. She is one of the few Yoruba artistes who started out with the English genre before crossing over to Yoruba.Today, Foluke is getting popular by the day. Her roles in movies like Lehin Odun Mewa, Final Year mean the mother of one has a bright future in the industry.

Lola Alao:
Heavily endowed Lola is one of the new faces in the Yoruba movie world. Her profile has remained on a steady rise since emerging on the scene few years ago. This new found status is no doubt rubbing off on her personality.

Loy Nabeta is a Ugandan and a Nollywood freak.He observedthat though our movie scenes are commendably African in the true sense but in maintaining this basic element, they don’t do any justice to the person who has an early wakeup call e.g the typically African wailing and falling over when someone dies.


I’m aware it will be hard, after writing this, for me to shake off accusations of being the poster child for successful Western cultural imperialism but one has to take the risk.I watched my first Nigerian movie in 1997. I was very impressionable then - for I was 10 years younger. And if my memory serves me, it was the hit movie (a hit in Nigeria, that is) titled Sakobi, which I think was also the name of its dazzling heroine. The movie, which was essentially about the wages of greed, featured a lot in the way of the supernatural, specifically the predominance of cults in Nigerian life. Although I thought it was generally an impressive piece of work, it also impacted on me in such a way that when I visited Nigeria later that year for two months, I found myself caught in an uncharacteristic paranoia that had me constantly looking over my shoulder, wanting to run from even my own shadow. I could never go out of the house alone!



I had thought I would go back to the shop to borrow some more Nigerian movies but I somehow never got round to doing so. Since then, however, back home in Uganda the Nigerian cinema bug has all but conquered everyone in its path - be they pastors, house girls, housewives or corporate types. Nigerian movies are a big deal and smart TV station proprietors are making the most of this seemingly insatiable demand.In fact, in Uganda today, when someone says they loved last night’s Ekinigeria (literally meaning, “Nigerian”) you are supposed to understand they enjoyed last night’s movie - and not the date with Olusegun or some Nigerian dude they just met. In Tanzania too, I have also found that there is no escaping the Ekinigeria bug. It is big. And these are just two countries. Would it surprise anyone that the Nigerian movie industry, now dubbed Nollywood, is a $600m enterprise (as of 2005)? I guess not.


What I find surprising though, is why - and I can’t think of a better way to put this - after sustained exposure over a long period of time to endlessly superior (Western) cinema, Africa is suddenly eagerly gobbling up such crassness, such directionless, tasteless, utterly embarrassing and annoying stuff that is now being strutted as “African cinema”? Seriously.Brainwashed brat? Guilty as charged. And while we are on the subject, switch on your TV for a moment and sass out the phoney American accents oozing from your favourite Nollywood stars and then tell me who is the fraud. Do they really have to speak that way? In my opinion, the Edge of Paradise, a Nigerian soap on M-Net, is about the only Nollywood product that has survived this vice - and that is why it’s the one thing I may allow myself to be caught indulging in as far as “African cinema” goes. That, and the Super Story series.
Oh yeah, some people will no doubt argue that it is not only Africans who are enjoying Nollywood. True. But the fact that people are watching doesn’t mean they are necessarily liking what they see. I suspect some viewers just want to see how far seemingly normal, decent looking African adults can go in clowning themselves today in the name of making movies. (Perhaps these viewers are understandably fed up with the chaotic politics and constant slaughter they find on the television news channels).

Virgin Nigeria theme for this year Nollywood Award is ‘Globalization of Nollywood – Opportunities for the Diaspora‘ and slated for October 27, 2007.The Virgin Nigeria – Afro Hollywood conference and 12th awards is a celebration of excellence in film, arts and entertainment.

The event offers an excellent vehicle for international corporate communication especially as Nollywood has established a bond between the Carribeans and the British Africans.This will be the third consecutive year, Virgin Nigeria Airways will be flying the Nollywood stars to receive the continents most valuable award in London, according to Virgin Nigeria Country Manager UK Stuart Bailey, “ We’ll continue to support Nollywood as we are a World Class Airline from the heart of Africa”. Meanwhile, the scramble for nomination among film practitioners has commenced for the most prestigious film and arts awards in the continent. A list of Nollywood stars and the best of African cinema actors and actresses representing South Africa, Ghana, as well as a host of other celebrities have attended in the past and also will be attending this glamorous awards evening now in its 12th successive year.

The 12th annual African Film & Arts Awards a.k.a Afro Hollywood 2007 will be held on the 27th of October 2007 at the London Hilton Metropolis between 6pm and 2am. Afro Hollywood Awards is the most prestigious and pioneering of Awards that have contributed very substantially to building the international profile of Africans, especially Nigeria’s growing collection of, film stars.This year, Afro Hollywood proposes to introduce an intellectual content into its annual recognition program by having a day of presentations at a film conference. The conference would then be capped with an awards ceremony in the evening. Over the years, Afro Hollywood has served the purpose of promoting and advancing the dynamic growth of Africa’s Film and Arts in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom.

‘African Voice Newspapers, Britain’s leading newspaper for Africans in Britain and BEN Television organisers of the event has announced 48 artistes nominated for this year’s prestigious awards. The list includes film practitioners, culture administrators and art patrons across the continent.The annual awards in its 12th year will release the names of the 18 Nollywood winners at a media event in Nigeria on the 30th September 2007. Also some British filmmakers will be visiting Nigeria to use the opportunity to explore areas of collaboration with Nigerian filmmakers.

The annual Africa Film and Arts Awards will celebrates it twelfth edition on Saturday October 27th, with some corporate organisations and top African Banks such as UBA REMIT, Fidelity Bank Plc confirming interest to attend the conference and awards aimed at targeting the Diaspora.Nollywood is the fastest growing Nigerian film industry that has united the Diaspora community through the high quality of entertainment and the popularity of their cast and crew. Therefore, it serves very well as an effective marketing tool for companies seeking to deepen relations and gain greater exposure for their products with the African Diaspora.

According to Mike Abiola, founder & CEO of Afro Hollywood “Starting the week commencing 9th of September in the UK, Ben TV our broadcast partner have commence transmission of last year's event and continuously for 8 weeks till the D - Day which is the 27th October. The event will have a 30mins airtime 3.30pm – 4.00 pm on Sundays tagged - The Afro Hollywood Show - showing highlights from the past 11 editions of the annual event. Also, African Voice Newspapers will give readers a full insight and continuous update.High flying professionals in events packaging both in the UK and Nigeria such as Aneka Johnson of Miss Black Britain, Christian Udechukwu of Business in Africa Events, the MD of CMC Connect Yomi Badejo-Okusanya and Actress Golda John Afro Hollywood UK event co ordinator have thrown their weight behind this year’s event to make sure it meets the needs of our corporate sponsors.

Afro Hollywood expects to use this year’s event to attract more investors and further encourage British – Nigerian collaboration.The Awards 2007 is supported by the British Film Institute (BFI), Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC) and Nigeria Film Video and Censors Board.Minaj Broadcasting International is the broadcast partner in Nigeria

Kenyan filmmakers(10) who were recently in Nigeria acknowledged the effort of the participants in the Nollywood and gave them a kudo on their returned to their country,they said they learned secrets behind the runaway success of Nollywood.

The group, drawn from an Mnet-Kenya Film Commission project, even made a joint short movie with their hosts, titled Lost In Lagos, which tries to debunk the myth that nobody is to be trusted in Nigeria.We were bashed about it but as the returnees now confirm, it was an invaluable learning experience" says Nyatichi Nyasani, acting chief executive of the Kenya Film Commission.

Last week, Mnet hosted the group, who narrated their experiences in Nigeria.Their most important discovery was that the Nigerians have developed a dependable marketing and distribution network for their productions.

They started by using spare part dealers all over Lagos to retail their works. They have grown into full-fledged outlets that wholesale and retail Nollywood productions, said one of the members of the Kenyan group.

They claimed that Nigerians emphasise that the script must be viewed from a commercial point even as you focus on family-oriented stories - these stand the best chance of making good sales. The story must have a strong local content and appeal to the viewers' cultural tastes.But probably even more compelling for the Kenyans, was the sheer energy that drives Nollywood - film makers work round the clock, and shoot 20 hours a day, meaning a shoot that would ordinarily take a week is done in three days. Furthermore, they do not wait till they can afford sophisticated filming equipment to make a film.

Sheila Mulinya said"I saw people make movies using mobile phones. As long as the story is good, they know that they will sell,".

"We are continuously told that our quality is substandard. I wonder - substandard to whose production?" the film maker Robert Bresson, whose new movie Help: Africa's dilemma is about to be released, asked.

Many see television as a closed shop but hope to tap from the Riverwood concept of making films straight for sale."We can certainly build up to the Nigeria level. It is all a matter of being conscious about doing movies that tell our own stories," said Mr Bresson.

According to Mrs Patricia Mbatia-Macharia of Mnet, this is an aspect that needs to be developed."Although Kenya has had a vibrant production scene in the past five years, our cinema needs to tell more local stories," she said.

"We can certainly build up to the Nigeria level. It is all a matter of being conscious about doing movies that tell our own stories," said Mr Bresson.

ALL THESE ARE EXPERIENCES the film makers hope to apply despite the obstacles of lack of funding and poor market attitudes from broadcasting stations

Though it is their desire to get married just like their counter parts in other professions, fame has been a stumbling block to this desire. While some have long dating routines with a promise to get married soon, others manage lives of single parenthood, hoping as they get older, they will accomplish the normal life ritual of holy matrimony. With the numerous admirers, and women wanting more than platonic relationships, it becomes a long road to marriage for these actors.

Chidi Mokeme:
Chidiebere Geoffrey Azubuike Mokeme, known to most of his fans as Chidi Mokeme, has made his stand known to all that he is not a man of scandals, but they were speculations of an intimacy between him and Senator Ita Giwa, the special adviser to The President on House of Assembly matters. Chidi cleared that issue, saying there is no iota of truth in that rumour. Chidi who is in his mid thirties was the anchorman for Gulder Ultimate Search one and two. Few years back when he was asked why he was not married, he said “I’m making sure that I prepare a good foundation for the woman who’s coming in.” The woman in question then was not known to any, according o Chidi, she wants to be out of pubic glare. Chidi was so sure then that both of them were alter bound. Chidi who is the first in a family of four, said his parents had faith in him since they know what he is doing, regarding his status as a bachelor. Chidi a father of a seven year child, has changed, he says he is not in a hurry to get married as God’s time is the best for him.

Kalu Ikeagwu:
Kalu Ikeagwu became a household name for his roles as Jeny, a loving and very supportive husband to Ada ( Kate Henshaw) in Domino, a soap shown on the African Independent Television (AIT ) . The English Graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s acting career started when he was student. Though he has featured in ” For real”, Darkest a Night amongst others, his love life has not been in the public glare for this simply reason, he just came back into the country some years back. He said he is engaged. and his fiancee lives in Kaduna, though she is from Abia State. He also made quite clear that he has no special affection for any of his female fans who may want to take any relationship beyond being a fan of his. He also said he is not that much of a catch.

Emeka Okoro:
Emeka Okoro is Emeka also referred to as yellow man in the industry. His fans remember him for his role in Blood Diamond, a movie sponsored by Sam Kargbo and produced by Teco Benson, Though he has always desired to be a star some day, luck paved way for the realization of that dream when his friend, Emeka Kurimo told about the audition of the movie, Dirty Deal. Since then his face has graced other movies, like, “ The Senator”, “ Occultic Battle” , “First Love”, “ One Love, among many others. Okoro who says that kissing in Nollywood movies are not real is yet to get married.

Patrick Uchenna Attah:
Pat as he is popularly referred to by his fans and colleagues, believes marriage is a lifelong commitment and a man has to prepare adequately for it. Therefore he will get married as soon as he is ready. By his own observations, it is the same manner people rush in that they rush out. He has made bold his statement that he will get married, but he is not in a hurry or under any pressure to get married. Few years after he this statement, Pat who has been said to have dated some of his female colleagues, including the cream de la cream in the industry is still exercising patience or better still, yet to find miss right, but he has made it catergorically clear that he is not a playboy. Pat who hails from Anambra State had his major break through his acting career with Mega Fortunes, a soap showed in the early eighties on the Nigerian Television Authority ( NTA ) yet he has also featured in Jealous Lovers, Arrows 1 and 2 amongst others.

Jim Iyke:
Jim, Rita Dominic and some other artistes were once new faces of romance in Nollywood movies, though it was said then that they actually had the real romance though things did not work out. Jim’s romance with the former Vice President’s daughter was also a public knowledge to his fans until both of them went their separate ways due to the fact that the first family did not approve of Jim’s association with their daughter. Jim is the founder of The Jim lyke Foundation, a non governmental organisation for facially deformed Children (J.ED.C) He was said to be in a romance with a Nigerian based in London few years back. Till date no wedding invitation has been sent to the printer.

Aki and Pawpaw:
The duo Osita Iheme popularly known as Pawpaw and Chinedu Ikedieze also known as Aki are also in the league of those whose wedding invitation are being expected, that is if they are not also far from the altar. Chinedu a graduate of Mass Communication from the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Enugu while Osita is a student of Mass Communication at Enugu State University. They are in their mid and late twenties respectively. Though they have acted the role of both children and adult that some of their fans sometimes miss take them for children. Osita and Chinedu are not married, but they are seriously looking forward to the day it will happen as both of them said they are in a serious relationship.

Saint Obi $ Segun Arinze:
These two can be said to be in the senior singles club of those whose journey is far away from the alter. After saint Obi released his movie, Take me to Mama, he stepped aside for a while from acting, even when he came back, he featured in few movies. Segun Arinze whose marriage to Ann Njemanze, a fellow actress in the industry crashed. He has been linked with several women including Stella Din, a former staff with Silverbird Television. He is said to have gotten three children from three different women.

Ezuronye Mike & Muna:
Though he said he is not a ladies man, it was speculated that he was romantically involved with Ini Edo, but he claimed ignorance of such a relationship.Muna Obiekwe and Ini Edo have appeared in a good number of movies together and it was also rumoured that they have an undying chemistry. The movies they both featured in includes, “Faces Of Beauty” and “Songs Of Solomon”, “He Lives in Me”, “Songs Of Sorrow”, “Enemies in Love”, “It's Juliet or No One”, “Wasted Effort amongst others

Source/Credits: Nigeria Films