And we overcame.

A Nigerian Police station.

Bursting Out!

It's 2am.We are by a poolside. We have been setting up for almost six hours for this scene. The extras are all dressed, the music is ready, the director seems satisfied but just as his is about to shout action, it starts to rain. Heavily. The scene is cancelled. We'll have to do it another day.

Edikan!

The part 1 was shot last year, it was going to remain as a one part film but well wishers in the industry advised against it so we went back for a part two. The church we initially used has been dismantled. We improvise. It's not a high budget film so we film in Surulere and its environs. Not a very good idea as generator sounds are crazy. From 7pm it's almost impossible to shoot. Several times we have to beg the residents to hold out a few more minutes before putting on the heavy machines. Some comply eager to be of help, some think we must be crazy.

In lekki/Ikoyi, almost all the generators are sound proof. So many things divide the island from the mainland and it isn't just water.

Despite the challanges, we finished both shoots. Now I know why they write To God be the Glory as end credit.

'Bursting out' is a romantic comedy. 'Edikan' attempts to redress the issue of child witchcraft in Akwa Ibom state without sounding preachy.

I am happy to have been a part of both productions with such great cast and crew.

This week on Artsville.....

The thing around your neck.

This month Chimamanda does it again with her new book; The thing around your neck, a collection of short stories. The book is published by fourth estate and is available for purchase online at Amzon.

This month also Emem Isong hits the screen again with Guilty pleasures an intense love story. The movie is produced by Emem Isong and Desmond Elliot and it stars: Ramsey Noah,Mercy Johnson, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Omoni Oboli,Marjid etc.Guilty pleasures is not yet available for purchase but the trailer is making webwaves.

A Nigerian wins commonwealth writers' prize

Akwa Ibom State born Jesuit priest; Father Uwem Akpan has won the Commonwealth writers' prize for his debut book: 'Say you're one of them.' 'Say you are one of them' is a collection of five short stories about the painful experiences of children in five different African countries: Kenya,Rwanda,Nigeria,Benin and Ethiopia. These horror experiences are all narated by children. One of the featured stories was shortisted for the Caine Prize. Uwem Akpan has received much praise for his work. Say you're one of them is published by Abacus.

Below is a full list of this year's winners;

Best Book

Jhumpa Lahiri (UK) Unaccustomed Earth

Marina Endicott (Canada) Good to a Fault

Mandla Langa (South Africa) The Lost Colours of the Chameleon

Christos Tsiolkas (Australia) The Slap

Best First Book

Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan) A Case of Exploding Mangoes

Joan Thomas (Canada) Reading by Lightning

Uwem Akpan (Nigeria) Say You're One of Them

Mo Zhi Hong (New Zealand) The Year of the Shanghai Shark

Still on Slumdog Millionaire

A friend of mine just drew my attention to Reuben Abati's article here-http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article02//indexn2_html?pdate=060309&ptitle=Slumdog%20Millionaire%20and%20Nollywood (sorry blogger wasnt accepting the link, had to copy and paste.)

I knew someone was going to make the comparison, I just didn't think it would be him. It is a well written piece as most of his articles are but what exactly do they mean by this:
'If the Indians can do it, Nigerians can do it too. If we want to rebrand Nigeria, that is what we should be doing. Slumdog Millionaire is a great branding opportunity for India.'

How exactly is Slumdog millionaire a branding opportunity for India? what is it branding? The slums? the crime? the abject poverty? the child prostitution? etc. I have never been to India but this is the image I now have of it,thanks to Slumdog millionaire. Is this the same way we want to brand Nigeria; to show the corruption, the crime, the juju, the lack of power supply, the inefficient police etc. Because we would have to show the dark side of Africa to win an Oscar. Tsotsi- the South African film to win one did and so did City of God-the Brazillian film.
While these things exist in these countries, they also exist in the West, but I am yet to see a movie depicting and possibly exagerating the teenage knife crime in the Uk.

To win an Oscar, dear Reuben Abati and Toyin Subair, while a good story, directing etc may be important, what would be most important would be to show the darkest side of us. Binyavanga Wainana puts it perfectly in his article 'How to write about Africa'.
Nollywood needs to up it's game as they very well will, but it won't be in an attempt to win an Oscar, it would be first to give its audience a better experience which they deserve.

British Council is SWALLOWED up at NIGHT by CREAKING BEDS

Last night, Sefi Atta and Toni Kan read from their books at the British council. Sefi from her two books: Lawless, a collection of short stories and Swallow, her second novel. Both books are published by Farafina. Toni Kan read stories from Nights of a creaking bed, also a collection of short stories published by cassava republic.

I was not expecting Toni Kan so I was happy to see him: two for the price of one. The two authors are quite different. Toni kan, vibrant and loquacious while Sefi sat demure and calm. Lawless and Night of a Creaking Bed are both set in Lagos and in this the two writers find a common ground. The conversation is centred around Lagos. In one of kan’s stories, a man attempts to move an electric cable off a Lagos road and gets electrocuted. Kan explains that this is an extension of real life as he actually experienced such a scene while driving past some Lagos suburb. He was convinced the man was new to town so he decided to build a story round it. Who touches fallen cables in Lagos? Sefi is shocked that Toni drove past, coming from abroad she thinks one should stop. Who stops by a corpse in Lagos? Only if you want to be the next corpse. Toni says.

Both writers chatter on for a few miutes about their fascination with Lagos. Toni says he will almost always write about Lagos and while Sefi does not say so, she confesses it’s their shared love for Lagos that drew them to each other.
Toni is asked to review swallow. Fortunately for Sefi, it is a good review, one of the few she has gotten for the novel swallow. Toni extols it and says other critiques must be talking about a different swallow. Atta rises to her own defence advising reviewers to put more energy into writing their works than condemning someone who is writing. We are informed that she doesn’t read her reviews. I think it is a good idea and decide that I too, will not read my reviews. No need to get a heartache.

It was a good event, well organised. Farafina surprised me by keeping to schedule. It was also well attended. Sefi continues to read at at Terraculture on Friday, the 27th and at quintessence on saturday the 28th between 3 and 5pm.

On the Church

Okay, I know this has nothing to do with Nollywood or Arts. Thinking about it, perhaps it does as the noise pollution caused by the church is affecting my creativity.
I wonder if life in Nigeria has not been made difficult enough by the government , that the citizens should choose to make it harder. There’s barely any electricity as such there is no water as it can’t be pumped(that is for those of us privileged to have boreholes).A friend of mine says each compound in Lagos is a local government; you provide your own power supply with a generator, your water supply with a bore hole or well depending on which part of town you live in, your own health care by self prescribing your own drugs: headache? Grab some paracetamol and if symptoms persist after three days, try agbo. So you are lying in the heat worrying about water to have a bath in the morning, being feasted upon by mosquitoes and then the church piano starts humming. It’s 12am and so you think it must be the rat that accidentally touched some chords, but you start to hear voices, softly at first then as if suddenly determined to sing louder than the angels, the voices increase. You get up, your hope of getting any sleep completely gone.
There is a church beside me driving me crazy. There is always one service or another, day and night. If it is not women’s fellowship, it is men’s assembly. In January, they had service every evening. Not only do they constitute such terrible noise pollution, they take up the entire parking space made for occupants of the street as it is a small street and the church happens to be big. Now they are building a church three times the size of the present one just across me. They have taken up more than half the road with gravels/sand making parking and driving through very difficult and of course some driver bashes my parked car. I have finally had it and complain to the church, they blame it on the contractor and offer to pay for the damage. That’s a laugh isn’t it, Like I employed the contractor. I don’t take their money.
My question is this: This blatant disregard for the next being that is often exhibited by these churches , is that not in itself sin? How do they stand there before an altar and raise supposed holy hands in worship knowing that the blasting noise is causing many people despair? Is the core of Christianity not love, love and love again? The government would do well to ban all churches from operating in residential areas but I doubt it would be President Yaradua or Governor Fashola as that would probably cause a religious war. It would have to be when a Christian is in power , let’s see who the fanatics would have to say about that.
Two of my neighbours attend the church and by so doing have endorsed them so I fight a lone battle.

THE LONDON AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL

See details here