Guardian

Desmond Elliot assures on new comic flick, The Place

GIVING a very rare money-back-guarantee, Desmond Elliot has said that he is ready to refund people’s money if they find his new movie, The Place, wanting.  In a statement issued last week, he said, “I know this is not the kind of thing people say in Nollywood, but I’m staking all on this movie, if you buy the DVD and it’s not ‘very funny’ to you, contact me, I will refund your money in full.” Without sounding immodest, the director said, The Place is his biggest movie project so far. “I know this will come across as chest-thumping to some people, but it is not.  I am 110 per cent sure of this movie. This is my biggest project so far, and is different from everyone I have done. It is not only a comedy, the script is ‘lively and engaging’; you won’t be able to do any other thing while watching the movie. If it falls short of your expectation, I will refund your money. That is a promise. You can contact me on Twitter or through the store you purchase the DVD, but it has to be the original,” he stressed.  Written by the comedian Mr. Patrick, it is the story of a book stolen from ‘The Place’ by an evil man. It needs to be retrieved before the evil man destroys the world. Who will save the world from destruction? Two unlikely heroes — Bishop Imeh and Mr. Patrick — decide to take the bull by the horn. The unfolding plots, dialogues and special effects form the basis for the ‘biggest comedy movie in recent times’, according to producer and director, Elliot. Co-produced by Uche Jombo Studios and Denziot Production, The Place will be released directly to DVD nationwide tomorrow. The movie features Uche Jombo, Gordons, Mr. Patrick Onyeka, Bishop Ime-Umoh, Jude Orhorha, Ruth Kadiri and Helen Paul.

Screen actors’ award for Nollywood

Weeks after she announced the commencement of re-registration exercise for all members of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Ibinabo Fiberisma, president of the guild, has announced plans to hold an award’s ceremony to be called Screen Actors Award. The award will take the form of a similar one organised by Screen Actors Guild of the United States. However, in addition to rewarding screen actors that have excelled, it will recognise individuals, corporate bodies, government and its agencies that have contributed to the growth of the industry. Already, a committee to organise the first edition has been inaugurated by the AGN President.  The maiden award has, as chairman, Don Pedro Aganbi, while Julius Omije is vice chairman. Other members of the committee are, Tony Akposheri (PRO), Ejiro Okurame (Mobilisation), Cynthia Agholor and Amaka Eze will be in charge of marketing the event. The 10-member committee has the responsibility of organising the Screen Actors Award, which, according to Fiberesima, is going to be the biggest in the industry. The AGN President also disclosed that entries or nominations for the award would be conducted through a dedicated website designed for that purpose as well as the social media, traditional media and text messages. “This award should be to the glory of Nigerian actors and thus should have the clapping of excellence in terms of organisation, class and appeal. AGN wants to use the Screen Actors Award to specifically bring to national notice that the industry today is a high contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria. Hence, there is need to celebrate the men and women, who, through their talents, have brought glory to the nation... It is going to be a reward night for the successes recorded by these men and women,” Ibinabo said, while assuring that the award has a lot of sponsorship opportunity for individuals, corporate bodies, governments and their agencies.

Dubai filmfest to launch encyclopedia of Arabic cinema

To celebrate its landmark 10th edition, the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) has launched an online poll of the region’s most prominent film critics, writers, novelists, academics and other cultural figures, who will collectively nominate the best 100 films of Arab cinema from its beginning to the present day. The resulting 100 films will be documented in an Arabic-English cinematic encyclopedia, to be released during the festival’s 10th anniversary edition, which holds from December 6 to 14. DIFF Chairman, Abdulhamid Juma, stressed the importance of this unique project, the first of its kind in the Arab world: “The encyclopaedia project provides an exceptional opportunity to identify the glorious milestones in the history of Arab cinema as judged by today’s most prominent cultural commentators. Since DIFF’s inception, our core mandate has been to support and nurture Arabic cinema, and we yearly recognise its greatest practitioners with our Lifetime Achievement Awards programme. A poll of this nature is key in documenting, promoting and preserving the Arabic cinematic legacy, for Arabs and non-Arabs alike.” The Cinematic Encyclopaedia will list the best 100 films, accompanied by scholarly and critical text from the Arab world’s most prominent critics, including historical data, information on the conditions of the productions, and background on the key creatives that made the films possible. The finished Encyclopaedia will be released during the DIFF 2013 and distributed to international and regional libraries as an indispensable reference to the study of Arab cinema. The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is the leading film festival in the Middle East and Africa. Since its inception in 2004, the festival has served as an influential platform for Arab filmmakers and talent at an international level, by spearheading the cinema movement in the region..