Founder of the Nollywood Travel Film Festival, Mr Mykel Parish, has commended the inclusion of Nigerians in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership (OSCARS), describing it as a boost for Nollywood.
He said, “The NTFF is very excited about the inclusion as this becomes a major gateway to project the bigger picture for Nollywood. Parish added that this milestone provides an opportunity for stakeholders in the industry, including the NTFF, to popularize Nollywood and African films on global stages.
The Nollywood Travel Film Festival is an initiative seeking to promote films by Nigerians all over the world to new and existing global audiences, with the objective of creating new marketplaces for Nigerian cinema. At the moment, it is gearing up for the November edition of the festival and will be screening a selection of films made by Nigerians. The event, which is scheduled to hold in Edinburgh, Scotland from the 2nd to 4th of November 2018, is in partnership with African Motion Film Festival, Scotland.
Among the veterans of the Nigerian film industry, or Nollywood as it is most popularly referred to, who have been added to the Academy’s membership are actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, filmmaker Femi Odugbemi, Nigerian-British actress Wunmi Mosaku and producer Ngozi Onwurah.
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde
Omotola has acted in over 300 films. She started her acting career in 1995 when she got a role for Venom of Justice after accompanying a friend to the audition. She has since grown to become Africa’s biggest box office actress, with her thriller movie Last Flight to Abuja beating Hollywood blockbusters Spiderman, Ice Age, The Avengers, Think Like a Man and Madagascar to earn an enviable 2nd place on the list of highest-grossing movies in West Africa in 2012.
She has since added singer and reality TV star to her portfolio, with numerous international awards and recognition. NTFF awarded her Best Actress in 2017 for her role in the movie Alter Ego.
Femi Odugbemi
Femi is a Nigerian documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, cinematographer, director, producer and photographer. He is credited with the scripting, directing and production of the multiple award-winning documentary, Bariga Boys, as well as the production of Tinsel – Nigeria’s most successful television drama in recent times.
He is also a Fellow of Theatre Arts, Nollywood Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP), and a 2013 Excellence Awardee in Film, by the Society for the Performing Arts in Nigeria (SPAN).
Wunmi Mosaku
Actress Wunmi Mosaku is based in the UK where she practices her trade. She has featured in over 22 television series including Law & Order: UK, airing in various UK television channels, and at least 10 films including Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2017 for her role as in the TV film Damilola, Our Loved Boy.
Ngozi Onwurah
Ngozi is a Nigerian born British film director, producer and lecturer. Her family fled Nigeria to England with her to escape the Nigeria civil war.
Her 1988 film Coffee Colored Children won 1st Prize- Short Feature Category, BBC; Prized Pieces Award- Nollywood; Black Programming Consortium, US; Golden Gate Award- San Francisco Film Festival; and Films de Femmes- Creteil, France.
Feature image from Supicket.com
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