The Black Panther Fever

‘Black Panther’ is a movie that has been as talked about by Nigerians as much as the producer, director, cast and crew of the movie.

First was the powerful trailer that whetted appetites all around, without forgetting that it is a movie that paints Africa in a different light, away from the previous notions of Africa’s impoverishments.

The appearance of Nollywood’s Funke Akindele on the cast list turned things up a notch and the subsequent removal of her name and the addition of the beloved Genevieve Nnaji to the list, while dampening Nigerian spirits, failed to make it less anticipated.

This past Valentine’s Day, though quite eventful was dulled by the anticipation of the cinema release, which took place yesterday, February 16.

In fact, when many ‘Black Panther’ loyalists heard that Nairabox held a private media viewing of the movie at the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas in the Palms Shopping Mall on Tuesday, February 13, they were highly disappointed.

Lupita Nyong’o, speaking about the movie earlier in the week stated that she is more excited about “the celebration of pan-Africanism because this movie is really about a contemporary Africa relating very intimately with a contemporary America via the characters of ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Killmonger’. We’re talking about some really deep issues that we don’t often voice but we all feel.

Chadwick Boseman in his own statement said, “A lot of times, being (a black man) in Hollywood when you get material, you’ll read it and you’ll be like, ‘That’s not us.’ When I got the initial call from Kevin Feige, my hope was that they would have the courage to give ‘Black Panther’ its true essence and put somebody behind it that would have my same passion for what it could be. And they did that.”

The director, Ryan Coogler, explained his idea on changing the narrative of Africa. “The narrative about the continent that we know is actually a fairly recent narrative if you think about human history.   It’s a narrative that was born out of what happened when the countries of Africa were conquered. But the truth is that some of those places that people might refer to as backwaters — and these recent comments definitely aren’t the first time somebody has said something like that — were the cradle of civilization.   They were the first places to do anything that we would consider to be civilized. All the structures that we built in Wakanda, they’re taller structures of what you’ll find in Africa. Some of them we switched up — instead of mud, we used (the fictional super metal) vibranium — but those are buildings that you’ll really find in Mali, in Ethiopia, in Nigeria. I spent about three weeks in Africa (doing research for “Black Panther”) and I truly felt that seeing it for myself was necessary for my growth as a human being. That experience made me not only capable (of writing) this film, but it made me whole as a person.”

With these many accolades and expectations, ‘Black Panther’ has successfully created a fever all around the world, without leaving Nigeria out of the mix. Judging by the smiles of the first set of viewers, it was a fever worth catching.

Foreign Exchange Actors: The Nolly-Holly Mix

Genevieve

A dventure is the best way to learn. It is the norm all around the world for students of a certain country to study abroad at one of their school’s partner institutions. These foreign exchange programmes provide students with an opportunity to learn in a different country and environment, experiencing the history and culture of another country.

Jim Iyke

For some reason, it is a system that works and has over the years built synergy bThe term ‘exchange’ means that a partner institution accepts a person, but does not necessarily mean that the person has to find a counterpart from the other institution with whom to exchange.

These days, however, students are not the only category of people being exchanged, actors have joined the mix and even though it is not a full-blown programme, there is potential in such partnerships, as talents have been exchanged between countries.

Omotola

Nollywood is an industry that has grown exponentially over the years — up to the point that many who constantly quote that fact do not truly understand the ramification of that growth.

Ours is an industry that has able representation on the international movie market, both for the quality of films we produce and the number of movies we produce. Our movies tour world film festivals unabashedly and many international bodies have named the Nigerian movie industry as one to watch.

Initially, the foreign exchange started with smaller industries like Gollywood, but in the last decade, it has become the norm for Hollywood actors, Cinema of the United Kingdom actors and the likes to feature in Nigerian movies and movie produced in Nigeria by Nigerian filmmakers.

While we had all thought such talent exchange would be one-sided, it has been a mutually beneficial relationship. Talents have been swapped on several occasions, and it looks like it is an exchange programme that is here to stay.

Recollect the recent inclusion of Genevieve in the Black Panther movie.

Asides that, other Nollywood actors that have enjoyed the benefit of the talent exchange include: Osas Ighodaro in the 2015 movie, ‘Where Children Play’ where she starred alongside Grammy Award winner Macy Gray, Brian White and Teyonah Parris.

Jim Iyke in the 2013 movie ‘And then There was You’ with Garcelle Beauvais, Lynn Whitfield, Greg Vaughan, Leon Robinson, Kate Nauta and Brian White.

Stephanie Linus Okereke in ‘Boonville Redemption’. The American Western Epic movie also starred Pat Boone, Diane Ladd, Edward Asner, Emily Hoffman, Nicholas Neve Shari Rigby and Richard Tyson.

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde in ‘Hit The Floor’. In 2013, the actress made a cameo appearance in the first season of the popular drama series. She starred alongside Akon 6.

Olu Jacobs, an actor almost as old as the Nigerian film industry, has starred in several international films.

Nigerian actor, Stanley Aguzie also featured in ‘Vikings’ and ‘Into The Badlands’.

This is just as a number of Hollywood stars such as Isaiah Washington, Vivica Fox and Kim Basinger, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tomiwa Edun and the likes have featured in Nollywood films.

These actor exchanges have become quite popular and show enough potential to benefit participants because even though there are also many difficulties to be encountered, these talents improve themselves through the experience.