I don't hear/see a lot of films coming out of camwood?camollywood?...am not sure what they are calling the movie industry in Cameroon these days. And while we are on the topic of wood....why do other countries feel the need to align with the name Hollywood? Why not decide that...... hey, we are going to come up with our own unique name....a name that in some sense represents the culture or region in which our movie industry took off?....
Which is why I DISLIKE African movies that try to act american....stay with the African motif! There's a way you can still show a modern African society without coming off as if you are blatantly trying to imitate Hollywood. Ghana producer Shirley Frimpong understands this and I looooooooove all her movie. You gotta check them out on www.hulu.com. Her movies such as Checkmate, A sting in the Tale, 24 Hr to Christmas, and many more are available FREE ^_^
Now back to the topic of the day: Ninah's Dowry
It's a new movie out of Cameroon and its gonna premiere at the Fort Laudadale, Florida International Film Festival on NOV 12th 2012. Obviously I am currently in New England and will not be attending. If you're in Florida and get a chance to watch it, hit me up with the 411? Perhaps I'll let you do a guest blog post about the film and experience?
Synopsis of Ninah's Dowry
At 20, Ninah is a veteran wife of 7 years and a mother of 3 who is stuck in an abusive relationship with no hope of change. When news of her gravely ill father reaches her, she disobeys her husband's orders not to go so she could speak her peace to the man who put her in bondage. After her father dies, Ninah refuses to return home and stays instead to run a small restaurant. When news reaches her husband that Ninah is pregnant, he comes to recover the dowry he paid or take home the woman he owns. By any means necessary.
Irrespective of where you're from, support African business..how else are we going to spark our economies into growth?
Wow...this is interesting!Thanks a lot for sharing!Honestly I still don't get why we must have "wood" in the name of our movie industry...Get creative..May be CFI (Cameroon Film Industry)..I am happy that a Cameroonian film is getting international exposure..
ReplyDeleteBTW...I totally love Shirley Frimpong's movies..
ReplyDelete"There's a way you can still show a modern African society without coming off as if you are blatantly trying to imitate Hollywood"....Spot on and very much on point!!
My current obsession.....the series ADAM'S APPLE...i've watched all of it...but the grande finale was made into a movie that came out in theaters in ghana...i've been hunting online everywhere for this finale...any ideas? have you heard of it?
ReplyDeletehahaha...I have watched the Adams apples movie series 100 times over and still can't get over it..lol. Search the youtube channel of "sarkosamful"...You will be pleasantly surprised!!I love Youtube!
ReplyDeleteIt is not only the Wood thing that is my problem. There is a new issue that is at hand...the "RED CARPET" issue. Lots of the new generation filmmakers are doing films for Red Carpet events to self praise. Instead of working harder, we have developed a new fancy in celebrating our mediocrity. Some actors have even gone far to brand themselves "Fabulous 6 and Fabulous 4" . The Irony is that amongst the self branded Fabulous 10 a great lot of them are not good performers, and most of all they forget that they were made by certain producers and Director. They have "arrived".
ReplyDeleteConcerning the wood affair, I had once proposed a branding name some years back. Considering the fact that Cameroon lies on a range of green Volcanic highlands. I had proposed "THE VERDANT HILLS". The concept took off quite well, but because the industry got hijacked by copy-cats, this idea went into slumber. The god thing is that greater than 3/4 of the film stake holders in Cameroon don't buy the wood idea. They rather prefer to attribute themselves to CFI "Cameroon Film Industry". Compare those who propagate the "wood" to their academic standards, you will understand.
God Bless the creative tendencies of our country.
I'm not a professional in the movie industry be it in cameroon, usa or any part of this planet. I think its great to celebrate all our achievements. Big or Small. But, as we celebrate, we should not forget we still have a lot of work to do.We are still very far away from emulating the success of Hollywood, USA.
ReplyDeleteAll the best wishes to the Cameroon movie industry. As customers and fans of African movies, we will continue to hold the industry to high standards if they want our support.
So, ma petite niche, has anyone given you feedback on the film? More than 30 Cameroonians were at the Ft. Lauderdale World Premiere. The film ended up winning Best Film and Best Actress in a Foreign Film! It had its International Premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, last night Friday 2013! And it will play FESPACO and the Big Muddy Film Festival next!
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