Green Passport
Green Passports is a reality television series that is set to highlight the lives of 13 Nigerians who have come to the United States and tried to establish themselves in a foreign land. It follows their journeys, highlighting their successes and failures, and brings home the realities of life in America. Is life in America all that we imagine it to be? The Green Passport will show you what it takes to succeed. There is a wonderful array of individuals ranging in age from 15 to 59. The jobs they hold are wide and varied, emphasising that the American dream is possible. Question is, would you take some of the jobs they have taken, if you were living in Africa? The first show will be on October 1, 2007. Visit the site for more information.
Van Vicker – Ghana’s Sexy Leading Man
Van Vicker is a hearthrob that has got women dreaming of having his baby. Born to a Ghanian/Liberian mother, and a Dutch father, he has made his mark in the popular movie series Mummy’s Girl. His other movies have included the Beyonce series, Divine Love, and Darkness of Sorrow. A leading role in a 10 series television special, Suncity, where he portrayed an American born student who arrives in Suncity to complete his education helped make him a household name and re-affirmed his status as one of the most popular male actors in the Ghanian acting scene. He was recently in New York to promote his latest movie, The American Boy and got a chance to meet a multitude of adoring fans who span the diaspora from Africa to the Caribbean, and even South America. One of the most hotly debated topics right now is whether he is hotter than Nollywood superstar, Ramsey Nouah, Jr. We’ll let you decide. Van is married to Adjoa Van Vicker and they have two beautiful children. Somehow he also manages to host a TV show, Game TV, run an advertising agency/events management company, and a barber shop. Definitely a combination of brains and brawn.
Benta
Benta is a girl who comes from a well-to-do family. Unfortunately the tables turn when her parents are killed by a drunk driver and she is forced to go work as a maid to earn money for her family. She soon discovers that the woman of the house is cruel and malicious. The son of the house is interested in her but cannot be involved with her since she is ‘just the maid’. Her situation is made worse when the man of the house starts to visit her in the middle of the night and rapes her. She deals with rape and abuse as she struggles to keep her sanity.The plot moves fast and the movie highlights issues that face many young girls whose circumstances force then to work as maids to take care of their families. View the trailer below.
Stan Barua – Reeling in the Awards
Stanislaw Barua is a gifted Kenyan/Polish director of photography who has a long list of awards tied to his name and craft.
His movies have covered everything from drama to documentaries. One of his films, ‘Raisin’ Kane’, won the HBO Documentary Prize at the 2001 Urban World Film Festival, New York, and Best Documentary at the 2001 ReelWorld Film Festival in Toronto. ‘Baba’s House’ won for the Best Canadian Short Drama in the Atlantic Film Festival in 2002 and was nominated for Best Photography in a Dramatic Program or Series in the Gemini Awards. His recent work has included work in 2004 on the documentary series ‘My Brand New Life’ which was nominated in 2005 for a Gemini award for Best Children’s or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series; The musical television miniseries ‘The TO Variety Show’ which was nominated for the Gemini awards for Best Picture Editing in a Comedy, Variety or Performing Arts Program or Series, Best Direction in a Variety Program or Series, Best Music, Variety Program or Series, Best Performance or Host in a Variety Program or Series in 2006; and ‘Drag’ in 2007. He has also worked as a camera operator on the movie ‘The In-Laws’ featuring Michael Douglas in 2003, and as a cinematographer in 2005 on the movie ‘Smudge’. » Read more…
Catch A Fire
Derek Luke gives an electrifying performance as Patrick Chamusso, a young apolitical man who works at the oil refinery and provides for his family. He goes out of his way to make no trouble. But trouble finds him when he is falsely accused of carrying out an attack against the government. An overzealous white officer, Nic Vos, played by Tim Robbins makes turning the Chamusso family’s life upside down his number one priority. Bonnie Henna plays the character of Precious Chamusso in such a sincere manner that makes you root for her. The viewer learns to love her despite her mounting insecurities against her husband. » Read more…
Youssour N’dour – Return to Goree
Youssou N’dour travels back to Goree Island and traces the steps of the slaves and their music as they journeyed to the west. He explores how their journey helped to shape jazz and gospel music and traces their movement through some of the music centers in the United States and Europe. He travels from Atlanta to New Orleans, New York to Bordeaux and Luxembourg, and works with many different artists and musicians to document the styles that developed in jazz and gospel. Pyeng Threadgill, Ernie Hammes, and Idris Muhammed are some of the names that come together to help piece this story . Punctuated by beautiful music both by Youssou N’dour and other artists, this documentary weaves a beautiful tale of lives that have overcome their circumstances to provide music that can help us transcend to a place full of joy and victory. You can view the trailer below.
Iniobongo (Ini) Edo – Nollywood Superstar
Who is Ini Edo? She is a Nollywood superstar who has made her mark at an early age. Ini Edo, born Iniobongo Edo in Akwa Ibom State, in Nigeria, is a twenty-five year old actress who has graced the Nollywood scene with her great acting ability. A sexy, charismatic, outspoken woman, she has been the center of controversy for her way of dressing and her penchant for speaking her mind. Acting was not her first career choice–she wanted to be a lawyer or a newscaster, but fate flung her into the career she was meant to pursue. She auditioned for a part in the movie Snake Kingdom and so impressed the director that he asked her parents for permission to let her act. Launched into stardom with her appearance in the movie, ‘Child of Destiny’, she went on to star in several movies, including World Apart, Mine Forever, Women Affair, I Swear, Still in Love, Love and Marriage, and Beautiful Faces. She was nominated for best actress in the African Academy Movie Awards (AAMA). In April 2007, the Actor’s Guild of Nigeria banned her for her for one year for ‘…..gross misconduct ….and an outright violation of professional ethics.’ In an interview with Vanguard newspaper on August 25, 2007, she talked about the reason for the ban (she had been working for 24 hours straight and left at 3 a.m. as she was not feeling well), and the fact that she is grateful that it has been lifted. She is currently viewing different scripts and trying to decide what movie she will act in next.
My Fathers Love
This story about love, evil, sacrifice and betrayal, is set in a Nigerian village where a man and his two wives and daughter live. They are a happy family of farmers who respect their village traditions. As the title suggests, the story line is centered on the relationship between the father and his daughter Nnumwa–a close pair who share a special song that praises each other. The father’s verse of the song talks about the love a father has for his child and how that child is especially precious because she is seen as ‘the only palm nut in the fire’ or in other words an only child. Nnumwa’s verse in the song, praises a father who loves his daughter unconditionally and without reservation.The twist in the plot comes when Nnumwa’s father lures her to an untimely death with a song. She is killed by the father who loved her so much. The father is driven to murder by his second younger wife, who does not want to share her husband with any other woman even if it was a daughter. Her vaulting ambition does not stop there, as she plots to oust the first wife. After Nnumwa’s death, her mother,the first wife, is beside herself with grief. The villagers, however, think that Nnumwa has been kidnapped by people in a rival village. The riveting conclusion sees Nnumwa’s restless spirit come to her mother in the form of a singing bird. It reveals the shocking secret that Nnumwa was killed by her father as a result of his second wife’s jealousy and manipulation. This revelation pushes the father to commit suicide at the same place where Nnumwa lies.
NOLLYWOOD: AFRICA’S RIDE TO THE BIG SCREEN?
Watch out Hollywood…Look out Bollywood…Here comes Nollywood!
Nollywood, Nigeria’s promising film industry is based in Lagos, one of its largest economic and financial hubs. With a population of over 130 million, not including its Nigerians in the diaspora, Nollywood already has a large market and is surging to the main stream.Hollywood and Bollywood, India’s largest film industry, now have competition because Nollywood has produced more films than both industries combined.
Marketed from Bombay’s $750 million a year movie industry, Bollywood ranks second in the world; Hollywood being the premier film industry. Bollywood caters not only to the culture and morees of India, but its entire subcontinent, including the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Nollywood is doing the same by giving Africans worldwide, a film industry they can relate to. The Nigerian movie industry which describes itself as the third most vibrant film industry in the world, is now generating between $100-600 million dollars a year with more than 2,500 films produced annually. » Read more…
Sometimes in April
Sometimes in April is a movie that focuses on the story of two brothers who are caught in the horror of the genocide that occurred in Rwanda in April 1994. Augustin Muganza (Idris Elba), is a Hutu married to a Tutsi and father to three, and his brother Honoré (Oris Erhuero), is a popular public figure espousing Hutu propaganda from a powerful pulpit: Radio RTLM in Rwanda. Augustine realizes that he is wearing the uniform of an oppressive government, and as he listens to the rhetoric on the radio, he realizes that the whole situation is about to explode.
As things turn violent and the Hutu army begins to slaughter the Tutsis by the thousands, Augustine decides to defy the odds and try to save his family. In a desperate attempt to survive, he is forced to entrust his wife and sons to his brother, Honoré. He barely survives and loses tracks of his family. Years later, he is still haunted by questions about his family. He visits the UN tribunal where his brother is on trial for inciting the violence on the Tutsis. It is here that he learns the about the fate of his family. » Read more…
African Events Calendar
Upcoming Events
-
June 22 - 24, 2010
2010 Africa Business Conference and Trade Fair
USA - North East
-
July 10, 2010
Talent-ED
USA - North East
-
March 22, 2010
A “Tribute to Mama Afrika: Miriam Makeba”
USA - North East
-
July 14 - 17, 2010
Africa Fashion Week New York (AFWNY) in New York
USA - North East
See more African Events | Submit Your Own
Browse by Region
- Asia (2)
- Australia (2)
- Canada (1)
- Central Africa (3)
- East Africa (9)
- South Africa (9)
- UK (15)
- USA – Mid West (4)
- USA – North East (126)
- USA – North West (3)
- USA – South East (23)
- USA – South West (5)
- USA – West Coast (5)
- West Africa (16)
- West Europe (14)
