Gangster movie Kenya's first Oscar contender

By Jim Stenman.

A hard-hitting Kenyan movie about gang culture has become the country's first-ever film to be considered for an Oscar.

"Nairobi Half Life" has just been shown at Film Africa 2012, which is currently taking place in London -- having already made history as the most successful theatrical release for a local film in Kenya, according to its producers.

It's the debut film from Kenyan director David "Tosh" Gitonga, who says he wants to change views about crime in the country.

"We keep saying crime is wrong, but are we really looking at why there is crime?" he says. "I don't believe Kenyans get into crime for fun and giggles."

Prior to shooting, Gitonga wanted to understand the story behind Nairobi's crime culture and to fully comprehend the situation he spent time with real-life gangsters.

This experience led him to hear stories of gang members flooding properties and defecating on porches after robberies. He was told: "It hurts us that you have these things we don't have."

Watch a scene from the movie

Gitonga admits he was left speechless when asked whether it's fair that some are born into wealth, while others struggle to feed their children just one meal a day.

"I couldn't answer that question and it still haunts me today," he says.

His film chronicles the trials and tribulations of the character Mwas -- a young aspiring actor from rural Kenya who dreams of becoming the next "Bruce Willis."

Film shines light on Obama's Kenyan sister- By Catriona Davies, CNN

When Barack Obama won the U.S. election four years ago, his Kenyan half sister Auma was with her family at their homestead, watching the historic occasion on television.

It was a night Auma Obama remembers well. "We had a lot of people visiting to watch with us," she says. "There was a lot of excitement because it had been such a tough race. There was a sense of relief that all the hard work had paid off."

Alongside Auma and her family was filmmaker Branwen Okpako, who was making a documentary about Auma, "The Education of Auma Obama, " which is being shown in London Tuesday to coincide with the U.S. election and as part of the Film Africa festival.

"I will never forget that period in their homestead," says Okpako. "It was indescribable. Imagine something like that is happening to your family, yet so far away."

Okpako, 43, a Nigerian-born filmmaker living in Germany, became friends with Auma when they were both film students in Berlin in the early 1990s.

"We were two of four African women studying at the film school at the time and we talked a lot about how the African continent was portrayed in film and how we wanted to change it," says Okpako.

Auma shares a father -- Barack Senior -- with her younger half brother, Barack. The pair did not meet until after their father died in 1982 and Barack got in touch with Auma to explore his Kenyan roots.

Okpako had the idea for a film about her friend Auma in the run-up to the 2008 election.

Auma recalls: "I wasn't particularly enthusiastic when Branwen first suggested the film, but I agreed because she is a friend and I trusted her. If it had been a stranger, I don't think I would have done it."

Okpako says Auma was initially reticent about the film because of the huge media interest in her family that came with Barack Obama's rise to prominence.

"It has put me in the limelight in a way that wouldn't have happened otherwise," says Auma. "I don't like talking about my family but it's great if it gives me the chance to talk about my work with deprived and underprivileged children."

Auma, who lives in Nairobi, traveled with Okpako to the family's homestead in the village of Kogelo, where her grandmother lives and Barack Senior is buried.

"We were sitting together for 10 days waiting for the election and reflecting how we got to this moment in time," says Okpako.

"We were reading the newspapers and reading the statistics, but of course we didn't know what was going to happen. It was intense and full of anticipation.

"The film deals with that moment in time when history was made, but also how they got to that moment."

She adds: "All the family was there, the grandmother, all the cousins. Once the result was known everybody in the village came into the compound to celebrate. There must have been hundreds of people there."

It is official! And it is happening for real!
In partnership with VOX AFRICA TV and proudly supported by the IFEANYI UBAH FOUNDATION, the makers of THE MIRROR BOY and LAST FLIGHT TO ABUJA are proud to announce that their new Ibo film is to be titled ONYE OZI (The Messenger.)

SYNOPSIS
A roaring comedy set in Peckham. Metumaribe (Metu) has just arrived from Lagos after a quick marriage to Mpkurunma
. He has a 2-year plan to return back to Nigeria, very rich. At a party arranged to welcome him to London; Iyk, a white man is chased in and shot. While the crowd scrambles to leave the scene, Metu goes to help the dying man. Iyk puts a bunch of keys and an envelop in this hands just before he dies, Metu is now involved. No matter how much he runs and no matter how long it takes, he would never rest until he delivers the message that would have various far-reaching repercussions for him and those around him.

Auditions for this first of it's kind 'New Nollywood Igbo film' will hold as follows:

NB: Auditions will be recored for broadcast in a series of Special Programmes on our partner TV station VOX AFRICA.

Date:
Saturday, the 17th of November 2012

Venue:
RCCG House of Praise, Golden Arena,
2 Macbean Centre, Macbean Street,
Opposite Lidl Store,
Woolwich, London SE18 6LW

(Cheap secure parking in Lidl underground parking across the road from the venue, Train: Woolwich Arsenal Train station)

Time:
From 11am till 6pm on a first-come-first-served-basis.

Everybody auditioning should speak Ibo fluently or be capable of learning same within a very shot time. The second condition relates particularly to white actors.

Below is a cross section of some the characters up for grabs. Please indicate the character you would be auditioning for in the forms available on arrival FREE OF CHARGE:

1) Metumaribe: 30 years plus extrovert graduate of Political Science from UNN with a stubborn optimism and too much expectations for his fresh arrival in the UK. Fun, loud and innocently naive. Must speak Ibo

2) Mkpurunma: Late 30's single mother of 2. Sassy, loveable but insecure...lacking in confidence and willing to compromise her standards in men and life generally. Must speak Ibo

3) Adaugo: Late 30's too, pretty friend to Mkpurunma. Single, fashionable, loves flash cars. She has an over-confident exterior but deeply insecure. Must speak Ibo

4) Munachim: Mkpurunma's son (9 years old). Spoilt little boy married to his mother. Must speak Ibo

5) Ogbenyealu: Mkpurunwa's mixed-race daughter (12 years) Attention-seeking rebel of a young woman. Must speak Ibo.

5) Iyk: 55 plus year old white man (caucasian) with a never say die attitude. He has a good soul that has been immersed too deep in the criminal underworld. Must be willing to learn Ibo.

6) Anayo: Suave young man (Munachim's father). Handsome and well built. Sophisticated Fashionista with a liking for loud colourful clothes. Just released from prison and about to go back. Must Speak Ibo.

7) Pastor Mishack: Large bespectacled man with easy manners and smooth tongue. Must speak Ibo.

8) Dr Ugo: Mid 30's psychiatric female white doctor. Very aloof and strictly professional. Must be willing to learn Ibo.

9) Mrs Lamber: Caucasian late 60's female with a dreamy, pained expression. Must be willing to learn Ibo.

Then there are obviously some more roles with decreasing importance.

To request an audition piece in advance, depending on the role you will be going for, please email your name and the role of your choice to onyeozi.themovie@gmail.com and you will be emailed one. All emails requesting audition pieces would have to be received by 6pm on thursday the 15th of November 2012. Audition pieces are written in English but apart from white characters, all others would have to do 2 performances. One one English, one in Ibo.

There will be audition pieces available on the day of the auditions too.

For more info, please text or call 07424102301.

All invited. Whether you are auditioning or not, come and support with your presence..with some food or some drinks or some contribution to this worthy cause to propagate our language and culture. This applies especially to Igbo people living around the venue: Woolwich, Plumstead, Thamesmead, Greenwich and Charlton.

Thank you. God bless and see you all.

D’banj Comment

‘I do not belong to the illuminati’ – D’banj

‘Illuminati’ [ih-loo-muh-nah-tee]: A name that refers to a purported conspiratorial organization which is alleged to mastermind events and control world affairs through governments and corporations to establish a New World Order. By NET

Happy 43rd Birthday Diddy: A Look at the Hip-Hop Mogul's Favorite Inspirational Quotes

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Jackie Appiah, Sarkodie And Becca Honoured In Ghana

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While Appiah was given the award for being the best in Performing Arts, Sarkodie and Becca won for Music.

Available to present the award, was the president, John Dramani Maham, who congratulated and commended the trio for their efforts towards the growth of the entertainment industry in Ghana and Africa generally.

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