•Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, Fred Amata to host awards
Again, it is evident that the organisers of the sixth edition of the annual Best of Nollywood (BON) awards are set to put up a spectacular show on Saturday, October 4, as the nominees were unveiled last Friday at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, amidst palpable enthusiasm.
The nominees’ unveil, which was one of the pre-awards events to gather momentum for the ceremony in October, was, undoubtedly, the culmination of over three months of very engaging critical reviews by the Screeners’ Committee led by Niran Adedokun, a Marketing Communications expert and entertainment enthusiast.
Hosted by Nollywood star, Bayray Mcnwizu, who looked dashing in a yellow sleeveless short gown, the nominees’ unveil, a wholly media event, kicked off with the speech by the Founder/ Executive Producer of the awards, Seun Oloketuyi, who expressed gratitude to Governor Rotimi Amaechi for his support towards the coming awards ceremony that will be hosted by both Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi, a popular on-air personality, and Fred Amata, a respected Nollywood star. “It is a day for producers, filmmakers who have worked tirelessly and invested their monies in the year under review to make us happy. It is also to appreciate their hard work and ingenuity to make Nollywood better. Though getting finances to organise the event is very tough, we are focused on what we set out to do. Besides, we are lucky to have people who have always bailed us out at the last minutes,” said Oloketuyi, who is also a publisher.
According to Adedokun, about 150 films were entered for the 32 professional categories this year, out of which 23 were short films, while 20 were disqualified for various reasons, ranging from inability to meet the terms and conditions set by the organisers to failure to submit the required number of copies.
Adedokun, who emphasised that the nominees represent the best productions shot or released in Nigeria in the past 12 months, further said: “Over the past years, BON has set for itself a mission of encouraging various participants in the film industry to not just be at their best, but to aspire to be the best possible. This, no doubt, shows in the progressive improvement that we have continued to see in the quality of films produced in the country as well as the quality of professionals that have emerged over the years. The BON idea is that we don’t have to wait until we have the best before we celebrate what we have. The idea is to celebrate what we have currently, while working with every other stakeholder to ensure that we get to where we should be. While we are not where we should be, we certainly are not where we were before. From the entries we got for this year’s awards, we can boldly say that filmmaking in Nigeria has moved from the era of mere mercantile enterprise into an enduring era of competence and professionalism.”
As part of the vision of the organisers, a new award category has also been created to encourage the development of indigenous movies in the three main Nigerian languages: Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. Adedokun, however, lamented that only one Igbo film was entered this year. “But we hope the situation will be different in subsequent years,” he added. Also, another development in the awards, according to him, is the introduction of two new categories: Best Television Series award and Best Documentary award.
A Nollywood enthusiast, he urged filmmakers, whom he said are now telling good stories, to endeavour to marry the technique and language of filmmaking with their stories. What we need to do is to find a way to marry our technical and professional capacity with the latent and unused business potentials available to us as a people,” he stated.
The occasion also offered a peep into the background surrounding the relationship between the organisers and the Rivers State government. In his address, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Tony Okocha, who unveiled the nominees on behalf of Governor Rotimi Amaechi, described the relationship with the organisers as reciprocal. According to him, “When a lot of people thought there was insecurity foisted on us circumstantially and when they thought a situation of self-help had been foisted on us, we said it was not true. We kept saying there was peace and tranquility in the state. But the organisers of BON had the opportunity of coming here to join us in our programmes. They moved from street to street with us to the extent that the Governor agreed to the proposal to host a dinner. So, that allayed the fear of people who thought there was no security in the state. As a result, we were able to regain our lost glory, as nobody was kidnapped or harassed. Therefore, when you came to our rescue, I don’t see why we should not reciprocate.”
It was, however, a moment of sober reflection when Kingsley James, Head of Organising Committee, announced plans by the organisers to honour the late filmmaker and director, Amaka Igwe, for her immense contributions to the growth of Nollywood. “We have taken it upon ourselves to continue to remember the late Amaka Igwe; so, we have unanimously endowed the award for the Director of the Year in her name. The award category will now be known as the Amaka Igwe Director of the Year category.”
