Movie lovers were treated to a spectacular soiree of a movie, launched at the Yaoundé Hilton Hotel on the evening of Saturday, October 26, 2007. After several weeks of direct outdoor promotions and live participation on
Present at the occasion were a cross-section of government officials, the diplomatic corps, national VIPs and dignitaries, and the most-awaited Nigerian actress Clarion Chukwura. Mr Akin Sola, Minister Consul at Nigerian High Commission mounted the rostrum to set the ball rolling with a keynote address, closely followed by a representative from
“The
The characterisation of “The Blues Kingdom” is good and plot well tailored to suit the interwoven themes that run through, though continuity and disjointed sets standout as bane checking the quality of the movie. It, however, makes for an interesting watch and triggers spasms of hot tears rushing down the cheeks of African movie lovers. Interestingly,
At the close of the evening, the organisers raised about 3.000.000 FCFA (US$ 6.000) from well-wishers and donors, pledges non-exclusive. Recovering the overall costs incurred in organising and managing the event, let alone the colossal sum sunk into the project, testifies to a limping industry that some Cameroonian adventurers and few visionaries combat with.
The brain behind the movie project, Agbor Gilbert Ebot co-produced another African movie, “Before the Sunrise” with another Nigerian celebrity, Fred Amata. Fred Amata also doubles in the movie as the director. Big names in the Nigerian film industry such Olu Jacobs, Zack Orji and Dakore Egboson as well as the Cameroonian makossa idol Jean Pierre Essome featured in the 120 minutes emotion-packed movie. Cyril Akonteh of the Splash Network assisted in the production of “Before the Sunrise”, which is based on a true love story, which cracks open the tribal and cultural differences typical of marriages between the Northwesterners (‘graffi’) and the Southwesterners (‘sawa’). The issue of the Northwest settlers in the Southwest region of
By Akere Maimo
The word “bushfaller” is a common parlance that has fast become flesh and blood of Anglophone Cameroonians when relating to the unusual phenomenon of the active population fleeing for greener pastures in the
Strange enough, the beautiful pictures some of these “bushfallers” paint of their so-called “Bush” and “wonderland” is simply a mirage. Such bitter truths have left scars in the minds of less spirited Cameroonian youths as it is now dawning on them that “all that glitters is not gold” and that they can make it right here in Cameroon simply by applying their brain to work. It is certainly against this backdrop that some talented brothers and sisters in the Diaspora are making good use of the best-known medium of home-made videos to tell their stories of the good, the bad and the ugly about “Bush” (abroad).
Sometime ago, movie lovers witnessed the launching of “Berlin Icon”, a movie produced by aspiring Cameroonians living in
The US-based "bushfallers" have their own thriller titled "Culture Shock" with revealing images of what life is in
The point of attraction in China Wahala is a 2-hour emotion-packed movie with a Nigerian-wrought movie lingo for a title: “Chinese Wahala”. It was a premier of its kind, though the turnout was unimpressive. Most often, cross-cultural participation in movie production in Anglophone
“China Wahala” carries with it a lot of strength in terms of its image and sound quality. The scenes are not unnecessarily too long, though some still reflect the Nigerian style of typical shopping and airport scenes. The script is well written and rendered by the actors, except for a lot of indoor scenes. The continuity from one scene to the other is consistent and flows successively. The characterisation is good, though some supporting actors are a bit weak in their roles. To portray the bilingual nature of the country, the English movie is subtitled in French - quite a saleable element for the movie.
“China Wahala” makes for an interesting watch. It is a must-watch with an easy storyline. A number of questions are raised drawing allusion to the “bushfaller” syndrome. What happens when a generation of young people gets obsessed about finding future abroad? What happens when a clique of smart guys preys on their own countrymen in foreign lands? The movie captures the passionate cravings of a generation frustrated and overburdened by their country, yet ensnared by their greedy countrymen abroad in search of “fast money”. The famous creed of “bushfallism” that “not every country man abroad is your brother” runs through the film like blood in the veins. Those who have been to
The film is produced by Golden Touch JC Production (GTJCE) and officially sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, starring promising a multi-talented major role such as Joyce Kuchah, who doubles as the Director. He is assisted by his Chinese colleagues Han Wen Qing as Assistant Director and Tang Bo as Production Manager. “China Wahala” also stars Cameroonians in
From the echoes reaching us as at now, the movie has registered significant progress in terms of sales. According to insides sources, the volume of sales rate is estimated at 5000 just in about a month after the launching.
It is important to note here that the Cameroonian movie industry is coming of age in terms of quality and know-how. More and more, movie lovers are getting convinced that the few Cameroonian movies we have are good for consumption rather the Nigerian stuff flooding our streets and screens. Reason why the various stakeholders in the sector should put their hands on deck and support this giant industry. It requires more than just a film production to get things on motion. It is collective effort that needs the galvanising force of a dynamic and forward-looking media, a consumer-conscious public for local products, a well organised market to ease the sales through distribution channels both at home and abroad, and above all the business tycoons and fire-driven entrepreneurs ready to venture in such an dream adventure.
