Play Network teases Igbo historical movie

Nigerian production company Play Network Studios has unveiled Ekumekwu, a movie about the Igbo people’s opposition to British rule in the early 1900s.

The Ekumekwu movement consisted of a series of uprisings against the rising power of the British Royal Niger Company staged by the Anioma people in what is today Delta State.

The movie dramatises the campaign waged by the Anioma against British imperialism in Igbo lands.

Charles Okpaleke, the multi-award-winning Nigerian filmmaker and founder of African entertainment and lifestyle platform Play Network, said: “I took personal interest in this story because of the role the Aro people played with the people of Anioma to protect the Igbo land.

“I am from Arondizogu, the largest settlement of the Aro people (believed to have migrated from Arochukwu) and ever since we started making feature films our focus has been centred on retelling our African history.

“Back in the day, the Anioma people swore to secrecy; this movement was not to be spoken about, and so we’ve decided not to speak but to show – a story that will educate and entertain.”