Internationally acclaimed African filmmaker Tunde Kelani’s latest movie Ayinla will be released in Nigerian cinemas on June 18.
Ayinla is inspired by the life and times of Apala music superstar Ayinla Omowura, who was born in Itoko, Abeokuta in Nigeria in 1933.
The movie is produced by Jade Osiberu, directed by Kelani and its cast includes Bimbo Ademoye, Kunle Afolayan, Bimbo Manuel and Mr Macaroni.
Kelani said on Instagram: “The Almighty spoke to me, I am now giving thanks. Ayinla the movie finally in cinemas from June 18, 2021. I can’t wait for you all to see it.”
The movie is sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria and distributed by Film One Entertainment.
African films Africa & I and Ayinla have emerged winners at the recent Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles.
South African documentary Africa & I (1×90’), directed by Othmane Zolati and Chris Green (Chasing the Sun), follows 20-year-old adventurer Zolati who spent four years walking, cycling and skateboarding his way south through Africa, from Morocco to Cape Town.
The film is produced by Cape Town prodco Both Worlds Pictures (Puppet Nation ZA, Recipes for Love & Murder), in partnership with MultiChoice-owned African streamer Showmax and the National Film & Video Foundation of South Africa. Worldwide sales of Africa & I are handled by Big Media (US) and Paradoxal (France).
Ayinla, directed by Nigerian filmmaker Tunde Kelani, tells the story of Nigerian musician Ayinla Omowura, who used Apala music to address issues in contemporary society, commending and criticising various governmental and individual acts.
Sponsored by the First Bank of Nigeria and distributed by FilmOne (Nigeria), Ayinla will debut soon on Netflix.
At PAFF, the 30th edition of which concluded on May 2, Africa & I won in the Best First Feature Documentary category, while Ayinla took home the Programmers’ Award: Narrative Feature.
On Instagram, Kelani said: “Congratulations to our talents, crew, executive producers, producers, and our rep team in Los Angeles and Pakistan. Thanks and God’s blessings.”
PAFF is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles that states its goal is to promote cultural understanding among peoples of African descent through exhibiting art and film.
The full list of PAFF 2022 award winner can be found here.
The sixth edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs) was hosted on Saturday evening at the Eko Hotels & Suites in Lagos.
Media personalities and movie stars from across the continent were present at the ceremony, dressed up and ready to have some fun.
The AMVCAs had some 120 nominations in 27 categories. These included Best Short Film/Online Video, Best Movie East Africa, Best Overall Movie and Best Television Series. Other special awards were the Trailblazer Award and Industry Merit Award.
The Best Television Series award was taken by This Is It, beating four other nominees that included Gina & Friends, Professor Johnbull, Papa Ajasco Reloaded and Relatives.
Meanwhile, the winner of the best documentary award was Dennis Wanjohi for his film The Flesh Business. Other nominees were Nightfall in Lagos (James Amuta), God’s Wives (Bolanle Olukanni), Styles Defunct by Ayaworanho3d (Aderemi Davies) and Calabar Carnival: What the People Think (Oghenefego Ofili).
Actress and former Big Brother Naija housemate Bisola Aiyeola also won the AMVCA Trailblazer Award, not to mention a car from pay TV group MultiChoice, for her role in the industry.
Renowned filmmaker and producer Tunde Kelani (Arugba, Life in Slow Motion, Dazzling Mirage) was honoured with the Industry Merit Award.
The AMVCAs had its inaugural edition in 2013 and has gone on to become the biggest annual award ceremony celebrating professionals in the film and TV industry in Africa.
The US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited three more Nigerians to become members in an effort to include more people of different races and colour in the academy.
The move was a result of the uproar after the Academy’s 2015 Oscars ceremony when no people of colour, Hispanics or Asians were among the nominees. This year it invited 842 new members, half of them women and 29% coloured.
The new members of Nigerian descent are director Tunde Kelani, who is currently working on a film adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s novel The Lion & the Jewel; British-Nigerian actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who has appeared in films such as The Bourne Identity and Thor: The Dark World; and Nigerian-American filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu, who became the first black woman to win the Sundance Film Festival’s biggest prize for her movie Clemency.
Last year Nigerian actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and filmmaker Femi Odugbemi were invited to join the academy.