AFRIMA UNVEILS 2016 CALENDAR IN BANJUL

The All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), a Pan-African reward platform for the music industry supported by the Africa Union Commission, which enters its third edition this year, has unveiled a programme of activities leading to the main ceremony on November 6 in Nigeria.

The 2016 event is the last time the programme will be hosted in Nigeria, as the event moves to another African country from next year. Already five countries have opened discussions with the African Union including Morocco, Angola, Kenya, South Africa and Ethiopia.

Kicking the first in a series of roadshow and stakeholder conferences slated for different African cities in Banjul, Gambia, President and Executive Producer of AFRIMA, Mike Dada, announced that submission of works of artistes opens on May 30 and closes on July 30.
According to Dada, the stakeholder conference “will avail everyone the opportunity in the music industry to be carried along and follow the processes, dates and the timelines for the various activities of AFRIMA.”

Thereafter, adjudication and assessment of submitted works by the 13-man AFRIMA jury made up of professionals in different disciplines of the music industry will begin.
This year, the adjudication process, which is often carried out over a two-week period, will take place in Cameroun. “There is also a date that the voting begins and of course ends on November 5 and there is an award ceremony that holds from November 4 to 6.”

Some of the events originally earmarked for the event, which had not held in the past two years, will go ahead as scheduled this year. While keeping some of the programmes close to his chest, Dada said, “We will keep some of those things as a wow factor and a surprise. This year, we will go ahead with the African Music Summit. We had a snippet of it in Banjul. The debate was hot and topical. We want to have a major African musical conference in Lagos two days before the award ceremony.

“Also, there will be an AFRIMA Village where there will be live performances by the nominees and previous winners. Part of the things we wanted to achieve in the past is our charity work by the AFRIMA Foundation that we achieved with our recent visit to Gambia. We went with some past winners to present musical and educational materials to a school in Banjul-Barkoteh Lower Proper School.

“In addition, we are embarking on a special project with the African Union-All African Stars for Post Ebola Project. We are going to have between 40 and 50 artistes, who are going to create awareness about strengthening health systems in Africa. Ebola has come and gone but the scars are still there. There are many widows and orphans as a result of the Ebola scourge.”
So far, there is no decision yet on which of the four Nigerian states that the AU is in touch with to host the event. The states include Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Rivers State and Cross River. Previous editions of the event held in Lagos.
The theme for the 2016 AFRIMA will run on the same theme as last year, ‘For Hope, for Celebration’, with a sub-theme on human rights.

OGA BELLO SHINES IN TANGLED
Famous actor and producer, Adebayo Salami has revealed that a television drama, ‘Tangled’ produced with technical support from foremost movie director, Tunde Kelani and star actress, Joke Sylva, ably directed by Muyiwa Ademola, would be a career-defining project in his life.
Tangled borne out of the movie initiative, Malete Film Village under the chairmanship of Prof. Rasheed N’allah, has a broad- based theme that affects the nation and homes, mirroring issues that are central to matrimonial and career such as abuse and denials.

With a robust cast including Antar Laniyan, Yemi Solade ‘Tangled’ will illustrate the conflicts that ensue between two determined figures: one who intended to obtain political power at all cost in order to perpetrate acts of decadence, and the other who altruistically wishes to serve and entrench the ultimate standards of humanitarian ideals, beliefs and foster national ideals.

“I must say that Tangled is coming to heal the nation, especially at this time we are experiencing a test of our temper to tolerate one another as a people of diverse socio-cultural background that come together to make a nation. Tangled talks to political leaders, elective officers, it is a mirror that reflects our lives and it comes with its entertainment and educational themes.

“I’m convinced that it will talk to everyone and re-shape the way we serve our Fatherland and lead us towards national development. It tells us about collective goals overriding individual ambition. It is a career defining project for me; in fact it is one of the high points of my movie career,” Salami said.

Taking a cue from the Vice Chancellor of the Kwara State University, Prof. Rasheed Na’Allah, who declared the Malete Film Village “is to bridge the gap between the town and gown, the professionals and academics,” the project, Salami said, once again brought a convivial atmosphere between the practising actors and their academic counterparts.
“The Malete Film project has shown in clear terms that we can work together and come out with an enviable result”, he said.

Salami commended Dele Gbadebo who scripted the TV drama and gave kudos to the creative energy of the director, Muyiwa Ademola, who, he said, enjoyed meaningful contributions from Dr. Yemi Atanda, Tope Adebayo, Mrs. Abiola Fasoranti and Emeka Dibia Emelobe. He also expressed gratitude to Tunde Onikoyi of the Film and Film Unit, Kwara State University.

On the project, Salami found the contributions of Tunde Kelani and Joke Sylva exemplary. “They showed leadership and professionalism. The students of the University must have learnt a lot from these Nollywood’s icons. I really appreciate all the cast and crew for their cooperation, especially the A-list movie stars.”
The ‘Tangled’ TV series, he said will feature familiar faces of Nollywood including himself, Joke Sylva, Antar Laniyan, Yemi Solade, Femi Adebayo, Kate Adepegba and Fathia Balogun, among others.

ALARA UNVEILS LOGOR’S PHOTOGRAPHY
Alara Concept Store and Gallery, in the heart of the well-heeled Victoria Island neighborhood, has recently launched a series of photographs by Logo Olumuyiwa Adeyemi with ‘Logor’ as signature in fulfillment of its promised commitment to promoting art in Nigeria through its “Alara Emerging Artists Series”.

Titled, ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’, this conceptual installation of light and photography is poetic, and electric. For one, Logor brings text from his poetic lines to the exhibition hall, stealing the attention from other eclectic pieces that lined the walls.
Famed for his collection ‘Monochrome Lagos’ which was featured recently at a group show curated by the Goethe Institut, Nigeria, Logor is a young photographer and filmmaker who has explored ‘black and white’, ‘noise and calm’ and other contrasts to express self.

In this current show, he unleashes his unique approach to documenting human experience from varying perspectives. One thing cuts through all the subjects is they are all found in Lagos. Certainly, Logor’s rabbit hole is Lagos and through his lens, the viewer takes in the aesthetics of the city and other related idiosyncrasies.

He strips the city of its colour as he addresses socio-economic issues in very subtle manner. He finds his subjects in monumental places doing ordinary activities such as playing football. Yes, he has captured children playing in the murky waters of Ijora and the result is a powerful documentation of a city’s landscape and environmental, if not public health, challenges

In this collection, the works are a visual digital archive, tending towards mystical, mythical and romantic forms. Down the Rabbit Hole achieves a true paradigm shift in how the city is presented and appreciated by a global audience, including local residents who typically rush past the unchanging beauty of this old town.
Down the Rabbit Hole is Logor’s maiden exhibition with ALARA Art and doubles as the debut exhibition in the ‘ALARA Emerging Artists’ series. The exhibition, sponsored by Veuve Clicquot, runs until Saturday, June 18.

IG OF POLICE WADES INTO PMAN CRISIS
Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase is said to have intervened in a long standing feud involving a past leadership of the Performing Musician Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) championed by Mr. Tee Mac Iseli and its current leaders, Mr. Pretty Okafor and Dr. Kenny George, PMAN President and General Secretary respectively.

Okafor and George had complained to the IG that Iseli converted a parcel of land in Abuja belonging to the association to his personal use. The land measuring more than eight hectares was said to be for the purpose of developing a modern day music and entertainment complex.
They argued that Iseli was neither an officer nor an official of PMAN as at 2010 when he took the land. Meanwhile the Inspector General of Police has invited all those involved in the issue to say what they know.

A MOVIE FOR SILENCED RAPE VICTIMS
The issue of rape keeps soaring each day, with women as the most taunted victims, cutting across various age groups, from children as young as four to teenagers and even most appalling records of old women. Government may have enacted laws against perpetrators of such dehumanising acts, but the lapses in their enforcement have encouraged more demeaning acts that are recorded every day.

As the female gender keep being victimised, she is further bullied into silence by both her tormentor and the society. This is the situation the producers of ‘Scorned’, Christiana Martins and Tokunbo Ahmed have bravely come out to address.

The co-producer and director of ‘Scorned’, Ahmed, said what promoted the idea of the movie was the need to address the prolonged and repeated silence of the victims of rape.
“There have been a lot of stories recently on rape and most of them really got to me because honestly it could have happened to anybody. I am personally aware of some victims and I see their rapists walking about like they did nothing wrong. I hope that with this movie rape victims can speak up more, even though they feel society might look down on them”, she said.

“Scorned” is the story of a rape victim who took her time to plan her revenge against a rapist who completely forgot about the damage he had done to a young innocent girl. It showcases the psychological damage she went through and the effects the rape still has on her as an adult. And how silence out of fear and shame can either make or break you.
”Scorned” stars talented, fast rising stars in the industry, which includes the likes of Daniel K. Daniel, Christiana Martin, Okey Uzoeshi, Chelsea Eze, Chigul, Funny Bone, and a few others, who interpreted their roles without amiss.