Round Table: Nollywood, Religion, and Media

In collaboration with the Nollywood Media and Research Center (NOMAREC), Lagos, the Department of Communication Studies at the Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), Port Harcourt, Nigeria, hosted a most engaging and insightful virtual round table on Nollywood and the media, Wednesday, 30 November 2022 to explore the rich and deep relationship between cinema and religion by discussing, on the one hand, Nollywood and the impact of religion on its films and filmmakers and, on the other hand, the place and role of the media in reporting the industry.

Cinema and the Media Create Movie Stars

A Book Review of Azuh Amatus's Famous Faces: Interactions with Nollywood Stars and Stakeholders

 

Cinema creates movie stars—i.e., individuals who, through the masterly interpretations of their make-belief roles on the screen, enjoy a stellar level of admiration from the audience. Nollywood – the cinema of Nigeria and the second largest film industry in the world – parades such individuals in cosmic proportions. 

    Without doubt, Nigerian cinema had been engaged in the enterprise of creating movie stars before the advent of Nollywood. Actors like Adeyemi “Ade Love” Afolayan, Moses “Baba Sala” Adejumo, and Herbert “Osetura” Ogunde, for instance, gained prominence in the mid 1970s from Ola Rotimi’s Ajani Ogun (1976). 

     However, it is Nollywood’s pioneer movie, Living in Bondage (1992), that revolutionized the star culture of the Nigerian cinema, with its sleek Hollywood-style, full-color jacket. The glossy sleeve had the faces of the film’s key characters emblazoned on it. 

     Although some of the actors (like Francis Agu, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, and Kanayo O. Kanayo) were already popular on television, Living in Bondage launched them, and the myriad others who have come after them, into the stratosphere of stardom. 

NOMAREC: Nollywood Gets Virtual Media & Research Center

PRESS RELEASE: Azuh Amatus Unveils Nollywood Media And Research Centre 

          Nollywood Media And Research Centre, (www.nomarec.com), a new information resource hub that is out to provide media-driven and in-depth research on Nollywood—the globally renowned Nigerian motion picture industry, its practitioners and various publics has been unveiled. 

          According to a statement issued in Lagos by its Founder and CEO, Azuh Amatus, NOMAREC serves as a rendezvous for journalists, filmmakers, professionals, scholars, researchers, film writers, students, entertainment enthusiasts, agencies and stakeholders within and outside Nigeria to access media-related and industry data on Nollywood, virtually.

          Shedding more light on NOMAREC and the services offered at the first-of-its- kind media and research driven centre, Azuh, a leading and revered Nollywood journalist with over two decades experience, disclosed that it is a one-stop virtual shop for reliable media contents and information on Nollywood.

Journalists and Making of Nollywood Stars

Toni Kan

(By Toni Kan) - Celebrating Nigerian Entertainment Icons: A Tribute 

“That night the King could not sleep: so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.” Esther 6: 1 (NIV)

In ancient times, before Martin Luther and Gothenburg, there existed a select group of individuals whose duties were to record, dutifully and in painstaking detail, significant events that were taking place.

Their writings were called Chronicles or Annals.

Those men were called Scribes and they were an essential part of a King’s court. In today’s world, a Scribe would approximate to a personal lawyer who would prepare a man’s last will and testament or a Confidential Secretary who is privy to all that concerns his principal.

But above all, in the more democratic times that we live in, the modern day Scribe is the journalist, the man or woman who through his writings, records (almost always in a hurry) for posterity, the doings of the people.

Nollywood Celebrates Bowler Hats Bash 2 in Style

L-R: Bowler Hats Bash founder Azuh Amatus, Saint Obi, Azuh Arinze, & D'Lectura

(Chika Chimezie)--It was indeed, the gathering of some of the biggest names in Nollywood, music

and comedy sectors respectively, at the second edition of the annual Bowler Hats Bash (BHB).

The memorable and fun-filled evening of comedy, music, dance and more, held elaborately on Independence Day, October 1, at the prestigious Coliseum Events Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.

Just like the maiden edition, it was also hugely attended by leading entertainers, revered celebrities and upwardly mobile revelers.

Nollywood Counts Down to Bowler Hats Bash 2

(Chika Chimezie)--This is cheering news for Nigerians looking for premium events to attend, relax and spend quality time with family members and loved ones on Saturday, October 1, Nigeria’s 56^th Independence Day.

The organisers of Bowler Hats Bash (BHB) the high-net-worth evening of undiluted comedy, music, dance and more, have agreed to hold this year’s show, which is the second in the series on Independence Day, at the upscale Coliseum Events Centre, Ikeja, Lagos, amid glitz and grandeur.

Daylight Newspaper Honors Nollywood Stars

Monalisa Chinda-Coker (L) & Stephanie Okereke-Linus

At its inaugural Daylight Annual Leadership Awards, #DALA2016, held recently in Lagos, leading online newspaper Daylight honored Nollywood A-list stars and prominent Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in their various fields.

According to Daylight reporter Chika Chimezie, “it was truly the gathering of eminent Nigerians, stars, celebrities and achievers from all walks of life at the historic maiden edition of Daylight Annual Leadership Awards (#DALA2016).

The talk-of-the-town awards ceremony held elaborately at the posh Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, amid glitz, glamour, and grandeur.

Azuh Amatus Launches DayLight Newspaper

Azuh Amatus

Azuh Amatus, the youthful CEO of Contacts Communications--a leading media, public relations, advertising and consultancy firm, and publishers of ShowBizPlusng--recently unveiled his company's flagship online newspaper, DayLight.

At the media presentation in Lagos, the elated Azuh told reporters that "DayLight prides itself on its distinct coverage of news, local (Nigerian) and global, with an unparalleled commitment and unrivaled enthusiasm based on DICE: dedication, information, creativity, and entertainment."

The multiple award-winning journalist and former society editor of The Sun Nigeria and erstwhile editor of Entertainment Express and Sunday Express newspapers as well as Heart magazine, promises that DayLight will not only be fair, objective, and balanced in its task, it will also contribute to the promotion of online journalism as a tool/agent for social change and development.

Nollywood Celebrates BuNna Showroom Unveiling

L-R: Solid Films boss Uzochukwu Ezeanyaeche, Entertainment Express editor Azuh Amatus,
BuNna boss Azuh Chibunna, & movie star Victor Osuagwu

Famous actor and the Lagos State chapter chairman of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Victor Osuagwu, leading filmmakers, Uzochukwu Ezeanyaeche (Solid Films), Obi Madubogwu and editor of Entertainment Express and Sunday Express, Azuh Amatus, recently led a deluge of other entertainment personalities and celebs to the unveiling of upscale fashion and lifestyle outfit, BuNna, in the heart of Surulere, Lagos.

The one stop fashion showroom located on Agboyin Avenue opened for business last week Thursday, July 17 amid networking sessions and relaxation among friends, patrons, associates and well-wishers alongside endless flow of victuals.

Owned by youthful fashion connoisseur Azuh Chibunna, BuNna, with the pay-off, Fashion and Lifestyle Redefined, has the best of quality male fashion items money can buy. From Italian leather shoes to designer shirts, jeans, jackets, blazers, trousers, suits, contemporary natives and traditional attires, BuNna has them all in quality.

“We have redefined fashion and lifestyle at BuNna, so come let’s clothe and pamper you,” added Chibunna boss of the outfit that is currently the toast of entertainers and celebs.