Charles Novia on Izu Ojukwu's '76

(By Charles Novia) - If there is a movie I would recommend for anyone to watch anytime, that movie would be ’76, Directed by the phenomenal Izu Ojukwu.

Usually, as a rule, I do not review or critique my colleagues movies, being a Nollywood Filmmaker myself. I limit my critiques to Performance Art and other pop culture highlights within such productions but in this case, I can’t help myself but to break my rule for once. And that is because, take it from me, this movie defines genres and breaks barriers.

Top 5 Nollywood Actresses 2016

Adesua Etomi

(By Charles Novia) - It’s The Novia List once again!

My annual ‘ Top 5 Best Actress/Best Actor’ list has always been released for the past three years during this period and it culminates for me, an exciting year in Nollywood wherein more than ever this year, there was a competitive slant in the quality of acting in the industry.

Africa Magic Awards 2015: Matter Arising

(CharlesNoviaDaily) At 21:52 pm CAT, when IK Osakioduwa and Vimbai, hosts of the 2015 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, had signed off from the show and brought in P Square, I was left scratching my head a bit as I walked out slowly out of the hall with some of the invited guests.

I was puzzled. There was something about this year’s AMVCA which lacked the punch the last two editions had. I couldn’t place my finger on it and it kept nagging me all night as I played the event over and over in my mind. You see, I have attended lots of high-profile events and the AMVCA is one I always look forward to attending, not just as a filmmaker but also as a reviewer and this year’s was no exception.

Muna Obiekwe and a Life Less Lived, by Charles Novia

Muna Obiekwe was a damn good actor. Quite good.

I never really met him nor knew him personally but I admired his acting skills onscreen whenever I watched the movies he featured in. He was an actor who had a panache beyond comparison in many of his roles. I always thought he was damned good.

That he is dead is a sad reality. That he died at all when he lived and still lives in our hearts and on our screens is the painful jolt to our systems. Because in Nollywood, actors (and good ones too, in Muna’s mould) never really die. They only transcend to another place where, perhaps, the ovation they receive over there gives lasting peace to their souls.

Nollywood's 2014 Best 5: Male

THE BEST 5 NOLLYWOOD ACTORS OF 2014 

(As compiled by Charles Novia)

I did promise that my next post will be a review of the Best Actors in Nollywood in 2014. Last year on charlesnoviadaily.com, OC Ukeje won for 2013.  I am sure many read my list for the female counterparts for 2014 and whilst the criteria for judging the actors in 2014 won’t be any different, I have gone the extra mile to add snippets of what I believe were the extra efforts these actors on the list made to merit the mention they have received.

As usual, charlesnoviadaily.com sampled opinions of tested and trusted film professionals and critics who put heads together with me to scrutinize the art of many shortlisted names after which I had to arrive at the five names based on my overall veto. It is important to note too that there were no dissenting opinions amongst my team of experts about the Number One choice.

For the crowd which believes that an actor’s popularity and fan base automatically means that such an actor must be on lists such as this, I say to you; get your heads out of your closets. On this platform, all levels of professionalism are used as universal templates. I do not give a damn about the number of years an actor or actress has spent in the industry when I draw up such lists. I am more concerned with areas of the actors body of work for the year and how impressive such was when placed under an artistic microscope.

Nollywood's 2014 Best 5: Female

THE BEST 5 NOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES OF 2014

(As complied by Charles Novia)

Last year, charlesnoviadaily.com instituted a reward system of sorts which gave to deserving recipients, citations of excellence based on the films released in 2013. Mercy Johnson was the top actress of last year and deservedly so.

As 2014 comes to an end, I and a few professional critics, keeping to the criteria we used last year, have drawn up a list once again for 2014. We watched quite a number of films which were considered outstanding and through a professional process of elimination, shortlisted names were finally arrived at. May I state here that these actresses on this list have been judged on universal  templates for acting and not on what I term ‘perceived popularity’on red carpets, social media or feisty fan clubs. There is a clear difference between being an overt socialite with tepid performances in afterthought movies ‘just to be relevant’ and wholeheartedly taking the business of acting seriously.

Flavour: Golibe

(By Charles Novia) - I have just watched over and over again on Youtube, the Best Music Video in Nigeria, and arguably continental on a larger scale, of 2014.

And this is no fluke. I spent hours watching it over and over for incisive areas to make notes and point out a few flaws but I could not find any. And I am very impressed.

Forget the eyebrow-raising story of Flavour’s new CD selling a million copies in Five days of its release. Forgive Flavour’s narcissistic  propensity to post half-nude pictures of himself regularly on the internet. What cannot be denied is the Young Man’s monstrous talent and his ability to push that big envelope with original compositions and well-produced visual interpretations.

Omotola Acts Better than Genevieve

(Charles Novia)--Congratulations to the Nollywood recipients of the Nigerian National Awards which took place today [September 29, 2014] in Abuja.

Kenneth Nnebue, Joke Silva and Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde were each given National Honours by President Jonathan today.

Kenneth Nnebue is generally acknowledged as the founder of the home video industry in Nigeria which later snowballed into Nollywood. His epoch-making movie 'Living in Bondage' which he Executive Produced in 1992 generated the unleashing of creative spirits in Nigeria who followed his footsteps and used the affordable home video technology to exhibit their gifts. Perhaps without Nnebue's foray into that sector, the likes of me and thousands of others would never have found the creative leeway we used to show our talents. His award is belated though. But better late than never.

Why I Critique Nollywood, Charles Novia

At the premiere of Invasion 1897 at the ongoing Abuja International Film Festival, the director, Lancelot Imasuen, got everyone laughing when he disclosed that he had worried over inviting his colleague, Charles Novia.

Mr. Novia had just commended the movie.

A filmmaker himself, Mr. Novia is known for his articles on his personal blog and in some dailies, lambasting various aspects of Nollywood and the entertainment industry in general, especially the actors.

It was Novia who once stated that two of Nollywood’s biggest actresses, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Genevieve Nnaji, were not great at their craft.

His criticisms are usually seen as “bad belle” and he has often been challenged on his mastery of his profession. One of the actresses at the receiving end of his diatribes once labeled him a “failed filmmaker.”

At the film festival in Abuja, PREMIUM TIMES cornered Mr. Novia to ask him about his “reputation.”

As Our Actors Seek Public Offices, by Charles Novia

I applaud the guts of some of my colleagues in Nollywood who have been coming out on social networks with Posters and Press Releases about their intentions to run for elections for Public Offices in 2015.

And I really must commend them. Wholeheartedly.

They deserve a platform to contest. And that is as far as my commendation goes. Because the question they should be asking themselves should be:

1. Do they really think screen popularity translates to poll popularity? If they do, then they are in for the greatest shocker of their lives.

2. Have they made deep political incursions into their wards and councils to intimate the voters about their ambitions? I am talking about real tours of political duties and not some silly wave-of-the-hand tour at the fawning crowd who are more delighted at seeing the screen gods than going out to vote.

3. Are they just coming out to declare their intentions to contest, knowing in their hearts that they stand no chance of even getting the tickets from their Parties but just hoping to be game changers by ‘settlement’ in which later in the next dispensation they get one plum Government appointment?

4. If they are following in the footsteps of their predecessors in the industry, RMD, KOK, Tony Oneweek Muonagor, Onyeka Onwenu etc then they need to know something. Those guys WORKED for their positions. They did not just wake up one day and jumped into politics.

Oscars Recognizes Nollywood for Awards Category

Ahead of the 2015 Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has approved a 12-man committee of Nollywood stakeholders, the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC), to consider Nigerian entries for the world's most prestigious awards for films.

Each year, countries with an approved selection committee may submit one film for consideration for the Foreign Language Film Award Oscar; only five films are chosen from all international submissions for Academy members to cast their votes and choose a winning foreign language film.

"This is a great opportunity for Nigeria to have a voice in the international film arena," said Chineze Anyaene, filmmaker and committee chairperson.

The NOSC members comprise of outstanding professionals who have over time proved their mettle as some of the finest in the movie industry. They include Chineze Anyaene, Ngozi Okafor, Olumide Amure, Ramsey Nouah, Kene Mkparu, Emeka Mba, Chioma Ude, Akin Salami, Mildred Okwo, Biola Alabi, Charles Novia and Shaibu Husseini.

According to Academy rules, the members will consider submissions on seven criteria, which are: story, direction, acting, cinematography, sound, music and universal theme.

Shaibu Husseini, another member of the board agrees. "The Nollywood film industry needs to play globally so people will begin to look towards us."