'I EXPECTED MORE AWARDS FOR PHONE SWAP' - KUNLE AFOLAYAN

Award winning Nigerian film maker Kunle Afolayan has expressed disappointment at not winning more awards at this year’s African Movie Academy Awards.

Afolayan, whose newest movie, ‘Phone Swap’ picked up the award for the Best Achievement in Production Design, said he’d have liked the movie to have won more awards based on the quality of its production.

To him, the movie picked ‘Less than’ was expected: ‘I think the film deserves more but they know better. The jury have their parameters so it’s their call, but I believe strongly that the film deserves more’ he stated.

However, the jury for this year’s awards claimed that ‘AMAA witnessed an unprecedented number of film submissions from more countries throughout the African continent and its Diaspora, which made the task of selecting the best in each category challenging.’

Nigeria won a total of 12 out of 25 awards given out at this year’s AMAA, with Lancelot Oduwa Imaseun’s ‘Adesuwa’, coming tops, winning three awards including the highly coveted ‘Best Nigerian Film’.

‘How 2 Steal 2 Million’, a South African thriller, was the most decorated film, winning a total of five awards.

The 8th edition of the African Movie Academy Awards took place at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island on Sunday, April 22, 2012.

KUNLE AFOLAYAN'S 'PHONE SWAP' PREMIERES IN MARCH

The much talked about new movie from Kunle Afolayan ‘Phone Swap’ will open at the cinemas in a matter of weeks.

The new project follows Afolayan’s earlier works ‘Irapada’ and ‘Figurine’. Coming years after his last film, pundits say PS should be worth the wait, just as those who’ve seen the trailer have already given him a pass mark.

‘Phone Swap’ stars the likes of Nollywood actress Nse Ikpe-Etim who is gradually turning into a fan favourite, Joke Silva, Chika Okpala (Zebrudaya), Wale Ojo, Hafiz Oyetoro, Ade Ameh, Lydia Forson and a guest appearance from Afolayan himself.

Synopsis of ‘Phone Swap’

Akin and Mary meet for the first time at an airport where they accidentally bump into each other and mistakenly swap their identical phones .

This leads to a destination mix up after they receive one another’s text regarding a travel destination.

Consequently, Akin ends up traveling to where Mary is supposed to go and vice versa.

Neither knows about the swap until they have reached their opposite destinations and ‘the phone’ stops ringing (In Mary’s case) and ‘Won’t stop ringing’ (In Akins’s case) .

As a result of the phone swap, they agree to help carry out each other’s missions, armed with the information and data on each other’s phone.

But it’s not as easy as they both think as new obstacles and complications rise at every turn as they both struggle to adapt to their alien environment and situation.

Mary has to walk in Akins shoes and represent him in a company meeting while Akin has to represent Mary in her the family meeting. This they do with hilarious results.

Watch the movie’s trailers below…

KUNLE AFOLAYAN: 'MY NEXT MOVIE WILL WIN AN OSCAR'

Actor-Director Kunle Afolayan is confident his next project will win Nigeria her first Academy Awards.

The Nollywood star, who’s on the road to promote his upcoming movie Phone Swap, told a Top Radio interviewer last night ‘my next movie will win Nigeria’s first ever Oscar awards. People should just watch out‘. Afolayan did not give further details, but he spoke with confidence. The son of late cinema icon Ade Love, Afolayan is one of Africa’s more respected filmmakers, will the AMAA awards and other honours regularly coming his way.

His critically-acclaimed films Irapada and Figurine have featured in festivals across the world and distinguished him – especially in an industry where quality of script, story, acting an production is near zero.

‘My best is yet to come. I really don’t have any of my works that’s my favourite right now‘ he said, when asked to pick his best of his films.

Afolayan’s Phone Swap is due in Cinemas in February

E – X – C – L – U – S – I – V – E: WHY FIGURINE MAY NOT BE RELEASED ON DVD SOON AS ADVERTISED

The premiere of Kunle Afolayan’s movie, Figurine on October 1, 2009 was preceded with lots of media hypes.

The flick was another successful job done by Kunle as a filmmaker, after his successful film, Irapada, which many adjudged to be a trail blazer. With the achievement Irapada made, film watchers and cinema lovers didn’t feel reluctant to go see Figurine at the cinema.

Figurine itself didn’t fall short of its expectations at the cinemas when it finally hit the big screens. It won many awards nominations and won in some of the categories it was nominated it. At a point, there was no film to compete with it at any award ceremony.

Just some weeks ago, after popular demand by film lovers, advertisements hit TVs informing of its eventual release into the DVD market. Though a release date was not given in the adverts, but people were made to believe that it would hit the market soon.

Going by the information available to NigeriaFilms.Com, we can exclusively report to you that the movie may not be released into the DVD market very soon as advertised.

As we gathered, the delay in the release of Figurine may not be unconnected with Kunle’s reluctance to settle the person we learnt holds the original master tape of the movie, which would be used for mass production.

According to a close source to Kunle, who confidently divulged this information to NigeriaFilms.Com, Kunle has already booked for millions copies of the DVD abroad, in one of the Asian countries, but he needs to get the master tape before proceeding on its mass dubbing over there.

The source said further that Kunle has still not come into terms with the person holding the master tape, which could delay the release of the movie soon as promised. The source said that unless Kunle irons out things with this person, the people may have to wait further for its release.

Our further investigation shows that some people claim to have watched the movie on electronic devices, but the preview copies, which they say has poor picture quality, bad audio, etc.

RITA DOMINIC BEATS GENEVIEVE,INI EDO, STEPHANIE OKEREKE,OTHERS TO WIN ARIK AIRLINE BEST ACTRESS

Was Rita Dominic desperate to win the newly instituted Arik Airline Awards category for Best Actress at the just concluded African International Film Festival(AFRIFF), or was it just providence?

Recall that Dominic accused Ini Edo of manipulating the online voting result which led to the cancellation of the exercise, a week before the festival kicked off in Lagos.

But in a twist of fate, last weekend, the actress eventually emerged the winner of the same award.

However, she won the award not by voting, instead through a lucky dip conducted by former Miss World, Agbani Darego.

At last weekend’s AFRIFF awards night held at Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos, BBA regular host IK Osakioduwa who anchored the glamorous event with Rita Dominic had called out the ex-beauty queen, all for the purpose of selecting a winner of the award through lucky dip. After all said and done, Rita Dominic emerged the lucky winner beating Stephanie Okereke, Omoni Oboli, Genevieve Nnaji and others who were also nominated for the award. But Ini Edo’s name was conspicuously missing during the lucky dip.

Interestingly, this happened to be the first time, where a winner would emerge in an international contest of this magnitude through lucky dip.

But for IK, the organisers decided to adopt that means as the sponsors insisted on giving out the award to a winner, no matter the odds.

By winning the award, Rita Dominic will be flown to the Tribeca Film Festival, billed to hold in New York next year, by Arik Airline.

Apart from the Best Actress award, there were also winners in other categories of indigenous awards instituted by the airline. They were ace-film maker, Mahmood Ali-Balogun, whose “Tango with Me” remains one of the best movies ever shot by a Nigerian, won the Best Producer of the Year, and actor Desmond Elliot who won the Best actor award.

Kenyan Jane Murago-Munene’s “The Unbroken Spirit”won the Best Documentary category while Le Parrian by Pale Sie Lazare won in the area of Best Animation.

The Viewers’ choice award, awarded in terms of feedback of the audience concerning movie screened in the course of the festival, went to The Education of Auma Obama while Niji Akanni’s Aramotu lift the country at the event by winning the Best Feature Film prize, considered to be the most coveted award of the whole lot.

The film beat such films as Lancelot Imasuen’s epic film “Ädesuwa’, “Better Mus Come’by a Jamaican director, Storm Saulter, “Elza’s Happiness” directed by Marietter Monpierre from France amongst other films to cliche the prize.

The awards night was graced by a galaxy of celebrities across the world who dressed to kill. Mostly Nollywood super actors and actresses were the cynosure of attraction at the event. Kate Henshaw, Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke, Omoni Oboli, Ini Edo, Monalisa China, Nse Etim Ipe, Rita Dominic, Uche Nnanna, Amaka Igwe, Celine Loaderand, Desmond Elliot, Kunle Afolayan, OC Ikeje, and a host of others.

KUNLE AFOLAYAN RETURNS WITH 'PHONE SWAP'

‘Phone Swap’ is the new feature film by award winning actor/director Kunle Afolayan. Fresh off the critical and commercial success from his last offering ‘The Figurine’’, any project Kunle touches turns into gold and this clip already looks like a surefire winner.

It stars sultry Nollywood diva Nse IKpe Etim, screen legend Joke Silva, Wale Ojo and Ghanian Lydia Forson.

Two very different individuals accidentally swap phones in a busy airport. They find themselves dealing with the hilarious and surprising consequences.

Phone Swap is due for a 2012 release

Youba Star Actor, Odunladi Adekola opens up about GLO Ambassador deal

Few weeks ago, Odunlade Adekola,one of the very talented actors in the Yoruba film industry was made an Ambassador of CSR-friendly telecoms giant, Globacom alongside another top actor, Kunle Afolayan, who is also a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

Odunlade Adekola, an award-winning thespian won Best Actor of the Year in 2009 at the City People Entertainment Awards and in 2010, his blockbuster comedy movies, Emi Nire Kan 1 & 2, in 2009/2010 sold massively. In a recent interview, he talks about the Glo Ambassador contract. He said; I feel so honoured and important. Seriously I don't know what to say because I am still in shock but I just keep thanking God for his mercy on me.

I can recollect few months ago, someone called me from Glo office and asked for my details and personal data, so few weeks back, I was called again and invited to the office. But before now even after I was called for my data the first time, I never expected this contract and all of a sudden, I was in the office signing my contract as a Glo Ambassador which is a big one for me.

Asked about what has changed about him since he signed the contract, he said the major thing that has changed in me is that I have a particular Jeep that am driving which is yellow, so I can't be a Glo Ambassador driving a yellow ride while my network is green. Some people might not read meaning to it but when one or two people start talking about it, then it will become an issue.

Aside this, I don't think something is going to change because a lot of things that I do before entails that I respect my personality as an actor, a responsible man and citizen and I will still maintain that as a Glo Ambassador. It is not as if I'm being asked to manage a company in UK or anywhere outside the country.