Leading Nigerian filmmaker, Mildred Okwo, says Nigerians should troop out to the cinemas to see her new film, La Femme Anjola, and prove that they have taste for a variety of films.
Observers of the Nigerian film industry have held the views that film goers in the country have special liking for comedies of the slapstick flavour, a reason for which cinema operators are notorious for refusing to exhibit more serious films even when they are well made and have the tendencies of expanding the frontiers of filmmaking in Nigeria.
La Femme Anjola is the latest offering of The Audrey Silva Company(TASC), a production outfit jointly owned by Okwo and superstar actress, Rita Dominic.
It is an African neo-noir crime thriller that tells the story of a young, male stockbroker named Dejare whose life is turned upside down when he falls for an unusual lady named Anjola (Rita Dominic) married to a wealthy gangster.
The film was written by Tunde Babalola and directed by Mildred Okwo.
In a post announcing the March 19 cinema release of the film, Okwo wrote:” As a filmmaker, I am drawn to telling stories that capture the essence of what I observe and La Femme Anjola is one of such… With this story, I have presented a classic noir tale with a distinctively African twist. LFA speaks for the times we live in where we can no longer tell our heroes from the villains . I hope you get to the cinemas to watch it if only to show our cinema operators that Nigerians love a variety of films. I hope you enjoy this film and that it stirs up that age old self-righteous banter about what we can and cannot do in this life.”
Actors in the film including Femi Jacobs and Nonso Bassey, who plays the lead role have spoken up in the past about how the film promised to be a phenomena offering. Jacobs, who got his introduction into Nollywood through his lead role as Makinde Esho in Okwo’s 2012.
The Meeting told interviewers that the combination of the skills of Okwo and Dominic and the story they have in the film would make it an irresistible watch.
Nonso Bassey, who is also getting his first opportunity at the big screen with this film, says he is extremely proud of La Femme Anjola because it offers something different and “everyone involved; cast, crew and even the financiers giving it their all just makes me believe we did something special. I want everybody on earth to see our film. I am very proud of it.”
The film will be distributed by, Silverbird Distribution and released digitally for the rest of the world on a paid platform using assets specifically created for this.
