Month: April 2014

Well, the announcement for the nominees for Africa’s most “prestigious” film award; Africa Movie Academy Awards took place at the Emperor Palace Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa few weeks ago.

As expected, Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana are leading the pack in the race to win the coveted prizes at the 2014 edition of the award ceremony which is to take place in the few coming weeks at the oil-rich state of Bayelsa in Nigeria.

But I was downhearted to realize that out of the 27 Categories, Kenya bagged only 5 nominations; 4 nominations went to “Ni Sisi” and the other one to “Haunted Soul”. But Ni Sisi’s 4 nominations can’t make me happy, why? Check out the sort of categories it was nominated in.

Didn’t we submit our films or they just ignored us?. Anyway check out the full nomination list here:

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Film
Children of Troumaron – Mauritius
Potomanto – Ghana
The Forgotten Kingdom – South Africa
Of Good Report – South Africa
Accident – Nigeria

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Director
Harrikrishna & Sharvan Anenden – Children of Troumaron (Mauritius)
Shirley Frimpong Manso – Potomanto (Ghana)
Andrew Mudge – The Forgotten Kingdom (South Africa)
Jamil X.T Quebeka – Of Good Report (South Africa)
Teco Benson – Accident (Nigeria)

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Zengo Ngqobe – Forgotten Kingdom
Kanayo O. Kanayo – Apaye
Mothusi Magano – Of Good Report
Joseph Benjamin – Murder At Prime Suites
Adjatey Annan – Potomanto
Majid Michel – Brothers Keeper

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Uche Nnadili – B for Boy
Linda Sokhulu – Felix
Chioma Chukwuka Akpotha – Accident
Clarion Chukwura – Apaye
Uche Jombo, Rodriquez, Monalisa Chinda and Daniella Okeke – Lagos Cougar
Joselyn Dumas – Northern Affair

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Desmond Elliot – Finding Mercy
Thapelo Mofekeng – Felix
Yomi Fash-Lanso – Omo Elemosho
Aniekan Iyoho – Potomanto
Tshamano Sebe – Of Good Report

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Vinaya Sungkur – The Children of Troumaron
Patience Ozokwor – After the Proposal
Marie Humbert – Potomanto
Barbara Soky – Brothers Keeper
Lee-Ann van Rooi – Of Good Report

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Young/Promising Actor
Evelyn Galle Ansah – Good Old Days: For the Love of AA
Petronella Tshuma – Of Good Report
Tope Tedela – A Mile From Home
Kitty Phillips – The Children of Troumatron
Shawn Faqua – Lagos Cougar

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Child Actor
Tobe Oboli – Brothers Keeper
Lebohang Ntsane – Forgotten Kingdom
Hlayani Junior Mabasa – Felix

AMAA 2014 Award for Best First Feature Film by a Director
Roberta Durrant – Felix
Chika Anadu – B for Boy
Andrew Mudge – Forgotten Kingdom
Harrikrishna & Sharvan Anenden – The Children of Troumaron
Dilman Dila – Felista’s Fable
Joyce Mhango Chavula – No More Tears

AMAA 2014- Bayelsa State Government Endowed Award for Best Nigerian Film
Apaye
B For Boy
Accident
Murder at Prime Suites
Omo Elemosho

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Diaspora Feature Film
Tula The Revolt – Curacao
AZU – Venezuela
Kingston Paradise – Jamaica
Retrieval – USA

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Diaspora Documentary
Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China – USA/CANADA
Freedom Summer – USA
No Bois Man, No Frad – Trinidad and Tobago
Through the Lens Darkly : Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People – USA

Ousmane Sembene AMAA 2014 Award for Best Film in An African Language
The forgotten Kingdom – South Africa
B for Boy – Nigeria
Omo Elemosho – Nigeria
Onye Ozi – Nigeria
Ni Sisi – Kenya

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Film by An African Living Abroad
Jury has decided that there will be no nominations this year for this category.

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Documentary
Hamu Beya- The Sand Fishers – Mali
Potraits of a Lone Farmer – Nigeria/Denmark
Kushaya Ingagasi – South Africa
Daughters of the Niger Delta – Nigeria
Sincerely Ethiopia – Ethiopia

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Diaspora Short Film
Passage – Bahamas
Heaven – USA
Tickle Me Rich – Trinidad and Tobago
Red – USA

Efere Ozako AMAA 2014 Award for Best Short Film
Haunted Soul – Kenya
Siriya Mtungi – Tanzania
Dialemi – Gabon
New Horizon – Nigeria
Nandy l’orpheline – Mali
Living Funeral – Nigeria
Phindile’s Heart – South Africa

AMAA 2014 Award for Best Animation
The Hare and the Lion – Burkina Faso
Thank God its Friday – Morocco
Leila – Nigeria
Khumba – South Africa
The Brats and Toy Thief – Mozambique

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in a Screenplay
B For Boy
Of Good Report
Accident
Potomanto
Felix

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in Editing
Of Good Report
Accident
Once Upon A Road Trip
Potomanto
Felix

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in Cinematography
Once Upon A Road Trip
Good Old Days: Love of AA
Of Good Report
The Forgotten Kingdom
The Children of Troumaron

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in Sound
Felix
Northern Affair
Nothing For Mahala
Of Good Report
The Forgotten Kingdom

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in Visual Effect
A Mile From Home
Omo Elemosho- Nigeria
Secret Room –
Ni Sisi- Kenya
Of Good Report- South Africa

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in Soundtrack
Once Upon A Road Trip
Onye Ozi – Nigeria
Felix
Of Good Report- South Africa
Potomanto – Ghana

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in Make-up
A Mile From Home – Nigeria
Apaye – Nigeria
Once Upon A Road Trip – South Africa
Felista Fable – Uganda
Potomanto – Ghana

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in Costume Design
Good Old Days: Love of AA – Ghana
Apaye – Nigeria
Omo Elemosho – Nigeria
Ni Sisi – Kenya
The Forgotten Kingdom – South Africa

AMAA 2014 Award for Achievement in Production Design
Northern Affair – Ghana
Of Good Report – South Africa
Ni Sisi – Kenya
Good Old Days: Love of AA – Ghana
Apaye – Nigeria

Two of the actors in KTN show, Gavana, have just landed themselves a new gig.

This Saturday, Derrick and Scolly will be the official MCs at Candy n Candy’s first ever event in Nairobi, a road-show around Nairobi meant to promote its new Garage & Grime .

Gavana is a comedy sitcom for general family meant to satirize the political antics of the newly elected governor. The local drama on the new country Government structure in Kenya sheds light on the drama behind Governance as told through the lens.

The Candy n Candy road-show will cover the most popular residential areas in Nairobi with plenty of entertainment from the Shepherds Dance Crew, plus there will be plenty of give aways from sick headphones, MP3 players and more so watch out for their truck.

Shepherds

Here’s the map that the road-show will follow, check if your hood is on and represent;

Thanks to Instagram, there is always a new trend cropping up every day.  From Throw back Thursdays abbreviated TBT to Man Crush Monday MCM,Instagram is where the trends come to play.

Turns out we are not the only ones who engage in this trend, our celebrities join in the fun. Today, Madtraxx known for hit song Boda Boda participated in Woman crush Wednesday and his crush this Wednesday was Citizen’s screen goddess Anne Kiguta

Madtraxx posted the picture above with the caption

#WCW just to show how effortless it is! @annekiguta #KigootsInBoots #NoFilter #SheDoesItEvenWithoutTrying

By the look of things Kenyans are yet to let go of the debacle that went down a few weeks ago on Citizen TV.

This was Lillian Muli’s interview with Jamaican dancehall sensation Konshens. According to the grapevine, read Twitter, Lillian was a bit googly-eyed and flirty for their taste. After a vicious roast on Twitter, Niaje have also jumped in the bandwagon and produced their own version of the interview.

Check it out

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Lilian Muli is one of the best things that ever happened to Kenyan TV because her presence just makes the news interesting again and that is a fact. As top anchor at Citizen TV, Lilian is undoubtedly one of the fashionable female TV anchors.

The anchor toes a fine line when it comes to style. Her wardrobe is dynamic enough to hold viewers’ attention but not so outré to distract from the evening broadcast. And this seems to be the issue with a section of women.

In an open letter addressed to Lilian, the “women’s rep”, Beryl Wanga Itindi wants her to know the “torture” she subjects them to. Here’s the open letter as it appeared on Beryl’s blog, Stories And Poems From Kenya;

Dear Lilian Muli Kanene,

Once we get home in the evening, we leave our bags at ‘mama mboga’ coz they are always too heavy for us in the evening and ask our children to go back for them once we are in the house. We remove our shoes at the stairs coz that’s where the suffering ends, our Calvary. We live on the 11th floor remember? And our stairs are too steep! By the time we are on sixth floor, we meet our children running down stairs to mama mboga to bring us our bags, they meet us with a glass of water to give us the strength to get to 11th floor.

Just before it begins, our husbands walk in, tired and ready to give us all the attention we need. We miss them all day remember? We only see them at night because they leave us on Saturdays to go have fun with fellow men. They sleep all Sunday coz they were up all night on Saturday. When they finally wake up Sunday evening, they already have the Monday blues and are so edgy. Lilian baby, we only get to see them in their good moods during weekday, at night to be specific.

Yours truly,
Secretary General Komayole Forward Travellers,
Window shopping at Jamia mall right now because of you yet am broke!

Meet Beryl;

Photo| Versatile Photographers

Renowned Gospel singer, TV and host, Kambua Manundu, has paid a rich tribute to her late dad, Professor Manundu, who was laid to rest over the weekend in Makindu in a moving post on her blog, Reflections of an African Girl (Kambua).

Here’s that;

On the 9^th of April 2014 heaven gained a most amazing angel- my daddy. There is so much I want to say but the pain in my heart is like none other I have experienced before. But this blog post is not about the pain, the tears, or even the void that my dad left, but more so the life lessons I learned from a most peculiar man.

The months leading up to his home going were difficult in many ways, but it is during that time that I gained invaluable strength that I would otherwise have never attained. 

I thank God that He accorded dad the opportunity to bid us a proper farewell, and gave us in turn a chance to let him know how much we loved and valued him. Some days were harder than others, and my strength waned more often that I would like to admit. But each day God poured his grace afresh. I have come to know that grace is not the absence of the struggle, but rather the presence of God’s protection in the struggle. God protected us, and he protected my precious father until the day He called him home. 

Together with my family and friends we prayed and trusted God to heal my dad, and we held on to the hope that since God had graciously healed him in the past, He could do it again. One day as I was walking through the corridors of the hospital that had quickly become a second home, I bumped into a lady who had brought her ailing mom for treatment; she was terminally ill. The lady recognized me and we began to talk.

Kambua & her dad during her wedding

She told me that she was trusting in God to heal her mother, knowing fully well that God can heal physically or permanently by taking her mother home. Up until then I had wrestled with the possibility of God taking dad home. But that day my prayer changed.  I made my peace with God. I continued to trust for physical healing without relenting, but I found comfort in knowing that if dad went home to be with God, that was healing too. Today I can boldly proclaim that my daddy is healed…forever healed!

Koma nesa daddy…lala salama…you are home now…kwa Yesu ndiko nyumbani. Until we meet again, dance with the angels, teach them all your fun, cheesy songs…your laughter will always ring in my ears. I will carry you in my heart always…

Read the rest of this letter HERE.

Reserved for women only – six young ladies from across Africa enter the Efik Fattening Room on an adventure of self-discovery for the every first time.  

The FATTENING ROOM is an authentic experience set in the historically significant city of Calabar, also home to the famous Calabar Cultural Festival.

The Fattening Room is an ancient rite practiced by the Efik culture of Nigeria when young women would enter a house of seclusion to learn everything a woman needs to know about running a household, raising children and keeping her future husband happy at home. 

Beautiful singer, actress and HBR News Anchor, Patricia Kihoro is among the six ladies.

In old Efik tradition voluptuous women with wide childbearing hips were more than desirable. Tended hand and foot with large meals, they would fill out fast in the fattening room. 

Add to it a modern twist and these women will embark on a journey of self-discovery as they experience an age-old tradition and learn the art of true womanhood and the secret of finding and keeping true love

The ladies start the series in the strict Efik tradition and journey towards modern invention while always honouring their African roots.

Patricia joins Stephanie Unachukwu (designer and fashionista from Nigeria), Roselyn Ashkar (a fashion model from Ghana), Sally Berold (an adventurer and skateboarder from South Africa), Tshepo Maphanyanye (publicity and public relations executive from Botswana) and Limpo Funjika (a business development manager from Zambia).

While some celebrities seem to get all the adoration in the world there are those who are often the target of unadulterated vitriol. One of them is Larry Madowo.

I don’t know why but people tend to work themselves into a bubbling rage at the mere mention of Larry Madowo or his achievements, but that is social media for you
.
His  last visit to Vegas elicited such negative comments that I was shocked that such toxicity could exist in a human body. Anyhow Larry was fed up with all the negativity and told the fan-haters to get a life