Bayelsa Book & Craft Fair

I've been sitting infront of my computer throughout today, trying to put finishing touches on the brochure for the Bayelsa Book & Craft Fair and trying to respond to emails that have to do with the event.

It is a good feeling that everything is falling in place, but there tension within my walls. Can I actually pull this off successfully? I am very confident about it.

So, here I will try to update you about the nature of the book event tomorrow.

I've been busy to blog, but the thing is that I will keep my eye on the blog as I want you to.

Delhi University Speech...

I spoke at Delhi University last month and this is a clip of the interview.

From Nairobi

Day One:

This is my personal story of the trip to Kenya for the Africa Academy Movie Awards Nomination Night in Nairobi. There were others and they have their own stories to tell too.

It is 24^th February, 2011, I’m at the airport, waiting at the Kenya Airways Counter for other delegates to arrive, waiting for the airlines to start checking in passengers, to Nairobi.

I’m here very early. Around 6.01pm. I had been informed earlier that I should get there by 7pm. Not the kind who would take chances, I get there early enough. Suddenly, others start arriving. I meet Mr. Bond Emeruwa, President, Directors’ Guild of Nigeria. We exchange pleasantries and we start chatting. Then, as I try to walk around for a bit; this is after I have my boarding pass, I meet Molara Wood, an Editor at NEXT. I’m excited seeing her at the airport. She asks me where I’m heading for, with that beautiful smile on her face and I tell her Nairobi and she says, Same here. Now I’m more excited. We walk towards the Kenya Airways Counter.

The journey begins as others arrive for their boarding passes: Kate Henshaw-Nuttal, Jim Iyke, P-Square, Chinedu Ihedieze.

There is a long queue at the Immigration Counters, for departure stamping. We are stuck in the queue for long and we start talking about Binyavanga Wainaina, that famous Kenyan writer; myself and Mr. Bond Emeruwa, who happens to be a close friend of the writer. Unfortunately, the ‘best host in the world’, Binyavanga is in far away New York City and we are going to his home country. He could have hosted us, knowing that he’s the best person to be with each time he arrives Lagos.

Our passports are stamped and we head towards Gate E-54 to board. And we are with Chinedu ‘Aki’ Ihedieze. He has a huge fan base, so all his fans besiege him for photographs. He is already tired and exhausted, but he knows how to control the fame. It hasn’t gotten into his head yet. We move and more fans follow. A man who claims he lives in Durban comes and is very eager to get a shot with him and tells him how proud Nigerians in South Africa are of him. He chats with him for a while and we board.

While on board, I sit in the economy class and all of a sudden, I see Kate Henshaw-Nuttal and Ms Peace Osigwe walking in. Really? They are coming to the same class as me? And the other ‘stars’ are boarding business class? Who’s taking who to Kenya? I ask myself. So, I say to my friend sitting beside me, This kind of humility is annoying. And oh yes, Ms Peace Osigwe seems like she doesn’t care at all.

I’m surprised.

After 25 minutes, our airline lands in Cotonou.

Then, we spend another 25 minutes there before departing finally to Nairobi.

The thing is that I sleep each time I’m on board an aircraft, so I do the same, but each time I open my eyes, I see the bodyguard of P-Square, this huge man, with heavy hands and he keeps walking up and down the aisle of the aircraft. For me, it is very comic and funny. He is still wearing his sun-shades and I laugh each time I see him moving around. Firstly, he appears scary, but then, I see him as very cartoonish.

After some hours, we finally land at Jomo Kenyatta International airport.

I start having bad feelings when I step in, towards the Immigration Counter. It could be a poor version of the Murtala Muhammad airport in Lagos. The airport looks lousy in a way. And then, we start filling up the forms for our visa. Again, I’m very excited, having read Ngugi wa Thiong’o very much and this likeness I have for the Gikuyu language. There is always a ‘K’ in anything a Kenyan says in his language, I say to myself.

We get our visas stamped onto our passport pages.

Then, where the heck is the carousel?

We go there and many of the delegates realize their luggage didn’t arrive with them.

Mine could be seen, but the zips destroyed and the bag left ajar. Open. Luckily, only books and clothes are in the bag, so I don’t bother to check if anything is lost. I bend down and repair the zips, close the bag and carry it with me, mildly.

Those whose luggage haven’t arrived fill up forms to retrieve them. Then we spend many minutes standing around and then we head out to the two buses that have come to pick us up.

Jim Iyke is sitting just infront of me. He is a different Jim from the movies. He has a wonderful sense of humour. He makes everyone laugh each time he talks. They are not laughing, because it is amusing listening to this big shot talk, but because he is really saying funny stuff. Another comedian on the bus is Mr. Emmanuel Isikaku, the President of Movie Marketers’ Association of Nigeria, whose sense of humour is 100%. It is amazing when you listen to him talk. Wise, but very humourous.

Our buses move.

We ride through the streets of Nairobi.

We see a group of commercial motorcyclists and I’m surprised. The traffic is maddening too, like that of Lagos.

Infact, Nairobi is just as congested as Lagos, so I don’t feel alienated here. The streets look similar; the billboards remind me so much of the city I just left.

After a long trip, we made it to Safari Park Hotel & Resort, where we were being lodged. It is exquisitely made and traditionally African. It has the trappings of an ancient palace. We had to again write down our names to get our rooms and when I got mine, one of the bellboys (a man actually), led me to my room, which was Room 100. Awesome number! The key to my room was activated and I moved in.

Incredible Nairobi!

The room is large, with two white-blanketed beds, a large Plasma TV, a fridge stuffed with assorted types of drinks. There is a wardrobe that has thick-woolly night-gowns and the bathroom is heavenly. I quickly rush in and take my bath, spending close to one hour soothing myself and never bothering about sleep. I never get jet-lagged. So, what I do is bath, dress up and then gulp two bottles of Tusker Malt Lager, with Potato Chips, while I write this. And I sit at the terrace of my room, writing, looking out at the green grass sprawling infront of me, a beautiful garden that is surrounded by trees, looking serene and quiet.

AMAA Nominations 2011

Category	Nominated Films	Winners
Best Short Film	BOUGFEN – PETRA BANINLA SUNJO (CAMEROUN) WEAKNESS – WANJIRU KAIRU (KENYA) NO JERSEY NO MATCH – DANIEL ADEMINOKAN (NIGERIA) DUTY – MAK KUSARE (NIGERIA) BONLAMBO – ZWE LESIZWE NTULI (SOUTH AFRICA) ZEBU AND THE PHOTOFISH – ZIPPORAH NYARORI (KENYA) DINA – MICKEY FONSECA (MOZAMBIQUE) ALLAHKABO – BOUNA CHERIF FOFANA (TOGO)
Best Short Documentary	SYMPHONY KINSASHA – DIENDO HAMADI & DINTA WA LUSULA (CONGO) NAIJA DIAMOND (Feature on Dr. Rahmat Mohammed) – NFORM LEONARD (NIGERIA) AFTER THE MINE - DIENDO HAMADI & DINTA WA LUSULA (DRC) STEPPING INTO THE UNKNOWN – ROWENA ALDOUS & JILL HANAS-HANCOCK (SOUTH AFRICA) YEABU’S HOMECOMING – JENNY CHU (SIERRALEONE)
Best Documentary	KONDI ET LE JEUDI NATIONALE – ARIANA ASTRID ATODJI (CAMEROUN) HEADLINES IN HISTORY – ZOBBY BRESSON (KENYA) CO-EXIST - ADAM MAZO (RWANDA) STATE OF MIND- DJO TUNDA WA MUNGA (CONGO) NAIJA DIAMONDS- NFROM LEONARD (NIGERIA)
Best Diaspora Feature	SUICIDE DOLLS – KEITH SHAW (USA) TESTED – RUSSELL COSTANZO (USA) NOTHING LESS-WAYNE SAUNDERS (UK) THE VILLAGE -WAYNE SAUNDERS (UK)
Best Diaspora Documentary	STUBORN AS A MULE – MILLER BARGERON JR & ARCELOUS DEIELS (USA) MOMENTUM- ZEINABU IRENE DAVIS (USA) IF NOT NOW – LOUIS HAGGART (USA) MOTHERLAND – OWEN ALIK SHAHADAH (USA) CHANGEMENT – CHIARA CAVALLAZI (ITALY)
Best Diaspora Short Film	CYCLE- ROY CLOVIS (USA) UNDER TOW – MILES ORION FELD (USA) HABITUAL AGGRESSION – TEMI OJO (USA) LITTLE SOLDIER – DALLAS KING (USA) THE NEW N WORD – SOWANDE TICHAWONNA (USA) PRECIPICE – JULIUS AMEDUME (UK)
Best Film for African Abroad	ANCHOR BABY – LONZO NZEKWE (NIGERIA/CANADA) IN AMERICA: THE STORY OF THE SOUL SISTERS- RAHMAN OLADIGBOLU (NIGERIA/USA) MIRROR BOY – OBI EMELONYE (NIGERIA/UK) AFRICA UNITED - DEBS GARDNER-BROOK (RWANDA/UK)
Best Production Design	TANGO WITH ME VIVA RIVA HOPEVILLE 6 HOURS TO CHRISTMAS MAAMI
Best Costume Design	INALE YEMOJA SINKING SANDS ARAMOTU ELMINA
Best Make Up	INALE SINKING SANDS A PRIVATE STORM VIVA RIVA A SMALL TOWN CALLED DESCENT
Best Soundtrack	VIVA RIVA AFRICA UNITED IZULU LAMI INALE A SMALL TOWN CALLED DESCENT
Best Visual Effects	ARAMOTU NANI WHO OWNS DA CITY INALE A SMALL TOWN CALLED DESCENT
Best Achievement in Sound	SINKING SANDS SHIRLEY ADAMS IZULU LAMI VIVA RIVA TANGO WITH ME
Best Cinematography	SINKING SANDS MAAMI IZULU LAMI HOPEVILLE VIVA RIVA
Best Screenplay	SOUL BOY SINKING SANDS HOPEVILLE SHIRLEY ADAMS IZULU LAMI
Best Nigerian Film	MAAMI - TUNDE KELANI ARAMOTU – NIJI AKANNI TANGO WITH ME – MAHMOOD ALI- BALOGUN INALE – JETA AMATA A PRIVATE STORM – LANCELOT ODUWA IMASEUN/IKECHUKWU ONYEKA
Best Film in African Language	ARAMOTU – NIJI AKANNI (NIGERIA) IZULU LAMI – MADODA NCAYIYANA (SOUTH AFRICA) SOUL BOY- HAWA ESSUMAN (KENYA) SUWI – MUSOLA CATHERINE KASEKETI (ZAMBIA) FISHING THE LITTLE STONE – KAZ KASOZI (UGANDA)
Best Child Actor	SOBAHLE MKHABASE (THEMBI), TSCHEPANG MOHLOMI (CHILI-BITE) AND SIBONELO MALINGA(KHWEZI) - IZULU LAMI ERIYA NDAYAMBAJE- DUDU IN AFRICA UNITED JORDAN NTUNGA- ANTO IN VIVA RIVA AYOMIDE ABATTI- YOUNG KASHI IN MAAMI BENJAMIN ABEMIGISHA- ZEBU IN ZEBU AND THE PHOTOFISH SHANTEL MWABI- BUPE IN SUWI
Best Young Actor	YVES DUSENGE (CHILD SOLDIER) AND ROGER NSENGIYUMUA (FOOTBALLER)- AFRICA UNITED SAMSON ODHIAMBO AND LEILA DAYAN OPOU - SOUL BOY EDWARD KAGUTUZI - MIRROR BOY DONOVAN ADAMS - SHIRLEY ADAMS JUNIOR SINGO - HOPEVILLE
Best Actor in Supporting Role	OSITA IHEME - MIRROR BOY HOJI FORTUNA - VIVA RIVA MPILO VUSI KUNENE - A SMALL TOWN CALLED DESCENT JOHN DUMELO – A PRIVATE STORM DESMOND DUBE- HOPEVILLE
Best Actress in Supporting Role	MARY TWALA - HOPEVILLE JOYCE NTALABE - THE RIVALING SHADOW MARLENE LONGAGE- VIVA RIVA TINA MBA -TANGO WITH ME YVONNE OKORO - POOL PARTY
Best Actor in Leading Role	THEMBA NDABA - HOPEVILLE PATSHA BAY -VIVA RIVA JIMMY JEAN-LOUIS - SINKING SANDS EKON BLANKSON - CHECKMATE ANTAR LANIYAN - YEMOJA MAJID MICHAEL – POOL PARTY
Best Actress in Leading Role	IDIAT SHOBANDE -ARAMOTU OMONI OBOLI- ANCHOR BABY MANIE MALONE - VIVA RIVA AMAKE ABEBRESE- SINKING SANDS DENISE NEWMAN -SHIRLEY ADAMS GENEVIEVE NNAJI – TANGO WITH ME
Best Director	SOUL BOY - HAWA ESSUMAN SHIRLEY ADAMS – OLIVER HERMANUS VIVA RIVA – DJO TUNDA WA MUNGA ARAMOTU – NIJI AKANNI A SMALL TOWN CALLED DESCENT – JAHMAIL. X. T QUBEKA SINKING SANDS – LEILA DJANSI
Best Film	VIVA RIVA – DJO TUNDA WA MUNGA (CONGO) SINKING SANDS – LEILA DJANSI (GHANA) ARAMOTU – NIJI AKANNI (NIGERIA) SOUL BOY – HAWA ESSUMAN (KENYA) HOPEVILLE – JOHN TRENGOVE (SOUTH AFRICA) A SMALL TOWN CALLED DESCENT - JAHMIL X.T QUBEKA (SOUTH AFRICA)

African Entertainment Awards

Here is the good news! Not really ready to write about the Omotola Jalade Ekeinde's 'surprising' appearance at the Grammy Awards, which I don't see as special.

BIG HITZ, a record label owned by Money Henry Samuel, one of the most enigmatic young music gurus, who is currently residing in India and making the sort of impact we expect in the industry. The thing is that I'm impressed and I'm thrilled too. This shows that hardwork pays a lot.

BEST ARTIST OF THE YEAR (AEA) MALAYSIA 2011

BEST VIDEO OF DA YEAR WITH DA VIDEO (OWO) (AEA) MALAYSIA 2011

BEST COLLABORATION OF DA YEAR WITH DA SONG (WINE AM) FT KELLY HANSOME

Go cast your vote at: The Awards website...

The Nature of Film Adaptation

Every screenplay adaptation is a unique understanding of the ‘ideas’ of the original writer. No matter how loose the adaptation looks, the talent exhibited by the screenplay should be appreciated. However, Salman Rushdie explains adaptation as ‘the process by which one thing develops into another thing, by which one shape or form changes into a different form.’ We have had books made into plays and films. We have also seen films turned into books.

Infact, in the music industry, they call ‘adaptation’ by another name, which I think is ‘remix.’ For the nature of trying to turn books into movies, one needs to pay attention to details and these details consist of the main ideas of the story, the heart of the story and the setting, which is very important, if the story happens to be historically relevant to a particular group of people. So, when you have a work of art being changed from its original nature to another thing, the transformation becomes a burden to whoever is in charge to do the ‘transfer’ from print to film. Now it is not easy to take a story from another form to another if you don’t understand the entire work. For every serious screenwriter asked to do an adaptation, what should matter to him is the sense of understanding that has to envelope him, because whatever shape the story takes is the way he has understood it. This shows that the screenwriter understands the story he’s adapting emanated from how many times he had read the story and how deep his understanding of it is.

When a screenwriter is working on such project, of transferring an idea, a certain idea that was produced many years ago into some other form, he is conscious of the way it goes. Every screenwriter has a solid control of what he is writing. He is concerned about the viewer, so he tries so hard to tell the story the way he wants. The book, which is being adapted remains a treasure that he is about to open to the world. If he messes it up, we will know, but there is a belief that a book is always better than the film. Furthermore, there are wonderful adaptations. A lot of them are close to the story and have strong relevance to the main theme being discussed in that different form of art. Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake remains one. Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha is a classic example too, although most people believe that the characters in the film were not properly fleshed out, but the truth is that screen-time won’t let any screenwriter play with time. It will be awful if a screenwriter forces himself to plug in all the necessary requisites integral to a good novel into a film. These are two different forms and should be followed closely the way they are.

Having asked the class to do a 5 paged adaptation of the first chapter of my book, with the action and dialogue in the real place, it is my job to say which story tells the ‘real story’, because I’m the author. In the sense where the original author is not around, the screenwriter should be able to go back in time to understand where the author was coming from, before plunging into a heavy task of making the story his own. The first thing he should do is to spend time to study the environment where the story is set. If fictional, why was it created? If the setting is known, why the author originally set the story there? If these questions are answered, then you can easily start talking about the characterisation. The screenwriter should tend to understand who the characters are and why they are in the story. Who are the characters that make this story complete and whole? If you can’t find them, then your story dies completely. What I mean by die is this: it becomes a total loose adaptation, which is not based on the book, but on the ideas of the screenwriter to easily detach him from the original story. For an author, this is a huge insult and should not be tolerated. Screenwriters are fond of this.

Sajju Shreshta, one of my students and the most inquisitive among them thinks that the adaptation of Alice in Wonderland is a good one. There are stories that don’t need to be hardened when it comes to transforming them. These are folklores, stories that we orally circulate, stories that we know by heart. However, this doesn’t guarantee that such stories can’t be ridiculed out by the lazy transfer most screenwriters engage in. Then again, it is left for the director to try to look at the finished work and make changes where necessary. If the director is a good one, he should as well read the original work to understand the art better. This will help, but in a way, most directors are actually lazy they have no interest in whatever they are doing, except for the pay. Such misdirected passion leads to the bastardisation of some art works.

Films you should see:

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Then, make a comparison of both adaptations to their original works.

Teaching at CRAFT

I have not been able to update the blog, because I got into Delhi on Monday morning and had to go straight to CRAFT from the airport.

I'm teaching direction at CRAFT and we are doing film adaptation at the moment, which is alien to the students. Yes, they have finished with the screenplaywriting module, but film adaptation is totally a new dimension to take. Now I am having difficulty connecting with them on that. It did appear to me on the first day that they were impressed with my teaching, but hey, they FELT 'adaptation' is of no relevance to them as directors.

I have 9 students in my direction class. Most of them are from Hyderabad. The only girl in the class is from Mumbai and there is a smart and inquisitive Nepali too, whose passion for photography made him think of going into filmmaking, but he thinks now that the way the techniques of filmmaking have been introduced to him, he is demoralised and feels that he should not have ever thought of going into it.

Good thing is that I've tried to connect with them.

My assignment yesterday was to 'adapt' the first chapter of The Abyssinian Boy into a 5 paged screenplay. But hey, only two people did the assignment. Others said they CAN'T do it, because it is DIFFICULT and I'm like, 'How then do you learn when you can't do simple assignment, no matter how difficult it appears to be?'

Surprisingly, some of my students have Master's. Isn't that cool? But then, what is more cooler is that ego is very prevalent in the class, but I'm very good at smashing them.

I will upload pictures from my class soon, to show the expressions on each faces.