The 3 million dollar landmark cinematic production ‘76’ is all shot in Nigeria by award-winning director, Izu Ojukwu starring Nigerian Nollywood megastars, Rita Dominic, Ramsey Nouah, Chidi Mokeme, Ibinabo Fiberesinma and Memry Savanhu. Also starring in the movie is actor Daniel K Daniel who recently won the best actor award at the 2016 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). The London red carpet premiere is slated to take place on the 15th October, and will be attended by the lead cast, crew and special guests. The BFI London screening is preceded by the world premiere taking place at the prestigious 41st Toronto International Film Festival® (TIFF) on the 11th September. This
is the first Nollywood film to be chosen by both Toronto and London
film festivals back to back and is a new milestone in African cinema. A
story of love, honour and bullets set in Ibadan, Nigeria; the film is
inspired by real life event in 1976 that led to the assassination ofnthe then Nigerian Head of State, Murtala Muhammed.
The
film, cast and crew have now received a major boost with a high profile
endorsement from the Head of State who succeeded the assassinated
Murtala Muhammed at the time; His Excellency General Olusegun Obasanjo,
then later went on to become a two term President making him both a
military and civilian leader of the largest black nation in the world.
He described '76 as, "the best view of one of the worst times in our
nation’s history. A must watch and an insight that was long overdue.
Watching the attention to detail and hearing my own voice in February
1976, brought out both sweet and sour memories as Murtala Muhammed was
not only my boss, he was my friend. I cannot attest to what went on in
the homes as we were focused on the field, but this film gives even I,
an insight into that."
Set
during the era of military assassinations and political unrest in
Nigeria, the movie also had the full approval and endorsement of the
Nigerian Army and the Murtala Muhammed family, and was shot inside the
confines of a military base, another first in Nigeria's cinematic
history. It comes 40 years after the actual events, and follows four
years of work by the multi award winning Director Izu Ojukwu and the
production teams of Adonis Production and Princewill’s Trust, a
brainchild of Prince Tonye Princewill and Adonijah Owiriwa who are the
film’s executive producers. Africa Magic, a Multichoice subsidiary also
signed on as partners.
“Our
objective was to show audiences, amongst other things, what the wives
of officers had to go through. Military coups were our legacy. In some
ways, we are still trying to recover from this. Everyone sees and hears
the perspective of the officers. But the woman’s story stays silent. We
wanted to highlight the strength and the vulnerabilities of the typical
African woman through the eyes of officers' wives. This is a filmmaker's
small contribution to raising their volume." the Executive Producer Adonijah Owiriwa stated.
The BFI London Film Festival’s 60th anniversary edition which will take place at venues across the UK capital are from 5-16 October 2016.
In an exciting development for the 60th edition of the LFF, it will
also see the launch, with the BFI and LFF’s official Time Partner IWC
Schaffhausen, of a significant new bursary award to support exceptional
new and emerging UK filmmakers. The IWC Schaffhausen Filmmakers Bursary
Award in association with the BFI is a £50,000 award to benefit an
outstanding British writer, director, or writer/director whose first or
second fiction feature film premieres at the BFI London Film Festival.
We are delighted to announce that our ’76 the Movie" sponsors and supporters thus far are:
1. Africa Magic
2. Nigerian Breweries Limited
3. Crust and Cream, Nigeria
4. Blue Lodge Hospitality
5. The Army of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
6. Project ACT, Nigeria
7. The Silverbird Group
8. The Ford Foundation
For more details please see:
For further information please contact:
As the news continue to make rounds
online, Pulse NG has reached out to the veteran comedian’s US manager,
Bishop, who confirmed he is alright but just went for a checkup, adding
that the MC was grounded on routine visit to the doctor on Friday,
August 26, 2016 because he needed to rest as prescribed by the doctor.
A Story of Love, Honour and Bullets
