The four films in the AFI Silver's series -- with one film screened on successive Saturdays -- are designed to give U.S. audiences a sample of what the fuss is about.
Tonight's showing of "Behind Closed Doors" is billed as a world premiere, with a reception honoring the directors and actors in the series after tonight's show.
In "Thunderbolt," above, Ngozi and Yinka play a couple split apart by rumors and magical curses. At right, Nkem Owoh in "Osuofia in London."
(Courtesy Of Tunde Kelani)
|
|
"It's a dream to think of working in films outside this country, so it should be good to see the films on the big screen," says Mofe-Damijo.
Another drama, "Thunderbolt," follows next Saturday, in which a young couple from different tribes are split apart by rumors of infidelity and magical curses.
The comedies "Osuofia in London" and "The London Boy" round out the series Feb. 19 and 26, respectively, with both taking wisecrack shots and observations at the cultural divide between Nigeria and the British capital.
"It's a film that's set in Nigerian culture, but it can be understood by everybody," says Kingsley Ogoro, director of "Osuofia," describing his film's fish-out-of-water plot. "It's a comedy about a rural man who doesn't understand Lagos, much less the queen's land and London. It's about culture clashes."
Although the exposure of the films to a U.S. audience will be a novelty, most actors and directors in Nollywood concede they have a long, difficult path to breaking out of the industry's low-budget, quick-profit standard.
"I don't think we're that close, to be honest," says actor Mofe-Damijo. "Until we start working up to international standards, we can't take part in film festivals like Sundance in the U.S. or others in South Africa and Europe. Until we speak the international language of film, we're going to be very limited."
