African Movie Channel - Watch the latest Nollywood & African movies on line

The NEW Arsenal away kit – wear yours first! 

Arsenal Football Club is delighted to reveal its new away kit for the 2010/2011 season, available to pre-order from today, through official Club stores and via the Arsenal Football Club website.

*No purchase necessary. Terms and conditions apply.**Guaranteed delivery on launch day to UK addresses only. The final date for ordering to guarantee delivery on launch date is July 6th.Please note toddlers and infant shirts do not have the club motto on the reverse of the crest.

 Tunde Kelani’s Arugba 

makes London outing

Arugba delves into the life of Adetutu, a beautiful young priestess selected by the oracle to carry the sacred calabash at the Osun Osogbo festival. The calabash can only be carried by a virgin, and after being abducted by three men, Adetutu’s chastity and suitability as the chosen one is questioned. Interwoven with themes of balance, love, loyalty, and loss, her tale also explores issues of governance, political corruption, HIV/AIDS and the influence of modernity over convention, all within the context of a culture that is rich with traditional values yet marred by traditional viewpoints.

This Kelani masterpiece is showing at the Odeon Imax Cinema in Greenwich on 7th May 2010. Booking hotlines - 02072777021, 07947763515, 07932504996, 07950514589.

Click here to watch other Kelani masterpieces now on the African Movie Channel.

Arugba delves into the life of Adetutu, a beautiful young priestess selected by the oracle to carry the sacred calabash at the Osun Osogbo festival. The calabash can only be carried by a virgin, and after being abducted by three men, Adetutu’s chastity and suitability as the chosen one is questioned. Interwoven with themes of balance, love, loyalty, and loss, her tale also explores issues of governance, political corruption, HIV/AIDS and the influence of modernity over convention, all within the context of a culture that is rich with traditional values yet marred by traditional viewpoints.

BFI is the British Film Institute. Its world-renowned archive, cinemas, festivals, films, publications and learning resources are there to inspire you.

This Kelani masterpiece is showing at the BFI on Sunday 8th November @ 15:50. Click here to book your seats now, or visit the BFI website for more info.

The Africa in Motion (AiM) film festival is delighted to announce the shortlist for their film competition, which consists of eight short films by young and emerging African filmmakers who have not completed feature-length films yet.

The films on the shortlist span fiction and documentary genres: a magic realist tale from Tunisia; a Moroccan story of childhood nostalgia; a single-setting short from Egypt; an edgy tale about two gangsters set in the high-octane Nigerian capital Lagos; a heart-warming love story from Mozambique; and three films from South Africa: a stylistically experimental documentary on anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko; an innovative stop motion animation short; and a fascinating documentary on two lovers and community activists in the Cape.

All selected short films will be screened during the Africa in Motion film festival (23 October - 2 November 2008), and the winner will be announced at a special awards ceremony after the screenings. There will also be an Audience Choice Award, voted for by the viewing public at the AiM film festival, to be announced at the end of the festival.

The winning film will be selected by a jury consisting of acclaimed Burkinabe filmmaker Gaston Kaboré; writer, presenter and filmmaker Zina Saro-Wiwa; Director of the Scottish Documentary Institute Noe Mendelle; and high-profile film critic, writer and producer Mark Cousins. The winning filmmaker will receive £1,000 prize money to assist them in their filmmaking career.

Jury member Mark Cousins says of the competition: “Short films are the spurts of life, the new shoots, of the film world. It is great that Africa in Motion is focusing on them. That’s where the discovery and vitality is. The short film competition, and its considerable prize, is a brilliant way of putting the festival’s money where its mouth is, and giving a fillip to the zingy and daring new African directors. I am delighted to be part of it.”

“We were impressed with the overall quality and standard of the entries”, says festival director Lizelle Bisschoff. “We received films all over the continent – from almost 20 African countries. This competition is part of the festival’s commitment to support filmmaking talent on the continent and it is our hope that the competition will contribute to making it a bit easier for aspiring African filmmakers to fulfil their dreams.”
ENDS

Notes to Editors
The shortlist consists of the following eight films:
 Red & Blue, Mahmood Soliman, Egypt, 2007
 Sellam and Demetan, Mohamed Amin, Morocco, 2008
 I Love You, Rogério Manjate, Mozambique, 2007
 Area Boys, Omelihu Nwanguma, Nigeria/UK, 2007
 Magic Crop, Anis Lassoued, Tunisia, 2006
 Agenda, Diek Grobler, South Africa, 2007
 Biko’s Children, Vuyisa Breeze Yoko, South Africa, 2007
 Pam & Ashraf, Robyn Rorke, South Africa, 2007

The AiM short film competition is kindly sponsored in part by Total Black TV, an online film distributor based in New York www.totalblacktv.com.

For all press queries, please contact Press Officer Leo Wood leo@africa-in-motion.org.uk 07876 403 648.

The final programme for AiM will be released mid-September, please visit www.africa-in-motion.org.uk for full details. Concessionary discounts and ticket deals will be available.

AiM is organised by Stop and Stir Arts Ltd, www.stopandstir.org, a not-for-profit arts company that aims to make marginalised and underrepresented art more widely available to Scottish audiences. Lizelle Bisschoff is the artistic director of both AiM and Stop and Stir Arts Ltd, lizelle@africa-in-motion.org.uk.

The filmmakers are:
Anis Lassoued: Born in Tunisia in 1972, Lassoued received a Bachelors Degree in Film Production from the Institut Maghréb in Tunis. He pursued further training in script writing at Fémis in Paris and has worked as an assistant and casting editor on many Tunisian and international films. He has directed three short fiction films and documentaries to date, and Magic Crop has won several awards at film festivals worldwide.

Mohamed Amin: Amin has studied various cinema courses in Belgium and worked with a number of Belgian directors. He has made several short films and his work has been screened in festivals in Belgium and Morocco.

Mahmood Soliman: Born in Minia (Upper Egypt) in 1976, Soliman graduated from the Higher Cinema Institute in Cairo in 1997 and has written, directed and produced three short films to date. He is currently working on the screenplay of his first feature film and has published essays in several Arab publications as well as three collections of short stories.

Omelihu Nwanguma: Nwanguma was born in London to Nigerian parents in 1977 and spent  his early childhood growing up in Lagos and Eastern Nigeria. He has received funding from the UK Film Council for short film production, and his second short film, Seeker, was produced in  2005 and has won a host of awards at international film festivals. His third short film, Area Boys, was entirely self-funded and shot on a low budget.       �

Rogério Manjate: Manjate was born in Maputo, Mozambique, in 1972 and is a professional actor and director of theatre, a writer and a filmmaker. He has studied Agronomy at Eduardo Mondlane University and he currently lives in Maputo. I Love You is his second short fiction film, and he has worked as an actor in several Mozambican films.

Diek Grobler: Grobler obtained a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa in 1996. His animations have won several awards and he has also work in the production of animation television series for children. Agenda is his second independent film.

Vuyisa Breeze Yoko: Actor, graphic designer, hip-hop MC and graffiti artist Breeze started his career in the film and television industry as a runner on commercial shoots. While working on a  show as presenter for the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Breeze developed an interest in directing. Biko’s Children has been screened at film festivals in South Africa and India and has won a best short film award at the Tri-Continents Film Festival in 2007.

Robyn Rorke: Rorke is currently working towards her PhD at the University of Cape Town in the fields of democracy, governance and civic activism. She is a social scientist who is interested in stories and she primarily employs a method of participant observation in her research. Rorke has worked with the Anti-eviction Campaign in Cape Town since 1994, and has close contact with the two activists represented in Pam & Ashraf.

The Africa in Motion film festival (AiM), which takes place annually in October at Edinburgh Filmhouse, is officially inviting African filmmakers to submit short films for a new AiM  competition. In order to target the competition specifically towards young and emerging African talent, filmmakers who enter a film for consideration must not have completed a feature-length film previously. Films entered must have been completed in 2005 or after, and must be no longer than 30 minutes. 

The competition winner will be selected from a shortlist of films and will be announced at an awards ceremony at the third successive Africa in Motion festival in October 2008. The winner will have the opportunity for their film to be screened at AiM 2008 as well as the chance to win a significant cash prize. A selection of other short films specially commended by our competition jury will also be screened as part of a short film showcase at AiM 2008.  

The AiM 2008 Short Film Competition will be judged by a jury panel consisting of local film specialists and established African filmmakers; still to be confirmed.  

The deadline for competition submissions is 31 May 2008, and following from this a shortlist of films will be selected by an AiM viewing committee. The shortlist will be announced in July 2008. These films will then be viewed by all jury panel members, who will make a collective decision as to the prizewinners, based on a point scoring system that will take into account the relative merits of each of the shortlisted films.  Please see www.africa-in-motion.org.uk/call.html for full submission guidelines and to download an entry form. For any further enquiries, please contact AiM festival director Lizelle Bisschoff at: submissions@africa-in-motion.org.uk.  

On Friday, 29th of February 2008 Paceworking & BME Health Forum host a business networking evening.

Starts 6.30pm prompt! 1st arrivals at the event can win TM Lewin discount vouchers, a fantastic prize raffle draw & book a relaxing chair massage session provided by ‘DefuseMe’

 Free seminar/workshop for Business Owners, Managers and Sales and Marketing Professionals Thursday 18 October 2007

Dear Entrepreneur                                     

After the successful event on Thursday 20th September, there has been a demand to run it again. So here is another chance to attend the seminar/workshop ‘6 Essential Steps to a better business’ on 18th Thursday October 2007 from 12 noon – 3 pm at Sunnyhill House, Sunnyhill Road, Streatham, SW16 2UG�
This is a great opportunity to learn how to grow any business and to network with others business owners.

Why should you attend you may ask? For the following 3 reasons:

• In just under 3 hours, you’ll get more profit generating idea’s than you have had in the last 2 months.
• You’ll learn from the leaders in business acceleration, the simple tips and techniques to increase the profits of your current business.
• You will walk away with at least one great idea you can implement in your business the very next day ( isn’t that worth investing your time?).

As places are limited either ring 020 8150 6748 or reply to this email if you would like to attend.

Here are what others said after attending the last event:

“I received handy tips and suggestions on how to grow my business…” - D Streete Therapist
�
“I got to speak to other business owners in areas that would help me support my business. I got an opportunity to see the 6 steps…..to improve and grow my business.”  - J Gay, Life coach

“I now have some tips on how to run my business successfully…” - J Amponish, Accountant

“I have learnt some new facts on how to grow my business” - C Mitchell, Property Maintenance

Why not come and see for yourself? I guarantee that you will not be disappointed and it would be well worth the time invested. Can you afford to miss out or better still let you competition turn up!!

As places are limited, call us now to reserve your seat on 020 8150 6748 or 020 8363 2010 or reply to this email.

We look forward to seeing you at the event.

David Odewale

ActionCOACH Business Coaching

020 8150 6748

07773 764 602

www.actioncoach.com/davidodewale

‘Throughout Your Business Journey Take an ACTION Business Coach!’

Week commencing 21st September:

MISSION TO NOWHERE (15)

A 35mm film.

A compelling and gripping story of a top society Lady murdered in cold blood in her home by an unknown assassin. Being the estranged wife of John Adams, a key political opponent of the ruling government, the Nigerian police are determined to exonerate the government from widespread complicity. They launch a manhunt for the elusive murderer, spreading their dragnet even to rat holes but there seems to be a dead end everywhere. With all the odds against them it appears they are embarking on a mission to nowhere.

Director: Teco Benson (director of the original Blood Diamonds shot in 2003 in Sierra Leone)

Starring: Sam Dede, Stephanie Okereke

Produced by: Teco Benson

Dates:

Friday – 7pm and 11pm

Saturday – 7pm and 11pm

Sunday – 7pm

Showing at:

Cineworld Ilford, Cineworld Wood Green, Cineworld Staples Corner, Cineworld Dublin, Odeon Surrey Quays and Odeon Greenwich.

Cineworld Aberdeen on Monday 8th October

Normal cinema ticket prices apply, £5 only with flyer voucher.

Week commencing 28th September:

MIRROR OF BEAUTY (12A)

A 35mm film 

As a result of the death of the first son of the king of Amanze, the royal household is thrown into mourning.  Consequently, it  became imperative for Ugegbe (mirror), the princess, to choose a husband so as to save the situation. All sorts of suitors come calling but following a chance encounter Ejike, the only son of a widow, develops an unlikely friendship with the princess. He then gets framed for a crime he did not commit and is rejected by the princess. The story takes an unholy twist when Ugegbe’s choice of a husband turns out to be inhuman… Princess Ugegbe is thrown into confusion as she seeks redemption for her soul and defies her parent’s wishes in her choices.

Director: Okey Zubelu Okoh
Starring: Olu Jacobs,
Producer: Okey Zubelu Okoh

Dates:

Friday – 7pm and 11pm

Saturday – 7pm and 11pm

Sunday – 7pm

Showing at:

Cineworld Ilford, Cineworld Wood Green, Cineworld Staples Corner Cineworld Dublin, Odeon Surrey Quays and Odeon Greenwich.

Cineworld Aberdeen on Monday 15th October

Normal cinema ticket prices apply, £5 only with flyer voucher.

Ya Ma’Afrika is a fictional drama show that fuses the lives of 4 African women living in Brooklyn, New York and highlights the cultural experiences, contradictions and challenges of Africans living in the West. In the show, Yetunde (Nigeria), Kui (Kenya), Chipo (Zimbabwe) and Welisane (Cameroon) are housemates from all corners of Africa with different backgrounds. The women confront issues ranging from relationships to employment and immigration. The show is glamorous with a level of sophistication and at the same time it is raw, touching on real issues. The show captures the cosmopolitan side of Africans, rarely shown on TV.

Watch the Ya Ma’Afrika series only on the African Movie Channel.