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Film Title: Echoes of War Director: Obi Emelonye Cast: Judy Shekoni, Anthoni Akposheri, Anthony Beselle, Siam Hurlock Studio: TTG Pictures/Basic Input DVD Distribution: Blackhorse Entertainment Review by Nnorom Azuonye Nollywood has been crossing borders for some time now. The industry of Nigerian film-makers has astounded even the most discriminating critics, and the popularity of films made in Nigeria has grown steadily in Europe and America. For a lot of Nigerians who have not had the opportunity of going home for a while, these movies provide a window into the homeland they left behind, and it is not just in the stories and the culture or lifestyles they portray, but in the way the films are produced, and distributed. There is always a mix unpredictability, improvisation and grandeur that can be as disconcerting as they are exciting. Apart from the active world of film-making in Nigeria, there is an increasing crop of film-makers of Nigerian extraction or association creating an extension of Nollywood outside the home shores. This is not just in terms of actors breaking into the mainstream such as Chiwetel Ejiofor and Comfort Chikezie among others, but in the more demanding arena’s of writing, directing and producing. Not only are these enterprises ambitious but the budgets can be prohibitive. Without question, the issue of cost is a major headache for Nigerian film-makers at home or abroad. In 2004 the exponential costs in Nigeria necessitated the ban on the use of services of some top Nigerian actors including Richard Mofe Damijo, Genevieve Nnaji, Rita Dominic, Stella Damasus-Aboderin, Omotola Jolade Ekeinde, Jim Iyke, Ramsey Nouah, Sam Dede and Emeka Ike. These concerns are yet to reach crisis point for the European extension of Nollywood but the stress lines show anyhow. One of the London-based film-makers is Obi Emelonye a 1990 University of Nigeria Dramatic Arts graduate who later took a law degree in London. Emelonye is caught between a proverbial devil of legal practice and the deep blue sea of film production. Committed to making films both in Nigeria and Britain, Emelonye’s drive shows just how much he believes that while it is important to make films about life in Nigeria, it is equally important to tell the story of Nigerians and the generality of Africans in the Diaspora. These are important parts of the African reality. Afterall, Emelonye asks, “is it Hollywood that will tell the story of Africa without a purely commercial tilt or bias?” Emelonye wrote and directed “Damned Good Friends” in London in 2000. The film was later tweaked for the Nigerian market or ‘Nigerianised’ as the term goes, where it was released as “Good Friends”. Later that year, he left England for Nigeria where he made a series of films in Nollywood including the critically acclaimed horror flick “Who’s Next?”. In the spirit of Nollywood productions; Nigeria’s exuberant answer to Hollywood and Bollywood, Emelonye’s earlier films were all straight-to-video, and were soon filed away in the overcrowded Nollywood arena where a film became an ‘old film’ in just a matter of weeks. In 2001, Emelonye returned to the UK vowing to make a movie that would entertain and educate audiences not only in Nigeria and other African countries, but in Europe and the Americas as well, and his next project “Echoes Of War” provided a shoulder wide enough to raise the dream. From the way he articulated his vision, it was obvious he set his eyes on the cinemas and the big time. “Echoes of War” the movie features an impressive cast, including half-Nigerian model-turned-actress Judi Shekoni who has been tipped to play Naomi Campbell in a new Hollywood-planned biopic of the feisty supermodel. Shekoni’s television and film credits include “Eastenders”, “Ali G Indahouse” and “It Was An Accident.” Playing beside Shekoni are former tennis ace Anthony Beselle (The Quiet Storm, The Devil), Siam Hurlock (Dog Eat Dog, High Heels and Low Life), and Anthony Akposheri (Good Friends, London Gigolo). “Echoes of War” is the tragedy of Abdul (Anthony Akposheri) and Fatima (Judi Shekoni) - a newly-married couple separated during the 1990s war in Sierra Leone who had moved on with their lives believing one another dead. Nearly ten years later, they not only learn that they had both survived the war, but were both living in London. With both parties married and with children involved, their mutual resurrection would ultimately have far-reaching implications for their marriages. Ultimately, the fidelity of the foundations on which they had rebuilt their shattered lives is tested to the limits. Worthy of note are the performances of Anthony Beselle who triumphs as Brad (Fatima’s husband). He puts up a truly powerful performance that may have been in places more theatre than silver screen yet poignant. Akposheri gives a fair show of his role, though he could have given more of himself to make Abdul’s predicament painful enough for his character to be cared about. Strangely, Akposheri comes alive more in the scenes with his fiery wife, Moet (Hurlock), a sparkly, believable troubled woman working on a short fuse. Similar sparks fail to fly in scenes between Akposheri and Shekoni who herself gives a passable but occasionally lifeless performance. At the end, this film works to a large degree due to its taut storyline, good photography and attentive direction. If it did not have three or four poorly edited frames, and if the last 4 or 5 minutes were cut off, it would have been a flawless production by Emelonye. The overall strength and appeal of “Echoes Of War” – the finished product masks the doggedness of the production team who had to walk the tightrope of a very slim budget. It can only be imagined in retrospect if this film might have turned out a major blockbuster if the crew had more infrastructural and financial backing. And where this production suffers from these shortages become an indictment of the yet under-funded, under-supported and under-promoted black film-making industry in the UK. Incidentally, this is also a mirror image of the fire Nigerian-based film-makers have to walk through as well. If the Nigerian business community or film enthusiasts in the west support the effort of Nigerian film-producers abroad like the Onitsha cartels in Nigeria, but without interfering with the artistic or creative processes, it could be a winning combination. This message, of which the film itself is its own witness is as eloquently delivered as the sub-textual examinations of inter-racial marriages, and the unnecessary, often nonsensical lingering intra-racial tensions between the Jamaican and West African peoples, but most important of all is the anti-war message that portrays the shadows of war to be indeed long, highlighting the mercilessness of war’s residual destructive power. As breakthroughs go, Obi Emelonye has achieved something with “Echoes Of War” that should position him well to join the big boys of the film world. Having won the Best Film gong at the Screen Nation Film Awards 2004, and shown in selected cinemas across London including the Streatham Odeon, Kingston Odeon, Brixton Ritzy, Peckham Multiplex, Rio Cinema, Dalston and the Stratford Picture House, “Echoes Of War” was adopted by the London boroughs of Southwark, Kingston, Newham, Haringey, Enfield, Islington and Greenwich as the Official film for the Black History Month 2004. It is the first Nollywood film to achieve UK Mainstream cinematic distribution. In July, Blackhorse Entertainment began distributing “Echoes Of War” DVD’s through mainstream outlets including WHSmith, Virgin Megastores, Blockbusters, and HMV – another first for a Nollywood film. www.nnoromazuonye.com
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