TalentX Africa

It's really hard to review this movie and analyze the subjects it addresses without dropping spoilers, but I'll try as much as possible to make it spoiler free.  This movie is not for the faint at heart, and if you can’t stomach violence, this movie is not for you. All Quiet On the Western Front is a movie based on a German novel of the same name by Erich  Maria Remarque. It is directed by Edward Berger and stars Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch,  Daniel Brühl, Sebastian Hülk, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanovic, and Devid Striesow.  The story is set in the closing days of World War I and follows the experience of a German soldier, Paul  Bäumer, a schoolboy who enlisted in the German Army with his friends. On getting to the  frontlines, Paul and his friends are exposed to the gruesome realities of war. The runtime is two  hours and twenty minutes. Every minute spent can’t be called a waste, and events happening  carries a level of weight to drive the mes...

Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman is an adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s play, Death and the King’s Horseman, set in Nigeria during the colonial era (WWII). The source material is a classical play in African literature and theatre. The events of the play are said to be based on true events that occurred in Oyo in 1943. My first encounter with this play was during my undergraduate days as a literature student, and if you ask anyone that is into African literature or even the older generations, they’ve probably come across it during their secondary school days or even in the university. I can tell you for free that this play has also been performed countless times by performing theatres in different universities and private theatres. So a lot of people are not strangers to the story. Regardless, seeing it adapted for mainstream media is really a good thing for more people to experience the story. The plot summary of the movie goes like this: " The king died 30 days ago. Tonight, Elesin ...

  Spoiler Alert! If you’re yet to see Anikulapo, right now will be a good time to close this article as it contains some spoilers, but if you’ve seen the movie or you just don’t mind, proceed ahead by all means.  Anikulapo is a movie that follows the story of a man called Saro, a stranger and textile weaver who recently arrived in the old Oyo empire. He is housed and helped by a woman called Awarun, under some conditions that he agrees to. Not long after this, he starts an illicit affair with Queen Arolake who feels unsafe and less happy with her marriage to the king. Both lovers eventually try to make a break for it, but they are caught, and Saro is put to death. However, this wasn’t the end for him. He was given a new chance at life and a newfound power that set him up on a path that brought about his hubris and undoing. Anikulapo is best described as a historical fantasy drama with a touch of romance. Its runtime is about two hours and fifteen minutes. The acting was well...

  Have you ever experienced having so many questions wandering around in your mind but no one to ask? Or starting out in a new field with no one to guide and direct you? In this section, I interviewed an expert on FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) based on Scriptwriting. Our guest Yinka Ogun has revealed deep insight into how he started and a piece of solid advice to up-and-coming scriptwriters and screenwriters.  Join the conversation below. Can we meet you? My name is Yinka Ogun, I’m a screenwriter and content developer, I am also the current president of the screen writers guild of Nigeria and a member of the International academy of television arts and sciences, host of the Emmy awards What was your experience with the first script you wrote? Were you commissioned to write it? My first script was a spec script and I didn’t get to sell it, but it authenticated me as a writer, and one of those I showed, commissioned a new script after that. Can you give us the whole gist? ...

Imagine stepping out of your house for a walk and five minutes later, the sky suddenly becomes cloudy with lightning and thunder dancing across the heavenly canvas. At the same time, the smell of rain hits your nose and your eyes begin to water from the gust of wind.  You look around and there's no shelter; just bushes and not even one uncompleted building in sight. You resign to fate because you can't even think of going back home. That's too far. But just as you bow your head in anticipation of the heavy rain, you see the sun from the corner of your eyes. You raise your head and just like that, the skies have cleared! I can almost feel your sigh of relief as you confidently continue the walk. Sweet stuff!  And then, a few minutes after your miracle, without warning, the heavens open and the rain pours down on you mercilessly. Ah, the sheer horror! That is an analogical explanation for suspense. In this article, you’ll learn how to push your audience to the edge of their s...

Coming up with multiple ideas for your next film can be quite difficult.  It may seem very easy while you play out the idea in your head, but by the time you get around to developing your story-line, your initial ideas are long since forgotten or buried under a mountain of thoughts. In this article, I’ll take you through easy processes that will inspire you to generate multiple ideas for your short film.   1.     Start In a Nonlinear Way Naturally, you’d want to start from the beginning, to the middle and then the end in a linear fashion. That could frustrate your creative process. You don’t have to follow a straight method when you can start from any point where you feel certain emotions and build your story or ideas from there. Since it’s a short movie, it’ll be easier to start from the middle or even the end of your story and articulate your characters, their flaws, location etc. from there. Taita Waiititi’s response to writer’s block explains i...