Friday, December 09, 2005

Colin Firth, Fela, Nigerian themed films and watch out, Labour Party

Pleasant surprise this morning to hear Colin Firth, the English actor picking out his favourite songs for Desert Island Discs, and then hearing the rhythm of Fela's Overtake Don Overtake Overtake (ODOO) boom out of the radio. Apparently Firth spent the first four years of his life in Nigeria and picking Fela was in tribute to the time spent there. Which probably also explains his starring in a film I stumbled across a while ago called The Secret Laughter of Women. Set, perhaps a trifle improbably, in a wealthy Nigerian expatriate community on the Cote D'Azur, the film also stars Joke Silva (with her husband Olu Jacobs, she forms one half of Nigeria's foremost acting couple) and Nia Long. The script is written by a Nigerian writer Misan Sagay, and this is evident in the strong Nigerian flavour of the film - it appears to have been panned by the critics for it's improbable rose-tinted view but most Nigerians will probably enjoy it.......after all it's very rare that we see ANY portrayal of Nigerians in films made abroad....

Also listened to David Cameron's first major interview since being elected as leader of the Conservative Party and I must say he did quite well. Asked what he stood for, he said he believed that people should be strengthened and supported to achieve their full potential and that his second major belief is that we are all in it together. He also said he believed all the parties should work together to protect the environment. Difficult to find much to quarrel with in those........I suppose the taste of the pudding (or perhaps that should be the moi-moi) will be in the eating, when he starts trying to translate these beliefs into policies......but I think the Labour Party had better brace themselves.....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Colin Firth in a film also staring Joke and Olu Silva ... well, what do you know?