Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The multi-million Dollar flick by Prince Tonye Princewill, ’76’, already scheduled to make a global opening at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival next week, has now been exclusively chosen to have its European premiere at the prestigious BFI London Film Festival in October.
This is the first Nollywood film to be chosen by both Toronto and London film festivals back to back in the same year and is a major new milestone in African cinema. The film, a love story embedded in treason, intrigue, patriotism and faith is set in Ibadan, Nigeria.
It shows life against the backdrop of transition and the struggle for political stability after the civil war. It is inspired by the real life events that led to the assassination of the then Head of State, Murtala Muhammed in 1976.
The film, cast and crew recently received a major boost with a high profile endorsement from the Head of State who succeeded the then assassinated Murtala Muhammed at the time; His Excellency General Olusegun Obasanjo, then later went on to become a two term President making him both a military and civilian leader of the largest black nation in the world.
He described ’76 as “the best view of one of the worst times in our nations’ history. A must watch and an insight that was long overdue. Watching the attention to detail and hearing my own voice in February 1976, brought out both sweet and sour memories as Murtala Muhammed was not only my boss, he was my friend. I cannot attest to what went on in the homes as we were focused on the field, but this film gives even I, an insight into that.”
Set during the era of military assassinations and political unrest in Nigeria, the movie also had the full approval and endorsement of the Nigerian Army and the Murtala Muhammed family, and was shot inside the confines of a military base; another first in Nigeria’s cinematic history.
It comes 40 years after the actual events, and follows over six years of work by the multi award winning Director Izu Ojukwu and the production teams of Adonis Production and Princewill’s Trust, a brainchild of Prince Tonye Princewill and Adonijah Owiriwa who are the film’s executive producers. Africa Magic, a Multichoice subsidiary also signed on as partners.
“Our objective was to show audiences, amongst other things, what the wives of officers had to go through. Military coups were our legacy. In some ways, we are still trying to recover from this. Everyone sees and hears the perspective of the officers. But the woman’s story stays silent. We wanted to highlight the strength and the vulnerabilities of the typical African woman and to do so through the eyes of officers’ wives. This is a filmmaker’s tiny contribution to raising their volume.” the Executive Producer Adonijah Owiriwa stated.
The film stars renowned and respected Nollywood stars like Rita Dominic, Ramsey Nouah, Chidi Mokeme, Ibinabo Fiberesima, Memry Savanhu, Daniel K Daniel (African best actor 2016), Debo Oguns, Adams Shuaibu and a host of other rising stars. At the centre of this very gripping romantic thriller is the charismatic, ‘Captain Joseph Dewa’, played by Ramsey Nouah who is indicted by the military for his alleged role in the coup.
The film will have its red carpet London premiere on October 15 and will be attended by all the key cast, crew and some very special guests. It will then have its African premiere in Lagos on November 13 before being released nationwide in African cinemas from November 25.
