“Stand by!” shouts the director as actors take their marks. The lighting blinks on. The film crew snaps into action after the order to hurry up.

It’s a sunny day in Tiko, a locality in southwestern Cameroon and a local film crew is gathered to shoot for an action series.

The series which spotlights the ills of drugs and human trafficking is called “Boss Daughters” and it’s expected to be premiered in November.

“We have been filming for like four days now and truly this one is a wonderful experience because I love the story line,” said 32-year-old Jackson Stephanor, director of the show.

Stephanor hopes that “Boss Daughters” will provide new impetus to Collywood, the affectionate nickname for Cameroon’s film industry.

Cameroon’s cultural diversity, tree-lined suburbs and sweeping landscapes, deserts and lakes have increasingly dotted the silver screen in recent years, serving as the backdrop for several popular movies in the country.

“For the last four years, the Cameroon film industry has really evolved. We have moved from the sales of DVDs and CDs to online,” said 31-year-old Montana Peters who has produced and acted in several movies.

The Central African nation has seen considerable growth in its film productions with over 300 movies produced since 2008, said Coach Obi who joined the industry as an actor in 2006.

In recent months, a number of Cameroonian productions have been attracting attention from streaming company Netflix, which has so far purchased four Cameroonian movies.

“We are making some strides,” Obi told Xinhua while shooting an advert in a studio in Buea, chief town of Southwest region which has become the center of film productions in the country.

The growth and popularity of the industry has won the admiration and attention of young Cameroonians like Josiane Shengang, 21, Angel Ntube, 21 and Elyon-Bright Ayuk, 22 who raised funds to produce “Boss Daughters”.

“We are just students who are working so hard to bring themselves up there. I will like to take my career as far as above the sky, as far as I can go,” said Ntube.

“We are trying to hit the limelight. We are all young ladies and we have the talents,” added Ayuk.

There are no official statistics on how much the industry has contributed to the Cameroonian economy, but it has undoubtedly created jobs in a country with an economy that relies mainly on oil and agriculture, said Obi.

“Some persons are cashing out. It might not be that much but really producers are making that effort,” Obi said.

Still, Peters said the industry has a long way to go before its actors and directors have a chance to make millions of dollars.

“We don’t actually have platforms where we can sell our movies. That is where the big problem is. That is where Nigeria is ahead of us,” Peters said, adding that a team was working on a platform that will soon air Cameroonian movies online for Cameroonians to stream.

Fueled by low budgets, whirlwind production schedules and little professional collaboration, the industry is still young but has great potentials, said film editor and producer, Musi Gakehmi.

“As it’s growing, as people are trusting production, more money is going to come in and we are going to have better equipment. Our equipment is not the Hollywood kind of equipment as of now, so whatever we have we make sure that we maximize its use,” Gakehmi said.

“In the next ten years, I see Cameroon film industry like one of the biggest film industries in Africa. It is going to be really big because they are working and achieving a lot,” said Shengang. ■

File photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the scene of film shooting of Boss Daughters in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 26, 2022 shows the scene of film shooting of Boss Daughters in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows Jackson Stephanor (1st L), director of Boss Daughters, giving instructions to actresses while shooting the film in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows Jackson Stephanor (1st L, Front), director of Boss Daughters, giving instructions to his cameraman while shooting the film in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows the scene of film shooting of Boss Daughters in the Southwest region, Cameroon. (Xinhua/Kepseu)

File photo taken on May 25, 2022 shows Jackson Stephanor (1st R), director of Boss Daughters, giving instructions to his cameraman while shooting the film in the Southwest region, Cameroon.

Culled from Xinhuanet

Three Michael Jackson songs have been removed from streaming sites following longstanding claims that they are sung by someone else, Sony and the late singer’s estate said Wednesday.

“Breaking News,” “Monster” and “Keep Your Head Up” appear on the 2010 compilation album “Michael,” released a year after Jackson’s death from a drug-induced cardiac arrest.

Some fans have long argued that the vocals on the tracks actually belong to an American session singer by the name of Jason Malachi, claims Sony has denied.

The record company and Jackson’s estate said, however, that they had decided to remove the songs “as the simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all.”

They added in their joint statement that the removal had nothing to do with whether the songs were authentic.

“Nothing should be read into this action concerning the authenticity of the tracks — it is just time to move beyond the distraction surrounding them,” they said.

Sony and Jackson’s estate added that the seven other tracks on “Michael” would remain available.

On its release in December 2010, “Michael” was billed as containing unreleased songs that were “recently completed using music from the original vocal tracks and music created by the credited producers.”

Jackson is supposed to have written and recorded them with producers Edward Cascio and James Porte in 2007.

But ardent fans and even some Jackson family members expressed skepticism and Sony was forced to release a statement saying it had “complete confidence” that the vocals belonged to Jackson.

Skeptics said the songs were actually sung by Malachi who, according to TMZ, admitted in a 2011 Facebook post that that was the case.

His manager later denied it, claiming the post was faked, reports said.

In 2014, fan Vera Serova launched a class-action lawsuit in California against Sony, Jackson’s estate, Cascio and Porte accusing them of lying to consumers.

An appeals court ruled in favor of Sony and the estate in 2018, removing them from the suit. Serova then appealed to California’s supreme court, according to TMZ.

The judges did not take a stance on whether Jackson had actually sung the songs, and the controversy has not gone away.

Source: AFP

The body of the singer Pierre Narcisse, who died last week, will be delivered to Cameroon after the farewell ceremony.

This was stated by the ex-wife of the artist Valery Kalacheva, According to RIA-Novosti.

According to her, the farewell ceremony for Pierre Narcisse will take place on Thursday, and the body will immediately be taken to Cameroon.

Narcisse’s ex-wife noted that she did not understand why the singer’s relatives refused to bury him in Moscow.

Source: The Times Hub

Colombian superstar Shakira and FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique announced Saturday they were calling time on their relationship of more than a decade.

The 45-year-old “Hips don’t Lie” songstress is one of the biggest names in the global music industry and has sold more than 60 million albums.

Spanish football hero Pique, 35, won the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship, and is a three-time Champions League winner with Barcelona.

The couple share two sons and had been living together for years on the outskirts of Barcelona.

“We regret to confirm that we are separating. For the well-being of our children, who are our upmost priority, we request respect for (our) privacy,” they said in a statement.

With her mix of Latin and Arabic rhythms and rock influence, three-time Grammy winner Shakira is one of the biggest stars from Latin America, scoring major global hits with songs such as “Hips don’t Lie” and “Whenever, Wherever”.

In 2020, she performed with Jennifer Lopez at the halftime show of the NFL’s Super Bowl championship final in Miami, typically one of the most-watched half-hours in US television.

The couple announced their separation just over a week after Spanish court documents inched Shakira closer to standing trial in Spain for tax fraud after a Barcelona court dismissed an appeal from the singer.

Spanish prosecutors accuse her of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros ($15.5 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.

They say she moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with Pique became public but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.

Her defence lawyers say she moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and insist that her “conduct on tax matters has always been impeccable in all the countries she had to pay taxes”.

In an interview with AFP in 2019, Shakira said temporarily losing her voice two years earlier had been “the darkest moment of her life” and affected her “deeply”.

She later recovered her voice naturally, without needing to undergo surgery as recommended by doctors and subsequently carried out a world tour in 2018.

Source: AFP

Legendary Bikutsi artist Nkodo Sitony who passed away on December 21, 2021 at the Central Hospital in Yaoundé will be laid to rest in his native village of Kaa in the Centre Region on Saturday.

The 62 year old had a place in the minds of not only French speaking Cameroonians but all the people of Southern Cameroons and beyond following a more than 40 years of musical career that marked the Cameroonian music stage with successful songs including “Métil wa” and “Mba Mvoe”.

Singer, songwriter, performer, Nkodo Sitony was an accomplished artist. He was a lover of the guitar, the tam-tams and the balafons with which he exploited for more than 40 years.

Nkodo Sitony was one of the most celebrated Bikutsi singers in the 90s. He was also popular for his work in Beti, Fang and Ewondo languages.

He migrated to France and lived in Paris for over 15 years and finally returned home in 2019.

The renowned musician died after a long battle with cancer. He was reportedly weakened by ill health and was less visible on the scene until his death. He left a huge work of 25 albums and received a number of awards with the most prestigious ones being the politicized Cameroon artist of the year award.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Hollywood’s film academy on Friday said its board of governors banned Will Smith from any of its events, including the Oscars, for 10 years after the best actor winner slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony.

“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year,” Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President David Rubin and Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said in a statement.

“However, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.”

In a statement, Smith said, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.” The actor had resigned from the academy on April 1 and has issued statements apologizing to Rock, the Oscars producers, nominees  and viewers.

At the March 27 televised ceremony, Smith strode up to the stage after comedian Rock made a joke about the appearance of the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, then smacked Rock across the face.

Less than an hour later, Smith gave a tearful speech on stage as he accepted the best actor award for his role in “King Richard.” After the ceremony, he was seen dancing at Vanity Fair’s annual post-Oscars party.

Rock’s joke about Pinkett Smith made a reference to the 1997 film “G.I. Jane” in which actress Demi Moore shaved her head. It was unclear whether Rock was aware that she has a condition that causes hair loss.

Source: REUTERS

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns a decision by Cameroon’s National Communication Council (CNC) to suspend the head of one of the country’s most outspoken and popular TV channels, one of its star presenters, and one of its leading current affairs programmes for a month. The suspensions are arbitrary and unjustified, and constitute a serious press freedom violation, RSF said.

The one-month suspensions of Equinoxe TV director Sévérin Tchounkeu, presenter Cédric Noufele and the programme “Droit de Réponse” (Right of Reply) were announced by the media regulator on 1 April.

Alluding to a teachers’ strike, the CNC accused Equinoxe TV of “failing to manage” a guest whose comments were “liable to amplify a potentially explosive social demand.” It also accused Tchounkeu of making offensive comments about state institutions, and Noufele of broadcasting an amateur video that was not related to the subject discussed – an error that the TV channel had nonetheless acknowledged and repeatedly corrected.

“We condemns these suspensions, which have no serious grounds and clearly aim to sanction a media for its coverage of a strike that embarrasses the authorities,” said Arnaud Froger, the head of RSF’s Africa desk. “This is nothing less than an attack on journalism and the right to news and information, which this regulator is supposed to protect. We call on the CNC, which is not in the habit of imposing arbitrary sanctions, to review this decision.”

Cameroonian journalists are often subjected to judicial harassment, arbitrary detention and sometimes very violent physical attacks, but politically motivated media suspensions are relatively rare. Equinoxe TV has been summoned before the CNC several times in the past but has not been suspended in recent years.

Cameroon is ranked 135th out of 180 countries in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index.

Culled from RSF

Will Smith resigned Friday from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed. The slap virus which originated from Anambra State in Nigeria is taking a toll on major institutions around the globe.

Smith in a statement released Friday afternoon said he will “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.”

Film academy president David Rubin said Smith’s resignation was accepted. “We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18.”

Smith loses voting privileges with his resignation. But there are other, less tangible benefits to being part of the academy, Hollywood’s most prestigious organization: It bestows industry credibility on its members. It’s invitation only, and with a once-a-year membership review.

“I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work,” his statement said. “I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film.

“Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason,” Smith concluded in the statement.

The resignation came two days after the academy’s leadership board met to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Those proceedings could have resulted in suspension or expulsion, and it was not immediately clear what additional punishment he could face.

Had he been expelled, Smith would have joined a small group of men removed from the academy: Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and the actor Carmine Caridi, who was kicked out for sharing awards screeners.

On Sunday, Smith strode from his front-row Dolby Theatre seat on to the stage and smacked Rock, who had made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Moments later, he went on to win the best actor award for his role in “King Richard.”

Rock, who was about to present Oscar for best documentary, declined to file charges when asked by police. He has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston this week that he was still “kind of processing what happened.”

Smith stunned Rock, the theater crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage after Rock joked: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”

Pinkett Smith, who has spoken publicly about her hair loss condition, alopecia, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the original movie.

After Smith’s attack, he returned to his seat and angrily twice shouted at Rock to “get my wife’s name out your (expletive) mouth.” When Smith took the stage again less than an hour later to accept his Oscar, he tearfully apologized to the academy but notably omitted any mention of Rock.

The fallout was immediate and intense. Smith had supporters for coming to his wife’s defense, but he was widely condemned for responding with violence and for marring both his long-sought Oscar victory and overshadowing the night’s other winners.

Source: AFP with additional editing