SAN FRANCISCO, July 29, (THEWILL) – A film depicting the experience of Nigerian immigrants , titled “In America: The Story of the Soul Sisters,” is to premiere on Thursday, August 7 at the National Press Centre, Radio House, Abuja.
According to a statement, the film, which won the “Best Film by an African Abroad” at the 2011 African Movie Academy Award, will be brought to viewers in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Information and Oracle Films.
The statement said the film has been shown at many schools in the United States, including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Hampton University, and many others, with students from Nigeria and other African countries finding it very entertaining and inspiring.
Commenting on the film, a Nigerian filmmaker based in Boston, United States, Rahman Ladigbolu, who produced the film, said : “In America: The Story of the Soul Sisters needs to be seen by our youths at home in Nigeria. The lure of life abroad has been confusing to many of us, and, for many who are able to travel out, they painfully learn that life abroad does not always justify its promise.”
According to Ladigbolu, “In the past, they were forcing us into slavery, but today we’re voluntarily selling ourselves into it.”
The film which also features Jimmy Jean-Louis, famous for “Phat Girlz” and “Heroes”, tells the story of Sade through her struggles for love and green card, her inspiring friendship with African-American Sonya Muhammad, her marriage to African-American Curtis Anderson, and the relationship with her old neighbourhood uncle, Tai Ojo.
Sade, a Nigerian medical student seeking better professional opportunity in the United States finds herself caught up in the American immigration war. With the political heat mounting on illegal immigrants, she faces a dilemma: she either continues to live on the fringes of the American society, where there’s no hope for her career goal, or give up all hope on the “American dream”.
Tai Ojo, her so-called “uncle” who has been struggling in America for more than 15 years, thinks this may be an opportunity for him to do something good for someone in his life, but the demons in his own life are up against him, and they would test his will as he shares a roof with the new immigrant Sade.
“In America is a movie that speaks to two worlds at the same time: Africa and America,” a New York-based syndicated columnist and an actor in the movie, Rudolf Okonkwo, said. He added: “And it does this by unfolding the iconic experience of a Nigerian immigrant, a character that all African immigrants in the United States easily recognise.”
Ladigbolu, who said in the on-going evolution of global economy and culture, people of African descents have a lot to prove and contribute, insisted that “we’re not letting others do it for us.”
The statement said Ladigbolu intends to use the film as a voice that tells the African immigrant story, and of reconciliation in the complex relationship between African immigrants and African-Americans.
It added that in a planned screening tour, he also plans to bring the rich and educational movie to the viewing pleasure of Nigerians, students and traders, youths and parents, and everyone across the country.
Given a limited release in Lagos, the movie was officially screened at the Cannes Pan African Film Festival, France, and had featured also at many festivals across the United States, Canada, Europe and Africa, and it has won accolades and awards, among which is “Best Emerging Filmmaker” at the Roxbury International Film Festival.
Ladigbolu, who also won the much coveted AMAA Award , confesses that it feels great to win the award, but he sees it more as a challenge to do better in the future. “AMAA is not only a celebration of African films; it’s also an encouragement to make films that both compete and lead in the world. It’s a challenge to think farther ahead and that’s how I welcome it,” he said.
The statement said further information on the film is available at the film’s official website: http://inamericathemovie.com
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