Nigeria’s entertainment industry marked a new milestone in Miami, Florida, USA when UK based Nigerian filmmaker Ogo Okpue tied with Bryan Keith Montgomery, as Best Film Director and Best Actor Award at the 2023 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Award with his film A Song From The Dark.
A fantasy-horror flick, A Song From The Dark projects heroes and heroines of African traditional mysticism. The film which had earlier received six nominations at the 2022 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and best director for debut feature film for Okpue, stars Nollywood’s Nse Ikpe Etim, Wale Ojo alongside Ghanaian actress Vanessa Vanderpuye, Octavia Gilmore, Dean Kilby among others.
Addressing the feat, Okpue said, “Winning at the largest black film festival in the world was an absolute honour! It’s been three years grafting in the dark, and then within a year you end up in Miami Beach accepting two big prestigious awards as well as Best Director at Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles? God did it! Congratulations to my lead actress for winning Best Actor as well. Congratulations to my fellow 2023 ABFF winners! I will say many thanks to Jeff and Nicole Friday for birthing ABFF and giving diverse voices such an amazing platform.
On the inspiration for the film, Okpue said, “The story dates back to a certain period of my childhood when my family would visit my grandmother in our village. She happened to be a well-respected traditionalist. Tales of her would intrigue us and as I grew older, I regretted not knowing her more. She was an enigma and I wondered what it would have been like if some of her tales were captured in books. The world of African mysticism has not been explored enough in world cinema. In most cases it is vilified. I think in Africa, our superheroes have slept long enough, African stories are as diverse and as entertaining as the continent itself, so I thought ‘why not add more African heroes to the fictional world of cinema?”
Okpue’s short films Saving Cain and Cat Face have been screened and recognized and screened at major film festivals globally.
In its 27th edition the annual film festival is the world’s largest black film festival showcasing a large genre of audio-visual works.
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