Today in #TheLagosReview

Adele Returns to Social Media as She Celebrates Her 32nd Birthday.

British singer and songwriter, Adele has made a surprise return to social media in celebration of her birthday.
The “Hello” singer took to her Instagram page to share her first post of 2020 to celebrate turning 32. Adele first revealed her dramatic weight loss in October but disappeared from social media afterward. Adele looked almost unrecognizable in the new photo as she rocked a mini tight black dress and stood beaming behind a giant floral wreath in her home.

In her caption, the “Someone Like You” singer who recently got divorced from her husband thanked fans for their birthday wishes and also acknowledged those working on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic. “Thank you for the birthday love. I hope you’re all staying safe and sane during this crazy time.I’d like to thank all of our first responders and essential workers who are keeping us safe while risking their lives! You are truly our angels ?? 2020 okay bye thanks.

Source: feedspot.com

Obi Emelonye’s Releases Short Film “Heart 2 Heart”

Nollywood producer/director, Obi Emelonye has premiered his latest film project, “Heart 2 Heart“, shot with mobile phones and directed remotely via popular video communications application, Zoom.

The short film, which stars JideKene Achufusi (Swanky JKA), follows a long-distance video call between two young lovers; whose wedding was affected by the coronavirus.

Watch the short film here:

Sho Madjozi is the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice 2020 Favourite African Star

Sho Madjozi and Prev Reddy‘s proud African attitude and colorful personality have won them the 2020 Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards (KCA) for Favourite African Star and Favourite African Social Media Star respectively.

Sho Madjozi was nominated alongside Shekhinah, Teni, and Patricia Kihoro in the Favourite African Star category, while Prev Reddy was nominated in the Favourite African Social Media Star category with Anne Kansiime, DJ Cuppy and Chané Grobler.

This year’s award show will reveal the winners virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. Celebrities scheduled to appear on Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards 2020: Celebrate Together includes Dwayne Johnson, Ariana Grande, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Camila Cabello, Millie Bobby Brown, Ellen DeGeneres, BTS, Shawn Mendes, Lil Nas X and more.

Source: Bellanaija

South African Writer Zukiswa Wanner Awarded the 2020 Goethe Medal.

Prolific Zambian-born South African writer Zukiswa Wanner has been awarded this year’s Goethe Medal. According to the Goethe Institut, the annual award is given on behalf of the German government to individuals “who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations”. Wanner receives the award alongside Bolivia’s Elvira Espejo Ayca, the Director of the National Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF) in La Paz, Bolivia, and British writer and former Man Booker Prize winner, Ian McEwan.

Commenting on the selection of Wanner as this year’s winner, the Goethe Institut writes:

“Her conception of herself as an African writer leads her to range far beyond national frontiers in her writing, while at the same time bringing the diversity of African culture into her artistic work. Her detailed knowledge of South African literature and her nuanced understanding of regional discourses and female identity in Africa mean her expertise is internationally sought after; she is also a role model for an entire generation of African writers.”

Wanner has written several books over the years including Men of the South, The Madams, Hardly Working in addition to two children’s titles namely Jama Loves Bananas and Refilwe––the African retelling of the fairy tale Rapunzel. In 2018, Wanner joined forces with Nomavuso Vokwana and established her own publishing house, Paivapo.

Since the national lockdown began over a month ago in South Africa, Wanner has been curating the virtual literary festival Afrolit Sans Frontières, which is organized by 16 writers from ten countries across the African continent.

Sony to releaselllllllll theatrical movies through IMAX At-Home Platform

IMAX and Sony Pictures Entertainment are partnering up to distribute hundreds of new and old movie titles on the theater giant’s at-home platform, IMAX Enhanced. Sony Pictures will be releasing all of their hundreds of new titles in IMAX format over the next few years, which will include all of their upcoming movie releases and IMAX’s theatrical releases.

IMAX’s partnership with Sony is the latest move for the company as it looks to bring blockbuster Hollywood films to streaming services across different countries through its IMAX Enhanced platform

“Today’s announcement represents the latest milestone for Imax Enhanced as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Imax and DTS continue to work hand in hand to redefine high-quality at-home entertainment,” IMAX Chief Financial Officer Patrick McClymont told the Hollywood Reporter.

“The success that SPE has enjoyed in collaborating with IMAX has inspired the decision to significantly increase our commitment and volume of content to meet the growing demand for Imax Enhanced,” Sony Pictures’s Senior Vice President of New Digital Distribution Pete Wood, said.

The idea behind the partnership between the two is to allow consumers to watch Hollywood movies in their living rooms as events such as the novel coronavirus pandemic have kept people indoors, which in turn has caused a significant rise in streaming.

IMAX Enhanced will be streaming films that include Bad Boys For Life, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Jumanji: The Next Level, Venom, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and more. The IMAX Enhanced releases will be available across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific regions.

Netflix Celebrates Africa Month with New ‘Made in Africa’ Collection.

Netflix today announced the introduction of a Made in Africa collection – a curated list of African series, films and documentaries – to celebrate Africa Month and demonstrate Netflix’s commitment to Africa and the African creative community.

The collection is available globally at netflix.com/madeinafrica (or can be found on Netflix by searching ‘Made in Africa’ or ‘Africa Month’ or ‘Africa Day’) and will make it easier for members who love African stories to find something great to watch. It includes over 100 titles – including older licensed films and shows as well as Netflix Originals like Queen Sono, which debuted on Netflix in February, and Blood & Water, which will premiere this month.

The collection includes critically-acclaimed films and series like Jerusalema; King of Boys; Lionheart; Mokalik; Oscar-award winning film Tsotsi; Uncovered; The Wedding Party; Tjovitjo; Castle and Castle; The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind; Azali; Potato Potahto; Joy and more. Members will also see major international films and series that were either predominantly or completely filmed on the continent, such as Holiday in the Wild (South Africa and Zambia); The Red Sea Diving Resort (Namibia and South Africa); Troy: Fall of a City (South Africa), Beasts of No Nation (Ghana), Blood Diamond (Morocco, Sierra Leone and South Africa), and documentaries, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Ivory Game and the Oscar-nominated Virunga.

“This Africa Month, we’re excited to celebrate African stories and storytellers. This collection includes Queen Sono – our first Netflix original series – and as well as films like Catching Feelings, Chief Daddy, 93 Days, Merry Men. We hope that by making these ‘Made in Africa’ titles easily available we will help ensure they are watched Around the world” says Ben Amadasun, Director of Licensing and Co-productions for Africa at Netflix’.

The Made in Africa collection is now available on Netflix at netflix.com/madeinafrica.

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