“Being a Golden Globes voter means committing your time to watching a lot of content – a whole lot!” Latasha Ngwube, says with a laugh.
” They sent over over 500 submissions of amazing content from the best of the best. Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, Disney, BET, FX, you name it. But this comes after you have gone through the rigorous onboarding and verification screening process by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. It was insane but in the best way.”
Lifestyle journalist, cinephile, entertainment taste maker, social media maven and bon vivant, Latasha Ngwube also known as Latasha Lagos was among the black non-member voters selected to the voting committee of the 80th Golden Globes awards which held on Monday January 10, 2023
Hosted by Jerrod Carmichael, the awards was making its return after a two year hiatus following complaints and protests upon the discovery that there were no black judges on the committee.
Call Latasha a beneficiary of the new inclusivity agenda of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and you would be right but that would be discounting her decades old investment in TV and film beginning in her teenage years when she would watch four movies in one day.
Latasha Ngwube“It was from that immersion that my love for cinema began and I am happy for where it has taken me.”
Last year, as if in preparation for the Golden Globes, Latasha was appointed Director of Media & Publicity for the Edo State International Film Festival an assignment she discharged with admirable aplomb.
And she was in Benin when she received the news of her selection as a non-member voter for the 80th edition of the awards.
“I remember seeing the email notification and telling myself it didn’t matter if I hadn’t made the final cut because simply being considered in itself was a big enough of a deal to me. When I read the word “congratulations” my brain froze and I couldn’t process much more beyond that point. This was a moment of exhilaration, validation and a milestone all at once.”
For someone who has lived a major part of her life consuming and writing about films, what does the future hold? Will we someday see her in front or behind the camera?
“I have acted and produced, I just haven’t directed yet. I love the arts and in time I believe I will come full circle. I did plays all the time in primary and secondary, got cast in television commercials as a kid, and the odd “waka pass” as a teenager/young adult. I respect the process so much that before I do anything major I have to undergo some training…talent is great but there are technicalities to understand in order to meet expectations. Nollywood of today, deserves those who have mastered the craft and nothing less…maybe I’m too much of a perfectionist but I believe the devil is in the details and maybe that is why many of our veterans such as Patience Ozokwo, Sola Sobowale, Nkem Owoh, Norbert Young, Ngozi Nwosu, RMD and many more are experiencing late-career revivals because their expertise and professionalism cannot be denied.”
Time will tell. – TK
