Nollywood new flick, Streets of Calabar, is produced by UK-based production company, Spirit Creations, written and directed by Charles Aniagolu with Frank Adekunle Macaulay and supported by Cross Rivers State government.
The movie, shot on location in London and Calabar, stars Nigerian-British actors Anthony Ofoegbu, Wale Ojo and Maynard Eziashi and also features veteran Nollywood actor Keppy Ekpenyong and Rita Dominic.
Unlike the average Nollywood movie, the film, which Aniagolu, the director, describes as a “comedy -thriller,” was produced on a significantly higher budget and took months to shoot, using the latest high-definition cameras and state-of-the-art technology.
“I wanted to make a well-written film against the backdrop of a Nigerian subculture, using a multiracial crew and cast, to international production standards, which would potentially be of interest to global distributors,” he revealed.
Synopsis:
Chuks Oti (Anthony Ofoegbu), mixed-race 419 (advance fee fraud) scammer and illegal immigrant recently deported back to his home country Nigeria from London. Once there he manages to wangle his way out of a possible jail term and ends up in the holiday resort city, Calabar, living with his loyal, much younger British girlfriend Margaret, who insisted on travelling with him to Nigeria.
Chuks takes on menial jobs to make ends meet, but life is difficult .When he runs into his old 419 mate, Mike (Wale Ojo), a Nigerian pleasure seeker who is full of wild energy and loves to take risks, the two down-on-their-luck friends, with no jobs and no prospects, soon find themselves back in the criminal world.
They become enveloped in a web of scams and danger presided over by the mysterious De Don, leader of a gang of underground arms and drug dealers, who’s hatched an evil plan to takeover the peaceful streets of Calabar.
Chuks and Mike are forced to become part of a dangerous covert police mission led by two internationally trained detectives to stop De Don and keep the streets of Calabar free of crime. But they soon find themselves the targets, as the evil De Don suspects a double cross.
Pursued across the breathtaking scenery of Cross River State by De Don and his guards as well as a raging group of Cameroonian “yardies”, not to mention one very pissed off cattle herdsman, time ticks down to an explosive climax.
Writer and former BBC/CNN reporter and presenter, Charles Aniagolu, weaves an intricate and funny story in this thriller-comedy, with a cleverness and wit that will leave you tense and laughing at the same time.
The film will be premiered in Calabar in December 2012. See you on the Streets of Calabar.
Trailer:
