My Sincere Thoughts On London Premiere Of ‘Anchor Baby’: Great Movie, Good Attendance And Great Organization…

The multiple award winning and much talked about movie ‘Anchor Baby’ was given a successful redcarpet premiere yesterday at the Odeon Cinema in Greenwich, London…

Before heading to the premiere, I was not very confident that the attendance would mirror the hype of the movie since Anchor Baby was being premiered on a Tuesday instead of the usual Friday or Saturday. As we all know, It’s on the weekend that people are generally ready step out to catch fun with friends and family.

Contrary to the above, I was impressed with the diverse number of people who showed up at the Odeon Cinema to be part of the whole ‘Anchor Baby’ experience.

Learning from the past, even though the redcarpet was scheduled to start at 7pm, I could not be bothered with the TIME since I knew it would NEVER commence at the said time.

And I was right, the event started late as usual. Any time organizers fail to accord TIME the needed respect, they find an excuse for the delay and this time, the celebrities were running late for the redcarpet…LOL

In fact, they can run as much late as they want, we were starving and we even wanted time to grab some food so ‘dashed’ into the near by Nandos.

Probably we missed the fun part of the redcarpet while out there grabbing some Nandos chicken since the only celebrity we caught on the redcarpet was Monalisa Chinda. However, we later had the chance to meet the Director- Lonzo Nzekwe and the lead Actor, Sam Sarpong.

Apart from the late start, the whole organization was superb compared to the other African movie premieres I have attended. Ticketing was professionally organized, security was on point, and various people labelled ‘HOST’ stood around to offer help and customer service. The press men and women could easily be spotted as their accreditations gave them out.

Now the movie… I cannot still believe ‘Anchor Baby’ is Lonzo Nzekwe’s (Director, Scriptwriter & Producer) first movie venture. The story was perfectly told and the directing was exceptionally on point.

A mini Question & Answer session held after the movie had finished screening to give viewers the chance to ask the Director and lead Actor-Sam Sarpong questions and share their thoughts was a great idea, something I have not seen at any of the London premieres I have been. I hope this can be borrowed for future use!

A lot of thinking must have gone into the making of the movie. I am sorry to say this but the kind of thinking we lack in the Africa Movie Industry is what went into the making of ‘Anchor Baby’. I do not honestly think the story could have been told any better than the angle and the manner Lonzo Nzekwe delivered it.

Justice was done to the script by Nollywood actress Omoni Oboli and British born/LA based Ghanaian actor/supermodel Sam Sarpong. I guess when you have a talent; you do not have to struggle to deliver.

Anchor Baby is a great movie with a perfect theme. It tells a story of Nigerian couple Paul Unanga (British born Ghanaian actor Sam Sarpong) and Joyce Unanga (Nollywood actress Omoni Oboli) who lived in theUnited States.

The couple had no right to stay in USA as their visas had expired. They were ordered by the authorities to vacateUnited Statesvoluntarily or be forced out of the country-deportation.

How can one stay inU.S.for about two years and go back toAfricawithout anything? Hell no, man has to survive and go back to Africa with something to stand on or remain in America and play hide and seek with the U.S. Immigration.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with mandate from the U.S. Government started tracking down illegal immigrants, arresting and deporting them to their home countries.

Joyce was tired of the development of events, she had given up and was ready to leave the country but her husband-Paul did not like the idea of them leavingUnited Stateswhile she was pregnant.

Paul convinced Joyce who was 5 months pregnant that they will leave to Nigeria after she has given birth in Americaand the baby (to be named Uche) has obtained his U.S. citizenship (passport).

There was a ‘scoop’ at Paul’s work by Immigration Officers. Several co-workers were arrested but Paul managed to escape. How far can an illegal immigrant hell bent on surviving the harsh deportation atmosphere in America go?

Paul escaped the officials of the I.C.E. but he was soon tracked down via his phone and was arrest after losing his phone in the chase.

The story gets interesting, intense and twisted from here onwards. Do you want to know what happens next?

Anchor Baby’ will receive a theatrical release at the following UK Cinemas-Odeon Greenwich, Lee Valley, Streatham, Surrey Quays and Manchester Printworks from Friday, 2^nd September, 2011 so you have no reason to miss the movie!!

‘Anchor Baby’ stars the award winning Nollywood actress Omoni Oboli, British born/LA based actor/supermodel Sam Sarpong, Canadian actress Terri Oliver and others.  It was written,directed and produced by Lonzo Nzekwe.

Check out the trailer below…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yx_kiBOZDA

Website:  http://www.anchorbabymovie.com

In UK Cinemas from Friday, 2^nd September, 2011.