NIGERIAN movie entitled 30 Days was recently premiered in Maryland, United States of America, on April 30.
Produced by Mildred Okwo who is based in California, also in the States, the idea of the movie she said was fired by the deregulation of the broadcast industry. The vision was shaped by the happenings in the country's movie industry.
Looking at both areas which ultimately depend on each other for survival, Okwo, a lawyer with a first degree in Theatre Arts, started to nurse the feeling that she could contribute to the development of African contents for African television.
The film shot in Nigeria with some of Nollywood's best, is a co-production between Native Lingua Films and Temple Productions owned by Mrs. Ego Boyo. Okwo is the chief executive of Native Lingua Films and is the writer and Director of the movie.
In statement from her base, Okwo said: "Native Lingua Films and Temple Productions are proud to announce the world premiere of the much anticipated Nollywood feature film, 30 Days. The film will be screened at the AFI Theatres in Silver Spring, Maryland on April 30, 2006 at 7:30 pm, to a full house of enthusiastic Nollywood fans. The political and action thriller stars some of the most renowned actors in the Nigeria film industry including Genevieve Nnaji, Joke Silva, Segun Arinze, Gbenga Richards, Ebele Okaro and Norbert Young among others.
She explained that the choice of Maryland was strategic. "We have chosen Maryland to premiere 30 Days because of the numerous fans who live and support African Films in the tri-state areas of Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C.
30 Days is an action thriller, a political drama and love story rolled into one. Set in Nigeria, West Africa, and shot in Lagos and Abuja, the film is a story of political disruption and assassination of corrupt government officials. Someone is killing corrupt government officials one after the other, the President's men and press scramble to uncover the truth behind the killings. The task of uncovering the mystery falls on the Minister of State, Dupe Ajayi (Joke Silva) and the Inspector of Police Shobowale (Segun Arinze). Meanwhile, Kene Alumona, CBA, a Nigerian man residing in New York for the past 15 years, takes a 30-day trip home. Kene meets and falls for a seemingly quiet and pretty Chinora Onu, Genevieve Nnaji. Kene's vacation turns into a ride on the train of political intrigue, revenge, murder, lies and treachery.
The cast and crew described the movie as very challenging and Mrs. Boyo who was at the premiere said 30 Days will stand out in the young history of the Nigerian film industry.
Genevieve Nnaji said 30 Days has been the most challenging of all her movies because of the physical and mental demands. To play their roles most of the characters had to embark on rigorous physical training, quite unusual in the industry. Another novelty was that the movie was painstakingly shot over several weeks unlike most of the movies that are shot in less than a week.
For Joke Silva, working on the set of 30 Days was wonderful. The attention paid to detail was quite refreshing especially on the technical side of the production.
"Any artistic medium should gently ***** the conscience of its viewers regardless of the subject matter. 30 Days was born out of my frustration with the political and economic situation in Africa as a whole. The story is a cautionary tale of what could happen in the face of constant abuse of power exhibited by elected officials in Africa. 30 Days is very timely especially as the Nigerian government tackles corruption in Nigeria," Okwo declared.
30 Days will do the rounds in the theatre in the US and Europe before coming to Nigeria later in the year for another premiere and then head straight for broadcast. 
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/arts/article03
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