A few months ago, I was invited to the premiere of a new African movie in Leicester Square. ‘The Mirror Boy’ is written, directed and produced by Obi Emelonye and has been supported by a range of organisations including OH Films, The Nollywood Factory, Screen Nation and TNF.
Tijan, a London born young teenage African boy (Edward Kagutuzi) is taken by his mother (Genevieve Nnaji) to visit Gambia for the first time in his life. Whilst visiting a crowded street market he suddenly becomes seperated from his mother and soon finds himself lost in the African wilderness.
Bewildered and confused, to find his way back he must embark on a journey of self-discovery, where the lines between reality and fanstasy, physical and spiritual become forever blurred.
He encounters an evil Queen (Fatima Jabbe) who wields her magical powers against his innocent presence as he is led on the journey by the mysterious Mirror Boy (Osita Iheme), who is only visible to him.
A mystical and cathartic climax helps Tijan to unravel the mystery of The Mirror Boy and why only he can see him, which leads him towards his inter-twined fate with a father he has never met.
The Mirror Boy stars Genevieve Nnaji, Osita Iheme, Fatima Jabbe and 11 year old lead Edward Kagutuzi.
On attending the premiere, I was very impressed by the great number of people in attendance and most importantly by the high quality of the film and entertaining storyline; it is a positive testament to how far African cinema has come. The stella cast were also in attendance cementing how important and valued the UK market is to African cinema.
To further highlight this point, The Mirror Boy will now be showing in selected Odeon cinemas nationwide from today (June 10) !!! Plus if my ‘sources’ are correct, some cinemas have even sold out on opening night.
For more information about the film, visit: www.mirrorboythemovie.com
