Hey folks! You’re welcome to this Fantalk edition where we’ll be doing a preview of the latest upcoming Mount Zion film Burning Coles, a filmic adaptation of the novel of the same name, written by Emmanuela Mike-Bamiloye. As usual, we’ll be making cast, crew and plot guesses; so, let’s dive straight into it.
On set of “Burning Coles”
Mount Zion Film Productions began filming Burning Coles on November 18, 2021, and during its one-week shoot, movie stills emerged online from Damilola Mike-Bamiloye, who is presumably the director. The pictures feature a host of drama ministers such as Elvon Jarret from the House on Fire series, Bunmi Bamitale, our beloved Kinkinyinun from the Abejoye series, Tokunbo Jarret from Stalker, Eric Amole-Adams of Games, Ayomide Badejo of the WaT show, Aanumorigba Olumuyiwa in Heart Pain and Mummy Gloria Bamiloye. Similarly, the crew members seen and stated are Ayo ‘Cineman’ Olaleye as the assistant director and script supervisor, Sewedo Wusa, Fada Pentecost and Fabunmi Olawale as the cameramen, Nike Owah as the makeup artist, Tomisin Fasola as the art director, TOluwa Olarewaju as the light man and the production manager extraordinaire is Tunde Owah.
“Burning Coles” trailer
From the trailer and the novel’s back-cover blurb, the story is about Funke Cole, who has come to terms with being married to a drunk. This undoubtedly affects their three children, and in the midst of all that, Funke’s old lover, I think, comes riding on a horse as Prince Charming to save the day…at least, that’s how I see it. But that’s not all there is to it, no? Fire burns in that home and we’ll see whom the family turns to when Burning Coles is premiered at the Drama Ministers’ Power Night today at Jogor Centre, Ring Road, Ibadan, at 7pm. If you loved Gbemi, you’ll definitely be blessed with this one as well, being the writer’s second novel to be adapted to the movie medium.
Drama Ministers’ Power Night
If you’d love to watch this movie in an amazing atmosphere, there’s no better place than at Power Night. So, please be there. I hope that subsequently, the audience will be given more premiere notification time, so as to build fanbase anticipation and aid planning for attendance. I believe that in time, it’ll be premiered on YouTube too. Perhaps, I’ll do a spoiler-free review of it before then; we’ll see.
Give it to me is a movie from Calvary Drama Ministry, written and directed by Evangelist Moses Korede Are. It is a dramatic presentation that conveys truths about the walk of Christians as pilgrims on the earth. It both shows and tells us the different hurdles that children of God have to scale over in their pursuit of their glorious God-given destinies.
Many aspects of its production have much room for improvement, from its acting, monotonous jazz-esque sound design for most scenes, severally out-of-focus and flatly-framed cinematography, to the makeup and costumes, and odd-cutting and reaction shots editing. These are not really a function of quality equipment but a matter of technical know-how and application.
I would always advocate for the supremacy of Story and my observation in Give it to me is that it duplicates a powerful plot by being both a denotation and connotation. This caused a chasm of focus that barely gave me the opportunity to care for or relate to any of the characters. The result was a doubly-long movie that could have done more with less. For a film that would be artistically appreciated for adeptness, only one of these two approaches ought to be given prominence at a time.
Though theatre and cinema share a lot in common, there are nuances which make each unique. Thus, when a movie feels and looks ‘staged’, it amounts to undermining the film medium; the chance to create a lasting impression on both the mind and spirit of the audience has not been optimised. For Give it to me’s allegorical elements, visual effects would have given viewers a memorable element of spectacle that would have enhanced its themes. Also, it’s important for the cast list to always be included in the end credits.
Nevertheless, the illustration of its message is an eye-opener to the ploys of the devil and the virtues we must possess in order to overcome the attacks of the forces against our purpose fulfilment.
If you’ve seen Give it to me, please let me know any enlightenment or illumination you got from it in the comments section below. The link to the movie is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko-4mQ0GRIk.
Hey folks! You’re welcome to the review of Why?, an adaptation of the Biblical account of how God chose David ahead of his brothers as the new king of Israel. For anyone familiar with the story, Why? would draw a smile from you each time you deciphered modifications made to names of the real life characters as well as new word coinages, which of course, made the story easier to follow.
The sound design in EVOM movies in recent times has constituted a quest for originality and propriety. It is an area I’m keenly interested in and I’m an admirer of those who make attempts at doing their own instrumentals. At this rate, the music department of EVOM will in time become consultants in this field that many haven’t really been exploring just yet. Similarly, the opening credits embraced a bit of innovation by being spread across the first couple of scenes. The camera pans in some exchange of dialogue were quite impressive as well.
Gbenga Adekeye as Elba Jess
The titular question generally points us to the reasons God chooses or doesn’t choose people for His assignments. Many people want to be used by God but the fact is that they are not usable. So, sometimes, rather than only asking God to use us, we also need Him to make us usable. As Andrew Wommack put it, God wants to use you more than you want Him to use you. Therefore, it’s about us being in the right state to be used.
The parable of the Great Feast in Matthew 22 is one that amazes me: after the previously invited guests refused to show up for the feast, the king brought in everyone on the streets; yet, when he saw a man who wasn’t wearing wedding clothes, he told his servants to throw the fellow into outer darkness. I used to think that was unfair; after all, it was the king that told his servants to bring in anyone they saw. I later discovered though, that Jesus used that parable to show that many are called but few are chosen. This means that while Jesus has made salvation available for everyone and many have heeded to the call, it’s up to each individual to determine whether he would be chosen for use. Being unusable happens when you disqualify yourself through indiscipline, as found in 1Corinthians 9:27.
Fisayo Olorunsola’s Salu Kishu
Also, God’s choice of us is not about what we’ve accomplished in the flesh; it’s about His call and if we’ve become people after His heart. Elba, Abana and Shalmin Jess had hearts corrupted by envy, anger and unforgiveness, while Dave’s was all about humility. A man after God’s heart is that person that is like a child whom He can work on, whom He can take through different stages of growth, each level making the individual more responsible, which consequently evokes promotion. This is contrary to someone like Salu, played intelligently by Fisayo Olorunsola, who represented the Biblical first king of Israel, a man who kind of rose to prominence overnight. Thus, he was unable to obey any of the two main instructions God gave him. He eventually lost the kingdom and God instead chose David, who very likely wasn’t even born at the time of Saul’s rejection. This is why it is important for children of God to be patient as God does His work in their lives because He’s the one that knows what He’s preparing us for. The heart was the determinant because God wanted someone with His kind of heart.
Rotimi Amodu (L) and Moses Korede Are as Prof Elkan and Mr Jess respectively
In terms of characterization, I learnt so much from Professor Smart Elkan, whose humility before God reflects vividly in his obedience to the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer. Obedience is key if we’re to enjoy the peace that Jesus gives in this world in these last days. Dave’s decision to remain at his duty post until the appointed time came also showed me the need for us to follow God and not move ahead of Him. I only wish that Why? had developed the character of Dave better, who, though understandably didn’t have much dialogue at that time in the real-life story, should have been given more to do in the film.
On a final note, Why? alludes to its biblical story brilliantly and empowers us with the knowledge and wisdom we need to truly be co-labourers together with God to bring in the plentiful harvest.
Alright, we’ve come to the end of this review. If you’ve seen Why?, please share with me the key lessons you got from it in the comments section below. The link to the movie is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWY9elPmSx4
What’s up, gospel movie lovers all over the world? So, we’ve got a new gospel movie coming out this Friday, August 12, 2022 from the stables of Evangelical Vineyard Outreach Ministries (EVOM) titled Why? I can tell you that this is a production initiated by God’s instruction and that makes me excited that our Heavenly Father has a message He wants to send to us His children at this time. So, brace yourself for this film. As usual, we’ll be making cast, crew and plot guesses. So, let’s dive straight into it.
The premiere of “Why?”
EVOM began shooting Why? on July 8 this year and asked everyone to support them in prayers. After the production and post-production phases, it was premiered early this month at the Joint Drama Outreach 2022. Then, early this week, a nice poster picture designed by Tomi’s Concepts was posted on the director’s page that stated that it would be released at 4pm on EVOM Channel on YouTube.
Crew members on set
Two key crew members are Evangelist Shola Mike Agboola who is the writer and director of Why? and Tomisin Agboola who is seen here to be the Director of Photography. I’m particularly fascinated by the cast list because it seems that the lead actor will be Feranmi Agboola whom we’ve seen feature in Corked (2020). On the poster, he is surrounded by a group of men, who all presumably have a say in his life, played by Rotimi Amodu, Gbenga Adekeye, Olasunkanmi Solomon, Oluwaseyi Adeniyi, Fisayo Olorunsola and our beloved Baba Gbenro, Moses Korede Are, with the touching Blind but Loved’s Bintan, Yomi Rotimi, giving it a female’ touch.
A beautiful screengrab from “Why?”
Screengrabs from the movie look high quality and we wait in anticipation of the release of Why?, which I believe will be the third feature film release from EVOM this year. My review of it will be out a few days after its release; so, watch out for it.
Hey folks! You’re welcome to the review of Voice of Sacrifice, the third part of the The Keeper movies. This has been a challenging one to review because, in the words of a viewer on YouTube, “This is not a movie, but warfare”. That should have been clear as, from the publicity ahead of its release, the producers had advised its viewing be accompanied with a fast, and that certain precautions be taken if being watched in a church auditorium. Furthermore, a vigil would be held on the immediate Friday after each release. In other words, the movie was going to be a thoroughly serious business and it indeed turned out so.
The movie highlights the need for revelation in order for us to know key things that determine our success or failure in life. Hence, it’s a mystery drama that gradually unravels some of its unknown events. The dialogue was filled with so much exposition on altars that as again advised, you’d need a notepad to pen them down on.
More work was done to improve on the audio design from previous movies, while the dual subtitles were also more appropriately done. I would say that a charged spiritual delivery by Philip in a scene with his parents was glorious to watch.
With the way this ministration is panning out, the story might just eventually take a back-seat to its message. While this would be undermining the power of the film medium in my opinion, I cannot deny the profound nature and power of its dramatic deliverance sessions. Hence, I’d rather urge you to participate in the vigil after each episode, than do my usual review of the subsequent parts.
Hey folks! You’re welcome to the review of the much-anticipated Man Down, a top-notch gospel movie from Parables Film Productions, Nigeria. It was actually produced in 2021, but premiered on YouTube on July 10, 2022.
You know, there’s been a lot of hype about this movie and I’m quite sure that by now, you know it’s lived up to its billing. Its extensive publicity gave me a great feeling of excitement, and as I hit the play button, an expansive instrumental serenaded me through the gold-themed opening credits. With the opening scene cascading different emotions, I knew I was in for a joyride. I particularly love feature films and I don’t take it for granted that I can watch a nearly two-hour movie that has little or no hassles. That’s what Man Down did for me.
The beauty of this movie’s themes is that they are many. The title points to its powerful depiction of how Christians need to restore wounded soldiers on the battlefield of life through love. I saw the Scriptural ‘There is now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus…’ vividly. Granted, Bola and Chidi, both children of God, make a mistake, but they acknowledge their sin against God and are willing to take a break, not to feel sorry for themselves, but to seek God’s face and mercy.
The only direction in Man Down was forwards: the reactions of Fejiro, played beautifully by Aanu Kolade, Pastor Aladese, and Julius in P.Dan Olawande’s cameo free Bola and Chidi, not to wallow in self-pity and guilt, but to receive the loving embrace of our heavenly Father who so graciously forgives our sins. What He wants is for us to change direction: turn away from our sins and turn to Him. This is so much better than the public humiliation the Pastor Mrs administers to Bola, basically ostracizing her. Speaking of the church, we see some human traditions or policies that are maybe doing more harm than good to the Body of Christ.
Asides that, Man Down touches on parenting styles that need to be adapted as a child reaches different stages of growth. The movie also doesn’t hesitate to address a tribalistic scenario by mirroring its existence in the Nigerian society.
Man Down flexes its musical muscles with a couple of original soundtracks and a variety of appropriate background tunes. Something I think the movie excels in is that aided by good music, it hits all its emotional highs and lows. Hence, you really feel this movie and invest your emotions in it. It further gives us a multi-purpose set piece at the end that provides a good example of the kind of music, level of production, and the way to shoot a prerecorded theme song. The lyrics of that song encapsulate the overarching message of the film. It was also a cheerful montage that showed us the life of the characters after a passage of time. That made it a perfect final curtain and I’ve had that part on repeat since its release.
Another thing that stands out in Man Down is the subtitles, which are on a higher plane to the usual, though some parts of it are better suited for a screenplay. The script was also well written as each character was given a unique voice. Every actor put in a good shift to make the movie credible; it’s a very big thumbs up to them all. The flashback scenes were artistically edited, especially the one that had an orange colour motif; I wish I knew how that was achieved.
Summarily, it’s a beauty to behold how forgiveness flows in all the relationships in Man Down. Truly, we’re blessed because in Christ Jesus, we get a fresh start; our slates are wiped clean. When we hold nothing back from Him, He holds nothing against us (Psalm 32:1-2).
So, Man Down! What did you think about the acting, the music and the way we handle anyone who falls into sin in the Body of Christ? Please let me know in the comments section below.
Hey folks! You’re welcome to this short film review. It’s one I’m really excited about: Sons of Sceva is an impressive short film that is based on the biblical story of its eponymous characters. The way Freedom Studios approached these ten verses of Scripture (Acts 19:11-20) is so creative that honestly, it can be developed into a feature. It introduces a few new characters, prominently the Documentarian, whose perspective a full-length story would be interesting to tell from.
I would describe the acting as fresh and the characterisation as convincing, in spite of the fact that the movie is just about 14 minutes long. The framing of the shots was well-orchestrated and the cinematography as a whole was dynamic. The dialogue was quippy and intelligently written. The music had no original soundtrack; yet, the sound design was outstanding.
Conclusively, the end credits, though creative, missed out on the character names/descriptions in the cast list. I’d have really loved to know these fine actors with their individual real-life names. Nevertheless, Sons of Sceva is quite simply brilliant, and I strongly recommend it for your viewing pleasure and blessedness.
Have you seen Sons of Sceva? The producers described it as “a faith-based horror drama like you have never seen before”; what did you think about it? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. The link to the movie is https://youtu.be/NUZ4J5lOL6s
What’s up, gospel movie lovers all over the world? You’re welcome to this Fantalk article where I discuss the progress made in the drama ministry this year so far, as well as improvements still to come. Without further ado, let’s dive straight into it.
1. INCREASE IN QUANTITY I think the increase in the turnout of gospel movies in the past few years is now clear for all to see, especially on the YouTube platform. I remember that in 2020, I could barely watch all movies, and in 2021, where I managed to watch almost everything, I couldn’t review them all. This year, I’ve scarcely seen every production, not to talk of reviewing them. These just go to show that gospel drama and film production have come a long way this year.
2. QUALITY FILM SERIES There has not only been an increase in the number of gospel film series; the quality of story writing and production has also gone up a notch. Opeyemi Akintunde’s series have been very good, Love in Hell was fantastic, and Japa has been a beauty to watch. That’s a big kudos to gospel filmmakers.
3. MORE SPECIALISATIONS There was a time when the norm was to have one person as the writer, producer and director of a particular movie. While I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that…I mean, if you’re just starting out, that might be inevitable…but it’s a thing of pleasure to now see more attention being given to specialized offices. We’re all differently endowed and we would be certain to get the best of people when we let them function in their areas of strength. Someone may come up with the concept, another with the script, and yet another to direct it. In fact, the video editor might not necessarily be the person that edits for sound design. Take a look at the Games Series, The Bond, Shadow Chase and the upcoming Enoch: different people came up with the story concepts, wrote the scripts and directed the movies. So, specialisations have resulted in better films.
4. MORE COLLABORATIONS Another phenomenon that has resulted in gospel movies fulfilling their potentials is collaborations, and I’m happy a few more have materialized this year so far. I don’t think I’ve seen a film collaborative effort that didn’t turn out well. Mount Zion particularly has done this to produce the amazing Abejoye Series with Flaming Sword Ministries International, worked with Bethel Campus Fellowship to deliver the outstanding Last Man Standing: Into the Den, and are about to release a big one in the widely-anticipated Enoch in conjunction with Solid Rock Foundation. Where necessary, collaborations are greatly encouraged, and the outcome will definitely be great to behold.
5. BETTER THUMBNAILS I don’t think I’ve seen a distasteful or blurry poster picture this year at all. This goes to show that more attention is being paid to it. I’ve come across some thumbnails on YouTube, not of gospel movies, that are so appealing that you’d want to see their videos, only to sometimes discover that they’re fakes of what they promised. That highlights how vital thumbnails are in getting gospel movies watched. While some still use a captured image from the movie, I would say, ‘let’s go for gold’ and do proper poster pictures.
6. MORE TRAININGS There was a time when, to get trained in your areas of calling or interest, you’d have to travel down to the few places where they were organised. Now, there are many trainings, even online, that are geared towards empowering believers for the work, particularly in drama. The Mount Zion Institute of Christian Drama, now an affiliate of Ajayi Crowther University, has a diploma course in Christian Drama, Mount Zion Film Academy has a couple of online courses, P2O Academy has an imminent training, G-Bay Film Productions has an annual Excursion to a Film Village and PREM Film Academy has the Fejosbaba Talent Workshop. All these are valuable opportunities to work towards getting skilled in what God’s called drama ministers to do.
7. STRIDES IN CHANNEL SUBSCRIPTION It was a great delight to see Fejosbaba TV YouTube channel reach 100,000 subscribers in the first half of this year. It was a testament to the hard work, grace and favour drama ministers get from God, and also highlighted the importance of consistency in whatever we lay our hands on to do. I pray that many more gospel films channels will celebrate such a feat soon.
8. BETTER ORGANISED FILM COMPETITIONS You could be forgiven for wondering whether there are ‘competitions’ related to gospel films. Somehow, they’re not very popular. Over the years, I’ve filled in for a few gospel scriptwriting competitions that were unfortunately, not very well organised. This year though, I came across the Peculiar Priesthood Productions Scriptwriting Challenge 2022, where we had to come up with a potential script to the sequel of a movie Mended. By God’s grace, I came tops, along with Odusina Abraham and Ogunyemi Oluwatobi. For me, what stood out was the way the organisers conducted the whole process, even holding a winners’ announcement ceremony that was still another avenue to learn more about gospel screenwriting. I hope there will be more like this subsequently from other individuals or organisations who may want to plan contests like this.
So, those are the areas of growth and development that I’ve noticed so far. We’ll now discuss the things I feel still need improvement.
1. BETTER SOUND DESIGN Music is so important to film production and it is an aspect I desire more attention is given to. It’s an art and I believe that apart from a natural ability for music, it is a skill that further needs to be learnt and honed. Some of the challenges I’ve seen in our gospel movies include using a single original soundtrack throughout the movie, which has a way of giving the film a single mood and tone, thereby causing drabness. Some do better by using the instrumentals during the movie and the full track only at the end, but even such instrumentals should only be used where it serves the story. Background music comes into play here but even the right type has to be applied depending on the atmosphere in scenes. Furthermore, sound should not cut abruptly between scenes. The ‘coolest’ level in my opinion, is being able to use both OSTs and copyright songs, though this might involve some paperwork, I’m not sure. As we strive to make our productions better, the icing on the cake would be for the song details to be included in the end credits, as found in technically standard movies.
2. CONSISTENT RELEASE TIMES This relates particularly to gospel series. You watch an episode that ends with a cliffhanger, and you have to wait till the following week to see what happens next. It’s when the episodes don’t come at the expected time that some people might say things like: ‘When all the episodes are released, then I’ll watch the series’. That means that the audience is mindful of our productions and we need to try as much as possible not to disappoint them. If unforeseen circumstances pose challenges, the producers need to communicate with the audience promptly in order to manage expectations.
3. A JOINT YOUTUBE CHANNEL? This is just to echo a suggestion I saw in an open letter online, that perhaps, there could be a single YouTube channel on a large scale where people can watch gospel movies from different ministries. I think it’s an idea worth considering, especially if it’s a conglomeration of ‘smaller’ ministries. Importantly though, there would need to be proper planning, sufficient understanding and detailed agreement among whatever parties would be involved.
4. BETTER ORGANISATIONS FOR COMPETITIONS As I hinted at earlier, a good number of the gospel movie contests I’d been involved in were crippled by poor organization. Going forward, I would say that having a timeline for each stage of the competition is a good place to start. Also, constant updates on social media handles would go a long way in cementing the viability of such competitions.
So, that’s my mid-2022 review of gospel movies. How about you: what progress or improvements have you noticed this year so far? What things still need to be worked on? Please, share them with me in the comments section below. Thank you very much.
Hey folks! You’re welcome to the review of Scar of Desires 4. It was a serene episode that contrasted the tumultuous atmosphere of its preceding sequels. It features the arc of Warrior, which, to be honest, I had doubted would come after seeing how unruly he had been. The secret to this turnaround is in the word ‘encounter’, and it serves as the answer for many parents and guardians who have recalcitrant children. Only an encounter was able to reach Warrior and the hope is that he won’t turn back again.
For the other subplot, Darasimi, who had been patient all the while, finally lost it when her husband’s infidelity bore an unwanted fruit, and this almost brought her disastrous consequences.
To me, Scar of Desires has always seemed like two separate movies: Folakemi’s story, which I consider the primary one, and Warrior’s on the other side, only loosely connected by the thin thread of the kidnap in the original movie. The ordering of the sequels has enhanced this notion of mine. I would suggest that more definite decisions be made with regard to the choice of protagonist in subsequent stories by the writer.
So, this is the end of my thoughts on the Scar of Desires sequels. I hope you were blessed by them and learnt a thing or two. The link to the movie is https://youtu.be/3WknFms-piQ
You can also watch the video of this review below.
Happy new month, folks! You’re welcome to the review of Scar of Desires 3. Like I opined in my review of the previous sequel, this third instalment has the form of an episode rather than a feature film. I would say that the movie is increasingly becoming more about the personality of Warrior, who is indeed a character that you cannot ignore, even if you tried to. The background music repeated severally contributed its quota to Warrior’s foregrounding.
The many Warrior-led scenes would be better interjected with those regarding Johnson, Darasimi and Folakemi. Scene ordering and editing scene-to-scene movement also need to be done more smoothly and not abruptly.
With regard to visual and sound effects, party scenes have to be more convincing, while gunshot and blood spillage sounds don’t have to be generic, and can be more creatively portrayed.
It’s important to note that there are a few new characters in these sequels, most prominently Richard Omidiwura’s Officer George. Priority needs to be given to embedding new characters deeply into an existing story, so that the audience would understand and possibly, relate better with their plight.
Ahead of Scar of Desires 4 to be released tomorrow, Sunday, July 3, 2022, I need to commend the use of both English and French subtitles in order to have a wider reach. However, I believe the standard practice is to have the second subtitle in a different colour – usually blue or yellow – so that there would be no confusion as the audience follows the text onscreen.
Those are my thoughts on Scar of Desires 3. Watch out for my review of the next part coming out a few days after its release. Also, I’ll be doing a mid-2022 review of gospel movies this new month; so, watch out for it!
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