Nollywood drama, ‘Love and Life’, premieres in Lagos

A new movie titled, “Love and Life”,  produced by First Features Project premiered on Wednesday in Lagos.

Speaking with our reporter at the private screening of the movie, its Executive Producer, Dotun Olakunri, said, “Love and Life is not just a film; it’s a narrative tapestry woven with passion and dedication.”

It was reported that ‘Love and Life’, directed by Reuben Reng, is a story of the healing powers of supportive friendships in love relationships and daily life.

The movie explores the relationship among three middle-aged women and how they are able to overcome their love and business challenges through the sisterly support of one another.

The movie also shows how challenges in people’s love lives can affect them and how they manage the situation.

According to Olakunri, the plot of the movie is not like any other love story because there are many facets of love.

“This is about grief;  it’s about life; it’s about challenges you face in everyday life and how you use friendship, sorority to tackle your problems.

“Each of them had challenges, not just with relationship challenges but at the end of the day, it’s important to have some sense of togetherness.

“It’s not just about love but about relationships and about the healing powers relationships have for us,” he said.

Olakunri said it was challenging bringing in experienced and new creatives  to work together and also moving most of the cast from Lagos to Abuja, where the movie was set.

He, however, said that bringing three actresses, Rita Dominic, Nse Ikpe-Etim and Michelle Dede, who were friends in real-life, helped because they were able to transfer their relationship into the movie.

According to him, the movie will be released on Prime Video on Dec. 29.

Olakunri called on Nigerians to develop and nuture healthy relationships that support and help them overcome life’s challenges.

Olakunri also urged government to support and encourage Nollywood by offering inducements and tax rebates.

“The movie industry is growing, employing many people and bringing a lot of revenue to Nigeria.

”Movie producers are given tax rebates when filming abroad.

“We are preparing to go and film in the UK and they gave us 50 per cent of our money back.

“It’s important government gets behind the industry because the industry picked itself, generated acclaim all by itself without support,” he said.

Anthony Monjaro, one of the actors, said that the movie addresses the role of friendship and relationships as support systems during challenges.

“This film touches on how friends come together to support one person who has gone through a bereavement and more of them lifting her up.

“When someone goes through that long of situation, they could be suicidal and those friends were going through things as well,” Monjaro said.

The First Features project, spearheaded by Nollywood producing duo, Steve Gukas and Olakunrin, is focused on nurturing and empowering a new generation of visionary film directors.

It provides training and funds the production of the first feature films by these new voices in the Nigerian film industry.