Creative Industry

20-Yrs Old Medical Student Divine Great, Emerge Winner Of ‘YOUCANSING’ Season 2

Published

3 years ago

January 10, 2022

A 20-year old medical student from the University of Calabar, Divine Great, has emerged as the winner of ‘YOUCANSING’, a music show in Abuja.

It will be recalled that the YOUCANSING music show Season 2 started on Oct. 3 with over 200 applicants from all over the country who tried to get into the show.

While speaking, the host of the show Richmond Atu-Johnson, on Monday revealed that out of the over 200 contestants, only 96 made it to the live show.

“The show celebrated Nigeria’s 61st independence as contestants were made to sing a song celebrating Nigeria at 61.

“The show had four stages and seven contestants made it to the penultimate stage.

“Divine Great, a 20-year-old medical student from the University of Calabar emerged the winner, beating both MarySavio Okundo from Ebonyi State and Petra Alare who finished as the first and second runners up respectively.

“Divine Great won the N5 million prize money, while the runners-up received Music Contract deals from Cityhill Records, one of the partners of the Youcansing Show as well as Full music scholarship training at Cityhill Music Academy,” he said.

An elated Great expressed that she was very grateful to her mother who was both her greatest inspiration and her manager, adding that she supported her every step of the way to be a part of the show.

“I am not a fan of Facebook, but the day I decided to go online, I saw the advert and showed my mum who then advised and encouraged me to participate in the show.

“At first, I wondered how I was going to cope with the show, especially with my studies which were very demanding and took most of my time.

“However, with my mum’s support I was able to pull through with all the challenges that came with the show and I am so glad that all my efforts paid off at the end of the day,” she said.

Great also expressed her gratitude to the organizers of the show for the opportunity to showcase her talent as well as her mum and to all her friends and fans who voted for her during the course of the show.

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Creative Industry

Stephanie Linus, Juliet Ibrahim 8 others Appointed Jury Members For Zuma International Film Festival

Published

3 months ago

November 13, 2024

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

Ten-member 10 jury of reputable Nigerian and foreign filmmakers to adjudicate on all entries in the competitive category of the Zuma international film festival, 2024, scheduled to hold in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital from December 1st to 5th, which is jointly being organized by the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has been announced.

Announcing the constitution of the ten-member jury through a statement issued in Abuja (on Monday, November, 11, 2024); Brian Etuk, NFC’s Director of Public Affairs, said “the jury is most critical to the selection of winning entries and composition of the jury reflects the premium and niche of ZUMA International Film Festival, as one of the continents fastest growing international film festivals and market events”.

He said, this explains why membership of the jury includes both Nigerian and foreign film stakeholders who have in the recent past promoted authentic Nigerian and African resonate stories, and continue to contribute immensely to the growth of inclusive global film production.

Stephanie Okereke Linus, an A-list Nigerian actress, filmmaker, activist with lead appearances in over 100 movies, including an Afro-Hollywood, USA Filmmakers Award for Excellence, Reel Awards for Best Actress, and recently, the AMVCA Award for Best Overall Movie in Africa as well as recipient of the AMAA Award for Best Nigerian Film for her impactful work DRY was named as the Chairperson of the Jury.

Other members are Kenneth Gyang- director of This Is Lagos, Mojisola as well as Oloture Netflix’s Original from Nigeria; Aisha Halilu Abdullahi – a docu-drama and documentary specialist; Ishaq Sidi Ishaq – an actor, writer and producer of “Kamilu”,‘‘Wasila’’; Charles Novia – an avant-garde Nollywood ﬁlmmaker, scriptwriter, producer, director and creative entrepreneur; Hakeem Kae Kazim – a supremely talented actor, producer, director of great cinematic portrayal of George Rutugunda in the Oscar-nominated Hotel Rwanda, as well as playing leading roles in The Librarian.

The Triangle, and knack for creating feisty and deeply thrilling characters; Sihle Hlophe – director with multiple awards and over 15 years of experience; Ronya Man – an acting coach and creative arts specialist with handles on Lahira, SIN.

The Johnsons, as well as Juliet Ibrahim – a bilingual (French and English) speaking multiple award-wining producer, director, entrepreneur with over 100 movie appearances. Zaiyanu Tanko Waziri, a veteran filmmaker and broadcaster with over two decades of professional experience was also named as member of the jury.

In the statement, Dr. Ali Nuhu, NFC’s Managing Director & Chairman, Festival Organising Committee, on behalf of its partner, the FCTA, congratulated Stephanie Okereke – Linus for emerging as Chairperson of the Jury. Dr. Nuhu said that the Jury Chairperson and her team’s roles are critical to the overall success of the Film Festival brand, which no effort has been spared in its organization in terms of content, attendance and participation. NFC; Nuhu averred, remains committed to achieving the objectives of sustaining the positive narratives that Nigeria with a huge creative economy, is indeed the hub of film production in Africa.

Zuma International Film Festival 2024, the 14th in the series and themed: Digital Renaissance: Embracing The Future takes place December 1st – 5th at Chida Event Centre, Abuja Nigeria. Meanwhile, Etuk added that the online registration portal of the film festival has opened, and intending participants can register through the link :- https://zumafilmfest.com/zuff-2024-registration.

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