‘Iyore’ Is My Best Movie So Far -Frank Rajah

Nigerian born Ghanaian filmmaker Frank Rajah Arase says ‘Iyore,’ a new film he shot in Nigeria, is the best film he has produced and directed so far.

Frank’s comments come years after shooting several of his major movies in Ghana including ‘The Game’, ‘Somewhere In Africa’, ‘Cheaters’ and ‘Sisters At War’. 

The new movie is based on the history and culture of the people of Benin, Nigeria, where Frank Rajah comes from.

It is a mythical tale set around the ancient Benin Kingdom and tells a story about life after life.

The epic feature is a mixture of historical facts and fiction. It explores a tragic love story centred on the rich culture of pre-colonial Benin through to the present day of Benin whilst exploring the supernatural ideas of reincarnation.
 

Rita Dominic & Joseph Benjamin

“The story of ‘Iyore’ was born out of the keen interest in telling an African tale with a rich cultural background and as a son of the soil of the great Benin Kingdom I sure will leave no stone unturned,” Frank stated.

He continued: “A thorough research was made on the tradition and customs of my people, I worked through days and nights in creating the storyline of ‘Iyore’. It wasn’t an easy task but being my very first movie to be filmed on the ground and soil of my birth, I had to put in an extra effort to make sure this movie is rated best out of my best and multiple award-winning movies,” Frank Rajah said yesterday.

Unbeatable actors such as Rita Dominic, Okawa Shaznay, Joseph Benjamin, Paul Obazele, Yemi Blaq and Bukky Wright among others played various roles in the movie.

“With my choice of cast, I needed actors professionally trained ones and not just big names in the field. Therefore my choice of Rita Dominic; she is trained, experienced and has a good depth of interpretation. She will stop at nothing but perfection as my female lead actor. And to strike a balance with such an ace actress I had to employ the services of the beautiful Okawa Shaznay to interpret and link three of my most sensitive characters in the story.

“And trust me she did great justice to them all. Not to mention the amazing Joseph Benjamin as Prince Azuwa of the great Benin kingdom, Paul Obazele as Oba Izuwa of Benin, Yemi Blag as the victim of the cycle, Bukky Wright as Queen Funke Adekoya of Ondo state and a host of other great talents,” he said about his choice of cast.

“Producing and directing ‘Iyore’ was an amazing experience for my crew, cast, family and myself. I hope the rest of the world will love and enjoy watching this film as much as we did creating it,” Frank added.




By Francis Addo (Twitter: @fdee50 Email: fdee500@yahoo.com)