TIPTOPSTARS

Little did she know her life was soon going to be spent on movie sets with video cameras pointing at her when as a secondary school student, Ruth Nkweti performed impromptu plays on stage. The then Presbyterian Secondary School, PSS Mankon and later Presbyterian Secondary School , PSS Bafut student would enjoy thunderous applause each time she mimicked her idols in a self-initiated sketch. But keen and foresighted observers would sure have conjectured a bright acting career for the then young school girl whose early movie ambitions even went beyond Cameroon. “I was an addicted fan of James Bond movies and hoped to become like one of those his girls,” Nkweti told us.

Looking forward to starring/featuring in movies became a dream the now Yaounde-based (formerly living in Buea) actress nursed until 2008 when she hit the road. That Ruth Nkweti is fast becoming a face of Cameroonian cinema is no exaggeration. “I even eye Africa and the world at large, why not,” she said confidently, when TIPTOPSTARS got Nkweti on the line to Yaounde.

Since she returned from London where she had a Zulu African Film Academy (ZAFAA) Awards nomination, in the best up-coming female category, the 1.60m-tall actress has been crisscrossing Cameroon, shooting one project to the other. Her recent performance in the yet-to-come feature film Troubled Kingdom directed by Neba Lawrence and co-produced by Fred Keyanti and Mairo Sanda has left no collaborator indifferent. “I think Ruth is a very good actress. She’s eloquent but natural. She has a mastery of everything she does on set. The young actress is competitive and promising,” renowned Cameroonian actress Solange Yijika made this remark about Nkweti. Both actresses had featured in the said movie, coming up in April 2012.

If Troubled Kingdom was a smooth experience for the University of Buea Political Science graduate, Obsession and On the Brim were more challenging. While the actress had a lot of physical stunts in Obsession (produced and directed by Achille Brice), Nkweti had to deal with a controversial subject of rape in Wa’a Musi’s On the Brim, shot a couple of days ago in Bamenda. “In Obsession, I did a lot of running, falling and coming in contact with hard objects, but I enjoyed the challenge as an actor who is daring,” said Nkweti who also featured in Deceit.

The star in Obsession would hardly forget her 2011 ZAFAA Awards experience. While in London, Nkweti met some of the celebrities who easily win her attention each time she watches them – Ghollywood’s Jackie Apiah and James Gardiner and Nollywood’s Chinyere Wilfred. Convinced by the Cameroonian’s performance in Obsession, Chinyere said this to Nkweti: “Ruth, you’re young, congratulations on your nomination. Pursue you career.” “I felt encouraged when Chinyere, whom I have a lot of respect for, said this to me,” Nkweti, who hails from the North West region of Cameroon confessed.

She further thinks that ZAFAA was one of those rare platforms for valuable exposure for a budding actress like her. The message of the nomination sounded clear – work hard and get to the apex of acting!

Nkweti who now eyes a world nomination hopes to get into philanthropy in a bid to drag the underprivileged out of a dreadful destitution. “That’s virtually what my proceeds in cinema will be used for,” she said.

The UB (as the University of Buea is affectionately called) graduate who also sings and dances so well admires a current batch of prominent actors in the Cameroonian movie landscape – Kome Epule aka Jeff Jazzy, Nchifor Valery and Elynn Fesse Basil. “They are quite inspiring and enjoy every bit of the time I spent on location or on set with them,” she revealed. “I wish to pay tribute to them plus Achille Brice, the Buea movie crew, G3 Studio and the entire Cameroon Film Industry, CFI,” Nkweti added.

Nkweti Ruth who also loves to watch Hollywood’s Angelina Jolie and Nollywood’s Genevieve Nnaji first went on the movie set in 2008 to do Risky, a short film directed by Bill Mosah. She has since then been pursuing a career she hopes will ferry her across the world. The actress however finds time to do other things. “When I’m not reading a novel, I go swimming. These are my hobbies,” she explained. She would enjoy savouring Cameroonian dishes, but serve her a bowl of fufu corn and khati khati (a traditional delicacy from Kom in the North West region of Cameroon), you’ll be Nkweti’s friend.

When organizers of the opener edition of the Nollywood and African Film Critics Awards declared last September that Cameroon was fast closing up with Ghana and Nigeria on movie production, they certainly were not paying lip service. They had carefully put their ears on the ground and noticed that the country was making great strides in the seventh art, both in quantity and in quality. Such a laudable progress in a sector as prestigious as film making is the result of relentless efforts put in by people who dare into production, known to be one of the most challenging ventures. In Cameroon, it is mostly young people who have pulled up their sleeves to play the game and give it a prestigious name.

One of such young persons is Limbe-based Quiniva Dinga, producer of an up-coming Cameroonian movie titled Caught Within. Those who peeped on location as the movie was being shot in Limbe and Buea say it’s going to be watchable piece. The movie which has been edited in the Mendong Yaounde studio of Penjo Entertainment Productions will be released and premiered in March 2012 in the seaside resort of Limbe.

According to the producer, Caught Within, just like Rome, was not done in a day. “It has taken us quite some time to put the package together simply because we wanted to have the best in terms of technical quality,” Quiniva told TIPTOPSTARS Editor on the line to Limbe. She went on: “Since it’s my maiden production, I wouldn’t want to compromise my young career as a film producer. Therefore, putting an attractive piece in the market is non-negotiable.”

Produced under the banner of Glorious Entertainment, Caught Within will be premiered in a VIP launch style at Limbe’s FINI Hotel. “We expect to give our guests a red-carpet treatment and also hoping to get popular X-Maleya group around to sing for the newborn,” the producer announced.

Written by Glorious Entertainment CEO Quiniva Dinga, Caught Within which is entirely sponsored by her condemns the fraudulent nature of many young people nowadays, wrongly motivated by the wanton nose for financial and material wealth without doing any genuine work. It is directed by Elvis Tanwie aka Deddadies with Peter Ndjodzeka alias Penjo as camera operator and Gandia Theodore as continuity artist. Featuring in the movie which will be circulated nationwide and abroad are Agbor Madeleine aka Mumy Meg, Jeff Jazzy, Nche Francis, Elyn Fesse Basil amongst others. These actors were beautifully made up by Bareh Mildred.