TIPTOPSTARS

As Cameroon forges ahead with her film making task, the need to make known efforts and recognize them has remained untouched. Such recognition has been the hallmark of Buea for quite some time now. Through its Fako Film Festival initiative, the South West regional capital has remarkably lifted the country’s film industry to higher heights. Yet, some of Cameroon’s renowned film makers living in Buea have displayed enormous willingness to do more. “Cameroonian productions and the architects must be boosted further in a bid to make our industry a one to reckon with,” Anthony Kamwa told this reporter.
Kamwa is the main brain behind another film festival initiative coming up soon in Buea. The Image in The Box Film Festival is the gold-coated event Cameroon is about to serve the world. Its initiator explains that the festival which will be in its maiden edition is aimed at galvanizing film stakeholders’ efforts in seeking lasting solutions to the marketing of Cameroonian movies. “That also explains why there will be a deliberate talk on marketing films by one of the conference speakers during the festival.
The organizer said there will be workshops to drill participants on certain aspects of film production and marketing as well as film projections.
Perhaps, top on the agenda of the festival will be the awards to recognize hard work and reward success stories. “We’ve set down 18 categories with prizes for grabs. The public will soon be informed of these award categories, but for now, we’re still working behind the scenes,” Kamwa explained to us.
Meanwhile the organizing outfit, Genesis Association Limited and Unit Group is currently holding corporate talks with potential sponsors of the event including Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV), MTN Foundation, the German Cultural Centre, Goethe-Institut in Yaounde and the Nigeria Consulate.
Anthony Kamwa is known to have the film industry in his country at heart. He has directed several films including Luxury, Money Case, Woman’s Scar, A Woman’s World, House of Triplets, We Must Survive, Suffer Head and Squazmania (music video). He is based in Buea, South West region of Cameroon.

Those who knew Taka Tanni long before she re-located to the United States of America would easily agree with this reporter that the actress and all-round artist is only plying a road that was by traced for her by providence. As a little girl growing up in Cameroon, this now popular entertainer impressed her peers with her captivating sociable nature. Being in the mood and en vogue with the way of life at every given time was a character trait that was to later explain what the talented artist has become. Friends could easily tell where the ever-smiling actress’ direction led to. Ambition read all around her. Taka Tanni’s shinny today therefore has undoubtedly stood as a true answer of her careful ambition-tinted yesterday. She is one of Cameroon’s leading movie stars.
That Taka Tanni has captured enormous attention, making scores of fans around the globe is what the Los Angeles-based artist had longed for. But she had not wanted to have this fame served her on a platter of gold. “I have always wanted to work hard for any of my achievements,” she explained to TIPTOPSTARS editor on the line to Texas a couple of days ago. It is this hard work and her thrilling movie performance that have attracted the Nollywood and African Film Critics Awards, rewarding her with a nomination at the next edition of the festival taking place in September this year. “The nomination took me by surprise…I did not expect to be named, but it so happened that someone somewhere had been keen on my performance and loved it,” Taka told this reporter. She is now vying for the prestigious best actress award and hopes to grab it. “I’m confident and know I’ll make it,” she said confidently. But this will also largely depend on her fans and the general film public. The actress had this to tell her fans recently on a social network forum: “Voting for People's Choice award has already started. Please click on www.nollywoodcritics.com  and cast your vote for TAKA TANI. Select WHO IS YOUR BEST ACTRESS from the box and scroll down. Then select TAKA TANNI and SUBMIT. It takes less than a minute to do that. You can vote from your phones, laptops, offices, cybercafé, homes, schools and libraries. Thanks in advance.” Voting rounds off in June.
Taka Tanni’s performance will be judged from four of the 27 movies she has starred or featured in so far. The four; Infamous Deception, Night Shift, American Marriage and Issues are described by a film critic as must-watch movies.
Living in the USA since 2001, Taka Tanni first hit the movie set in 2009. She has since then been regular and making great strides in the process. The Cameroonian movie star has had several other Africa movie celebrities as set interlocutors including Nollywood’s Emeka Ike, Jim Iyke, Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Ekeinde, Desmond Elliot and Ghollywood’s Van Vicker and Nadia Buari. The actress who flies to New York in the coming days to start shooting a much-awaited soap opera is also a radio host and TV show presenter. She is the producer of a 2010 feature movie titled Deep-sea Diving. While you keep voting massively for Taka Tanni, watch out for an exclusive interview with the multi-talented artist on TIPTOPSTARS coming up soon.