TIPTOPSTARS

"Amazing!” Victor Viyouh, in deep emotion, pointed out. He went on: “I was thrilled that I it [Ninah's Dowry] was just accepted into the festival. Amazing!" According to Yibain Emile-Aime Chah aka Ancestor, Viyouh was reacting to the pronouncement of Nina’s Dowry as best film of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) in Florida, USA recently. Yibain who made the story available to us was cinematography for the project.

Selected for the 27^th edition of the festival (said to be America’s oldest film festival), Nina’s Dowry caught the attention of the jury, convinced them and clearly distinguished itself. That’s how the Cameroonian feature film won the prize as the most valuable production for the 2012 edition.

Not only were the technical aspects of the production convincing, its artistic connotation spoke volumes to the jury. In a bid to reward excellence, the film’s lead character, Mbufung Seikeh bagged home the best actress in foreign film award. “This is more than I ever expected,” the director/producer expressed his feelings.

Shot in Sabga,( a small predominantly muslim settlement near Bamenda, headquarters of the North West region of Cameroon), Nina’s Dowry is written by Victor Viyouh. It exploits the theme of early/forced marriage, common in certain typically traditional societies in parts of Africa. Starring, Anurin Nwunembom, the film is edited by Andrew Groves. Cody Westheimer with Julia Newmann and Hollyamber Church provided the sound track. It is co-produced with Daniel Tan. TIPTOPSTARS will be conducting an exclusive interview with Los Angeles-based Viyouh who is one of Cameroon’s leading film makers in the diaspora. Watch out!