Filmhouse Cinemas, Moët & Chandon’s Party
The inaugural edition of The Film Gala, hosted by Osas IghodaroAjibade, 2010 Miss Black USA Pageant winner and acclaimed actress, and Toni Tones, singer, songwriter and actress, at the Wings Tower, Victoria Island. It was presented by Filmhouse Cinemas, in partnership with Moët & Chandon, was held on the 26th of January, 2019.
Filmhouse Cinemas, the premiere movie/film platform in Nigeria and Moët & Chandon, the official champagne of the Golden Globes, collaborated to bring to the forefront of the Nigerian film industry bodies of work that are breaking the norm in contemporary Nigerian cinema and inspiring really creative pieces of art. It was no surprise that the theme of the night was “Married To The Arts.”
Gracing the purple carpet of The Film Gala was the crème de la crème of the entertainment industry. The likes of Ngozi Nwosu, Chinedu Ikedieze, Shaffy Bello, Dakore Egbuson, Alex Ekubo, Kemi Adetiba, Iretiola Doyle, Oyeka Udoka, Waje, Omawumi, Abimbola Craig and Timini Egbuson were among the celebrities in attendance. More A-list industry stars, music luminaries and the upper echelon of Lagos society made their way to the gala in the most elegant fashion.
The Film Gala was curated to celebrate and honor the works of our game changers and groundbreaking members of our ever-blooming film industry.
The gala featured the best of Nollywood and various initiatives that left strong imprints in the industry, and society as a whole. Most importantly, it was an event that reflected the continuity of support, promotion of opportunity and growth that the community has given to Nigeria’s growing film industry.
In the same vein, the Film Gala awarded Michael Akinkunle Akinrogunde, an AFP Alumnus and filmmaker with Accelerate TV, with a N1 million cash prize from VISA and Filmhouse Cinemas, a distribution deal on his first feature-length film, and with The Lady its official statuette, for his short film, “Penance.” The young filmmaker was voted ‘best short film director’ and his film voted ‘best short film’ by the audience via live visual audience votes after his film and other incredibly outstanding shorts, carefully selected and nominated, were viewed.
Seyi Tinubu, CEO of Loatsad Promomedia, presented the award to Michael Akinrogunde, while the representatives of Filmhouse Cinemas, Lolu Desalu and of Moët & Chandon, Elizabeth Oputa, addressed the audience on this groundbreaking artistic partnership that will ultimately redefine award season in the industry and the film industry as a whole. Moët & Chandon has a long-standing affair with cinema and this innovative partnership with the foremost cinematic platform in the Nigerian industry, Filmhouse Cinemas, is sure to make luminous the magic in all the budding talent and art within the industry.
The team behind the gala, Filmhouse Cinemas, and Moët & Chandon, definitely brought the theme of the event to life with the decor and ambiance that depicted classical art and opulence. They also presented fine dining to their guests through the exquisite and sumptuous dishes of chef extraordinaire, Chef Eros. Guests were served a four-course meal consisting of Lobster Bisque, Duck Salad, Poached Chicken and an assortment of desserts. All the meals were paired with the finest selections of champagnes within the Moët & Chandon’s range.
The post-gala after party followed immediately after this exclusive event, which was held by the waterside of the Wings Tower, a specially extended section outside the main auditorium the gala event was held in. It began with an explosion of fireworks as guests danced and mingled, popping Moët and Chandon champagne and Hennessy bottles, reveling in the magic and grandeur of the lit night sky. And what a beautiful night it was!
Recognised for its quality and prestige, Moët & Chandon is the champagne of choice for celebration in both big and small moments. The venerable house has captured the attention of the brightest stars since the birth of the film industry. Founded in 1743, Moët & Chandon contributed to introduce champagne to the world by offering a range of unique wines for every occasion. Moët & Chandon celebrates the thrill of living.
Reports reveal that counterfeit trade is worth about $700 billion a year. However, it is the trade in fake drugs specifically, that is a major cause for worry because about 2,000 people are estimated to die from falsified and sub-standard medicines yearly.
The challenges of the sale of phoney drugs is global however, experts are not relenting in doing everything possible to fight the anomaly.
mPedigree is the global leader in the use of mobile and web technologies in securing products against faking, counterfeiting and diversion.
Partnering more than two-dozen telecom operators, Fortune 500 technology companies, and regulatory agencies in several countries, mPedigree has created more than a technology platform; they have helped launch a movement.
By powering partnerships, as well as delivering cutting-edge supply chain transformation technologies, such as their multi-award winning Goldkeys app and portal, mPedigree has been rendering services to the world’s leading pharmaceutical and consumable companies with the shared goal of protecting consumers, enriching their lives and transforming their communities through a cleaner, better, supply chain.
The President of the organisation is Bright Simons, whose current research and innovation focus at the Harvard Innovation Lab explores the power of new technologies that combine data analytics and thermosensitive polymers for temperature control and accountability management in sensitive health cold chains for vaccines and biotech products.
The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) has just included Bright among the three dynamic and visionary African and global leaders in the field of data management, evidence generation, and technology to their Board of Directors as they approach the mid-point of their 2017-2021 strategic plan.
“Mere imagination and enthusiasm are not enough when breaking new ground, quality, solid, research and data are just as important. That's why, as a practicing innovator, I am so delighted at the opportunity to serve on the Board of the APHRC. “Simons said.
Also, recently, he was announced among those selected as the 2019 Braddock Scholars.
The Braddock Scholars Program is built on the belief that entrepreneurs are great at starting businesses, but the skills needed to effectively scale these innovations are very different. The program serves to bridge the “scaling gap” by channeling the expertise of mentors, all of whom are Aspen Institute Trustees, towards the specific challenge or opportunity the Scholars face.
In his words, “Over the last decade, parts of our mPedigree solution have greatly matured, but our biggest impact is yet to come. That impact would be driven by cutting-edge work in machine learning and organo-sensors we are doing right now, and we need all the support we can get to navigate the complexity of global deployment”, said Simons.
Bright Simons is the George Mallinckrodt Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an Adrian Cheng Fellow at SICI-Harvard. Bright, for more than a decade, has been the President of mPedigree: a social enterprise ranked number 34 among world-changing companies by Fortune Magazine in 2016 and among the world’s most creative companies by Fast Company magazine.