VICTORIA ISLAND Pitch deck
An arrogant fashion executive is given reality check when she reluctantly goes on a working trip to Africa. “You don’t chose love, it chooses you.” Synopsis Elizabeth James likes the finer things in life. She lives in a plush apartment in Mayfair, London with her rich boyfriend, works for a multi-national clothing company in central London and parties at the best places in town. Her life is perfect. That is… until her boss asks her to oversee the opening of a new store in Nigeria at which point her life is turned upside down. On arriving in Lagos, Elizabeth is met by her driver, the cheery, laid back Sunday Johnson who is keen to introduce her to all the goings-on in Lagos. Although she initially takes an extreme disliking to Sunday, the more time she spends with him, the more she realises that there might just be more to life than material things after all. Overview Type: Narrative Feature Film Key Sell Points: Genre: Romantic-Comedy All-star international cast secured and anticipated Sub Genre: Fashion, African, British, Urban Stylish, high production romantic comedy Demo and release strategy growth trends Comps: International digital and theatrical release plan The Wedding Party, A United Kingdom, Beyond the Lights, How Stella Got Her Groove Back Latest from acclaimed director and crew Comps Overview Story/Genre Comps: About Last Night, Beyond The Lights, How Stella Got her Groove Back, Sweet Home Alabama, Legally Blonde.
Release Comps: The Wedding Party, A United Kingdom, Loving. Cast - Principal “Elizabeth James,” 25 Keke Palmer - (Approached) Akeela and the Bee, Barbershop 2, Ice Age: Collision Course, Joyful Noise
“Sunday Johnson,” 26 Gideon Okeke – (Attached) TV’s Tinsel, A Place in the Stars, 93 Days
“Richard Jenkins,” 32 Brian White – (Attached) TV’s Scandal, A Cabin In the Woods, Good Deeds, Stomp the Yard Keke Palmer - Approached American actress, singer, songwriter, presenter and television personality. She made her acting debut in the 2004 film Barbershop 2: Back in Business and rose to prominence in 2006 for her breakthrough role in Akeelah and the Bee as well as starring in Madea's Family Reunion. Palmer has also starred in films such as The Longshots (2008) and Shrink (2009). In 2012, Palmer starred in four films Joyful Noise Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom Ice Age: Continental Drift and Virgin Mary. Besides films, Palmer has also starred in the television films Knights of the South Bronx (2005), Jump In! (2007), and Rags (2012) among others. Palmer has also had numerous television roles including the lead role in Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP Gideon Okeke - Attached Fondly referred to as Nigeria’s newest quintessential and bankable leading man, Gideon is a Nigerian actor, model and TV presenter. Gideon first came into the lime light in 2006 when he appeared as a contestant in Nigeria’s Big brother. He then went on to star in Mnet’s Africa’s day soap opera Tinsel where he’s appeared in 55 episodes. Gideon has starred in international films like ‘Relentless’ 2010 ‘A Place in the Stars’ 2011 and recently, ‘93 days’ starring Danny Glover. With a few projects lined up, Gideon is ready to take on Hollywood. Brian White - Attached Brian is an American actor from Boston Massachusetts. He began acting in a number of television series such as Moesha, The Parkers, Spyder Games, Second Time Around, and The Shield before moving into film roles, appearing in The Family Stone, Brick, Stomp the Yard and the The Game Plan. He also appeared in the Tyler Perry productions, Good Deeds (2013) and I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2014); and in 2015 played the role of Franklin Russell, Kerry Washington’s love interest in the hit television series “Scandal.” Cast - Supporting “Stuart”, 45- Joseph Mawle Proposed “Fateema,” 28- Zainab Balogun Proposed “DR Tunde”, 53 – Richard Mofe Damijo Approached “Blessing”, 18 – Sharon Ezemeka Attached “Maddie” 23, Cleopatra Wood Proposed “Jodi”, 26 – Naomi Cooper Davies Approached Joseph Mawle - Proposed British actor Stuart Mawle has appeared and starred in many British films. It was his performance in the television film Soundproof in 2006 that made his biggest impact where a deaf actor was needed for the lead role. In 2008 he starred as Jesus in BBC/HBO Films miniseries of The Passion, and as a guest star in Foyle’s War “Broken Souls” episode. Listed for Outstanding Newcomer by the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and nominated for WhatsOnStage Theatre Choice Awards for Best Newcomer for his performance as Judas. In 2011 Mawle joined the HBO series Game of Thrones as Benjen Stark in Season 1. Mawle returned to the role in Season 6 after an absence of five seasons.Mawle also starred as Richard in the 2013 Nigerian fiction drama Half A Yellow Sun. Zainab Balogun– Proposed British Nigerian Model, TV personality, actress. Zainab started modelling at the age of 16 when she was scouted by Premier Models in London. She’s appeared in international campaigns for brands such as Remi Martin and MTN. Zainab’s acting career started as an extra in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises. She went on to appear in shows such as BBC’s Material Girl, Bollywood the Movie and Cocktail. She also played the role of Wonu, the wedding planner in the highest grossing Nigerian film franchise,The Wedding Party 1 and Wedding Party 2. In 2017, Zainab played the lead role in the Royal Hibiscus Hotel, a Nigerian comedy which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. • 151k Instagram, 16k Twitter RMD - Approached Richard Mofe-Damijo, fondly known as RMD is a veteran actor, journalist and politician. Richard started his career in the early 80s he appeared in the African Soap Opera ‘Ripple’. Richard has starred in a number of films in Africa and the Diaspora. In 2005, he won the best actor in supporting role at the African Academy awards.
Instagram 1M, Twitter 29K Sharon Eze Amaka - Attached Sharon Ezeamaka is a 23 year old actress. She started out doing tv commercials when she was 2 years old and started acting when she was 5 years old. Having been in the Nigerian entertainment industry all her life, Sharon has starred in over 25 movies. She was a lead character on the popular tv shows “Dear Mother” for 8 years and MNET Africa’s “The Johnsons” for two seasons. She was also a cast member of High School Musical Nigeria. And she’s currently one of the lead characters on MTV Shuga
16.8k Instagram Cleopatra Wood - Approached Cleopatra Wood is a British actress and model. Having appeared on various runways from London to Beijing and in numerous magazines & music videos, she embarked on an acting career in 2013 landing her first acting role in the modern day remake of Shakespeare’s ‘Pericles’. She went on to star in the 2014 short film ‘Mannequins” alongside Andrew Moss. Cleopatra landed her first lead role in hit romantic comedy “Afua’s Diary” (2015), playing the role of Afua Forson Brown, a troubled African immigrant living in the UK. Cleopatra received critical appraisal for the role with UK Brand Weekly Magazine describing her as ‘one to watch for the future’.
73k Twitter
31k Instagram Naomi Cooper Davis - Approached Naomi is a British actress and comedienne who is known for her work on Crimes (2015), Little Britain (2003),Pete Versus Life (2010) and the hit ITV drama Marcella (2016). Guest Stars
Genevieve Nnaji –Proposed
Africa Movie Academy Award-Winner
1.4M Twitter
Rob Evans - Attached
British Top Model
146k Instagram Key Sell Points All-Star Ensemble Cast
Combined Box Office Power of Principal Cast: $612M Combined Social Media Power $612M FB 6.4M, IG 5.9M, T 1.8M
Global Stars: US, UK, Africa, and more Facebook Instagram Twitter Keke Palmer 5.9M 5.7M 1.78M Brian White 484K 135K 14.6K Gideon Okeke 2K 57K 20K TOTAL 6.4M 5.9M 1.8M Key Sell Points Bankable Genre & Demo
Romantic Comedy Box Office $85.9M (2017)*, $137.2M (2016)*
“Black” films (movies featuring majority black cast) continues to skyrocket domestically and abroad
2016 & 2017 A Record- Setting “Nollywood” Box Office 3.5 Billion Naira (~$11.5M US)
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-black-movies-global-audience-myth-20170324-story.html https://theundefeated.com/features/black-films-big-in-2016-but-just-wait-for-2017-to-get-going/ http://variety.com/2017/film/global/wedding-party-fuels-record-nigerian-box-office-despite-ailing-economy-1201977878/ https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/21/female-protagonists-high-2016-arrival-rogue-one-ghostbusters Comp Revenue
WW Film Year Screen Count US Theatrical in Millions Theatrical Budget The Bounce Back 2016 615 0.3 n/a n/a The Wedding Party* 2016 n/a 1.7 n/a 0.3 Austenland 2013 274 2.1 n/a n/a What If 2014 787 3.5 7.8 n/a A United Kingdom 2017 317 4 14 n/a Loving 2016 572 9 13 9 Beyond The Lights 2014 1790 14 n/a 7 Baggage Claim 2013 2200 21 22.4 8.5 How Stella Got her Groove Back 1998 1400 37 40 20
*Nigerian domestic box office converted to US dollars Proposed Marketing Strategy Publicity
Social Media Proposed Marketing Strategy Partnerships, Audience Engagement, Grassroots Locations
London- UK
Oshoodi- Lagos, Nigeria
Victoria Island, Nigeria Elizabeth’s World London Sunday’s World Oshodi Lagos Victoria Island
Victoria Island (VI) is the main business and financial centre of Lagos. It is one of the most exclusive and expensive areas in the city.
When Elizabeth travels to Nigeria, she stays in a plush hotel in VI. According to Sunday, a lot of foreigners who visit Victoria Island fall in love with a local and never want to travel back. London Look Lagos Look About the director Bibi Owusu Shadbolt is a UK based Screen writer, film producer and film director. Originally from Ghana west Africa, Bibi holds a BA degree in English literature and creative writing. Her career in film making started in 2009, after she won a screenwriting contest for her local TV station. She was encouraged by one of the producers to pursue film making as a career. Between 2010-2013, she took several courses in screen writing and film production at the Raindance film school in London. Bibi’s debut film, ‘Afua’s Diary’, which she wrote, produced and co- directed was premiered in London in 2015 to critical acclaim. It was selected to nine international film festivals and received a juror’s choice award at the Women of African Descent Film festival in New York. It also received nominations for best feature film at the Screen Nations Awards (2015) and The Pan African Film Festival in Cannes. Bibi was nominated for best director at the Los Angeles Independent Films Awards and the Los Angeles Urban film festival in 2015.In several interviews, Bibi has spoken about her African heritage and her desire to tell African stories to mainstream audience. With the success of Afua’s Diary, she believes this is achievable.
• Director’s Statement “My aim for creating ‘Victoria Island’ was not only to tell a beautiful love story, but to show the beauty and progress that Africa has made. I find it disappointing to see the media portrayal of Africa as a doomed world, plagued with widespread poverty and inhabited by impoverished people. While I do not deny the high levels of poverty in Africa, I do believe there is a beautiful side to the continent and it is that side we aim to portray in ‘Victoria Island’. I hope to give audiences around the world a peek into the beauty of an African country most often associated with fraud, corruption and kidnapping and show that Nigeria has in fact got much more to offer. Against the backdrop of a beautiful Island we get to see the development of a beautiful city and the authentic culture of its people. With a lighthearted narrative, interesting relatable characters and a story line easy to follow, the film will not only appeal to people who have visited the shores of Africa but to anyone who has fallen in love and enjoys a good tear-jerking romantic comedy. “ Nana Obiri Yeboah - Producer “What attracted me to help develop Victoria Island is that there has never been a film like it; the aspects of fashion and culture allow for the film to be visually effective, leaving a lasting impression on the world. Having planned a strategic execution of the project with our talented team, I have no doubt this
film will deliver as a cult classic and a commercial success and I am proud to be
producing Victoria Island.”
Africa Academy Award Winner – The Cursed Ones ( 2015) Stephan Bookas - D O P
“Victoria Island is a beautiful story. With such great cast and locations, I hope to evoke emotions of delight, humor, and sadness through the mastery of a cinematic syntax.
DIT- Maleficent, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Stuart Williams - 1st AD
“The first thing that drew me to the project Victoria Island was the script. Its satisfying and effective storytelling, its innocence and charm. From my position it strikes me as a film which can be made very well with a relatively limited budget. Secondly, was the calibre of people involved from the top and all the way through the crew, people that love what they do and take pride in what ends up on the screen. In short, Victoria Island is a very good story that will be very well told.”
1st AD - Star Fish (2016) David Bryan & Fran Cooper Bryan – Production and set designers
We’ve worked on various &from Hollywood high budgets to independent films in India South America and the far East. In 2007, David won his first Oscar with the film ‘The Hurt Locker’ and has gone on to win two BAFTAS after.What attracted us to Victoria Island is the uniqueness of the project and the energy of the director. The script is refreshing and different from anything on the market. With the professional and experienced team, we hope to create a story that will capture the hearts of many audiences” Production Designer – 47 Meters Down Press
http://voice-online.co.uk/article/british-african-love-story-victoria-island