La Femme Anjola: I was Terrified for Rita Dominic -Femi Jacobs
In a long-awaited crime thriller, top Nollywood actors Rita Dominic and Femi Jacobs reunite one more time to create a blockbuster film, La Femme Anjola. The two award-winning actors had previously worked together on The Meeting, which premiered in Nigerian cinemas in November 2012. Both films were written by Tunde Babalola and directed by Mildred Okwo. This time, Jacobs expressed his concern for the role Dominic had to play in the new film and what he feared it could do to her.
La Femme Anjola (The Woman Anjola) is an African neo-noir crime thriller about a young Lagos Investment Banker named Dejaré (played by Nonso Bassey) whose life is turned upside down when he falls for a beautiful singer (Rita Dominic) who is married to a wealthy gangster.
The Meeting is a romantic comedy about a Lagos-based corporate executive who finds himself at the mercy of political patronage, bureaucratic red-tape and his tender heart when he embarks on a seemingly simple business trip to Abuja to secure a government contract. It received six nominations at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and won the award for the category Achievement In Make-Up.
On reuniting with Rita Dominic, Mr Jacobs expressed his respect for the actress’ skills. However, he stated that he feared for her, due to the complexity of her role. “Throughout the entire process of preparing, I was always so sure that I would respect Rita more when this was over. I know the type of person she is when it comes to work, especially the mentality she has. But I also knew the role was going to be the stretch of a lifetime.”
He continued, “I was terrified for her at the beginning, and many times, I was oscillating between the complexity of the role and the complexity of the actor as well. It was comforting and it was something I wanted to witness particularly. Good actors don’t work on set, they show work there. The set is the stage on which the actor unfurls their consciousness. That was what I thought would happen, and it was precisely what did. It was spiritual, sublime.”
To Jacobs, the stellar work put in by the cast and crew of the film will make it a thrilling watch. This, he says, is because “even though a voyage may be daunting, if the captain is committed, mountains shall move. If you know Ms. Okwo and Rita, you’d know these two things are true about them.” He concluded by saying, “The material, the proposed genre of La Femme Anjola would be totally irresistible to anyone who is serious about their craft and borderless in their minds.”
La Femme Anjola, the buzzy crime thriller from the stables of The Audrey Silva Company Limited, will launch locally in theatres nationwide on the 19th March 2021. The film will be distributed by Silverbird Distribution, the company which distributed their earlier releases The Meeting and Surulere. This uniquely Nigerian story has plot details touching on elements of greed, betrayal, desperation and the lure of the Nigerian dream. The film was shot in locations in Lagos, Nigeria and Cape Town, South Africa.
