Art Arena
Ebele Okaro, Ken Erics, Richie Akpipki, Saheed Apanpa: 4 Reasons to watch out for Culprit
Come 13th of this month, Richie Productions will hit locations with the principal photography of the movie titled Culprit. Already buzzing and raising dusts in the media, the team is now set to bring the script to life. Ediale Kingsley writes about why we should expect another block buster hit from this film project.
1. The Producer, Richie Akpikpi
The Producer, a Sweden based Nigerian, is back to his roots after 17 years, to make a statement with this movie in Nollywood. The Edo state born had touched down Italy to study Civil Engineering in The University of Florence before going to Sweden to pursue his career in construction.
On why he has decided to come to Nigeria after these while, he says “I am in Nigeria to invest in the land of my birth. There’s no place like home and charity, they say, beings from home”. Richie doubles as the producer and Executive producer for the movie.
2. The Director, Saheed Apanpa
The experienced Nollywood Director, Saheed Apanpa of Apanpa Pictures is on this flick. He is also another well-travelled and exposed Nigerian, as he lived in the U.S for 19 years before he came to take the industry by storm. The director who started his plight in the make-belief industry, started with a foot in acting before studying directing in the New York Film Academy. He has many jobs under his belt with an impressive oeuvre containing flicks like Dark Closet, Last Date, Dagger, All For The Money and many more.
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3. Actor, Ebele Okaro
In 2017, her performance in 4-1 Love won Okaro the African Magic Viewer’s Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress. This woman thespian has quite a huge body of works, Moving Fingers, Red Light, Shallow Waters, Third Eye,Hostages, 30 Days, Mama Alero, Bambitious, Chetanna, Musical Whispers, 4-1-Love, The Powerful Babies, Road to Yesterday and many more. The director, Saheed, says he is quite excited to be working with Ebele, “I used to see her in movies as a kid and thought how amazing she is. Now I have the honors of directing her”.
Okaro was born in London and raised in the Nigerian state of Enugu.She began acting while attending the Santa Maria Primary School and continued while at Nsukka’s Queen of the Holy Rosary Secondary School. After beginning studies of Education at the University of Calabar, Okaro found her passion for the dramatic arts won out and she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts. Her mother was a full time television producer and her father was an engineer who had great interest in arts and literature.
4. Actor, Ken Erics
Ekenedilichukwu Ugochukwu Eric Nwenweh, professionally known as Ken Erics Ugo or simply Ken Erics is one of the major actors on this job. He is popularly known for his role as Ugo in the movie ‘The Illiterate’ alongside Tonto Dikeh and Yul Edochie. In 2001, as a first year student in the University, Erics got his first movie role, in the Chris Ubani directed ‘direct-to-dvd’ movie ‘Holy Prostitiute’, where he played a minor role as a medical doctor, with just three scenes. He went on to graduate from the University and began to attend auditions and bagged a few other cameo roles in home movies. However, his 2012 portrayal of “Ugo” in the movie “The Illiterate” endeared him to audiences and opened up more opportunities for him in the Nigerian movie industry.
In 2014, Erics won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the City People Entertainment Award, as well as the Best Lead Actor at the Afrifimo Awards in the United States. In 2015, he went on to win the Best Lead Actor award at the City People Entertainment
Other actors include Nazo Ekezie, Kemigisha Harriet, Lucy Ameh, Frankienstien Eche-ben and Christian Paul. And the project’s publicist is Ediale Kingsley (the trends, entertainment editor of National Daily Newspaper).
Culprit is an action thriller about a character called Cain. Cain is heart broken when the love of his life Abby tells him she can no longer see him because her parents do not approve of their relationship. She meets Tejiri a rich spoilt kid and they begin a relationship. Her parents approves of Tejiri because his family is in their social circle and tribe. Tejiri is every girl’s dream husband and every parent’s dream Son-In-law but it is only his girlfriend that knows his vices and when she can no longer tolerate his excesses, they started having issues. He drops her off in the middle of the bridge without her phone. Luckily for her, Cain shows up right on time and rescues her and they begin a relationship again. Suddenly, a lot of deaths begin to occur around Abby. She loses her dog, her dad and then her mother. She is next in line when she surprisingly discovers who the real killer is and is shocked to find out his motive for the killings. So who is this real killer? And what’s his motive?