Afrobeats singer, Tiwa Savage has added a new feather to her headgear as she released her debut film titled, ‘Water & Garri.’
The full-length feature movie was launched on streaming platform, Prime Video.
Directed by Meji Alabi, the drama starring the vocalist as the lead character alongside a constellation of talented cast and crew, including Mike Afolarin, Andrew Bunting, Jemima Osunde amongst others.
The project, which was accompanied by a 10-track soundtrack, was produced by Everything Savage and Unbound Studios.
The flick tells the story of Aisha (Tiwa Savage), an ambitious fashion designer who has spent the last 10 years in the U.S. and returns to her native country following a family bereavement.
Speaking at the press conference in Lagos, Savage said the storyline will play a vital role in connecting people of African descent and non-Africans to our culture and heritage.
“Although ‘Water and Garri’ tells an authentic African story, written by Africans, still has a global message that Africans, Americans, and people that are not of African descent can resonate with because life is never black-and-white. There are ups and downs.
“Water and Garri is a powerful movie in which we are able to tell our African story. It is about love, betrayal, bereavement, and other issues that people who are not African can relate to. So, I feel we should all be proud to tell our story by ourselves,” she said.
On what she set out to accomplish with the two-in-one project, the 44-year-old entertainer said it is to inspire her generation and the next.
“Acting was my first love even before music, so I hope to inspire people and just be an inspiration to many different talents out there. They don’t have to stick to one thing. We all can wear different hats, and we can do it and execute it excellently.”
On his part, the producer and Unbound Studios executive, Jimi Adesanya stressed that the play was shot in the city of Cape Coast, Ghana to promote African unity.
While the executive producer, Vanessa Amadi Ogbonna opined that the most fascinating part of the movie is the power of the women characters to navigate life.
“When we were creating it (Water and Garri), we weren’t thinking about balance. We were thinking about telling the story in an exciting and relatable way,” said director Meji Alabi on the antithesis of the movie.
In an address by the Special Assistant to the President on Digital and Creative Economy, Fegho Umunubo, he said the Federal Government’s support for the “Water and Garri” premiere is part of its show of support for the creative industry.
Speaking of the government’s support of Savage’s debut movie, Umunubo said, “She has committed a lot to the creative industry. We saw the need to support her, knowing how much it takes to move from music to film.”
Umunubo said the government had secured N5 billion in partnership with Providus Bank to support screened creatives in the movie industry who will receive the money without collateral.
In his own submission, the Special Assistant to the President on Arts, Culture and Digital Economy, Ayo Adeagbo, said another area of the government’s support for the creative industry is in policy-making, including a task force tackling piracy.
Adeagbo said the presidency was working with the Ministry of Justice to establish regulations to stem the loss of revenue from piracy.
Olaitan Ibrahim