To put the record straight Champions of our Time was a story I wrote in 2004 and which won an international script writing award way back in 2006. Therefore your unsubstantiated inference that it copied Slumdog Millionare is totally wrong. Champions is partly a true story that happened here in Lagos in 1999. Secondly, the fact that the producers after traversing the length and breadth of Nigeria in banks, government agencies, multinational companies and several foundations searching for sponsorship suddenly got lucky with Lagos State Government in 2009 does not make it a government movie. It is sensitization and advocacy project aimed at bringing to the front burner the neglect by successive government towards the plight of the physically challenged members of our society’ but never a rebranding project.

We understand your sentiments for The Figurine, but the fact remains that in all their assumed inefficiency, FESPACO has for the first time since its inception in 1972 recognized a wholly Nigerian film by these awards. In due course, we intend to visit the Executive Governor of Lagos State to present the awards which we have dedicated to all the physically challenged members in our society. The awards were given to a film that deservedly won. We want to celebrate them. As Nigerians we want to collectively celebrate the fact that for the first time, a Nigerian film won, according to Carmen, ‘the condescending TV/video category’ not minding whether it went to Figurine or Champions.

In 2009 AMAA, Champions was technically disqualified because it did not submit the required number of DVDs and it had only 2 late nominations. In 2010, The Figurine won at the AMAAs and everybody celebrated it. Nobody at least to my knowledge alleged that the awards were given to compensate Nigeria for its abysmal failure in the previous edition. It beats my imagination why a small minority of people within the Nollywood industry who ordinarily should applaud this are the same people casting undeserved aspersion of the awards won by Champions at FESPACO 2011.

Chidi Nuel Nwokeabia, Producer/Writer.

After receiving and reading the e-mail, I responded thus:

Dear Mr. Nwokeabia,

Thank you for your thoughtful response to my review of the copy of Champions of Our Time that I had seen at FESPACO. I agree with you, as I noted in the piece, that it wasn’t quite fair of me to publish a review on the film without seeing a complete copy of the final version. Part of this was due to the fact that I had not been planning to write about Champions until the prize was announced, and my inability to get my hands on the final version of the film before the relevance of the piece passed. I also agree with you that we should encourage the Nollywood industry, not tear it down. If you have read any of my other film reviews, I tend to be positive and review only films that I can say positive things about. However, since, as you have noted, Champions of Our Time has won so many awards, I felt I would be remiss in my responsibility as a critic to merely list the awards without engaging with aspects of the film I felt were problematic. I stand by my critique of what I saw, but you are completely right in protesting my critique of a film I had incompletely watched.

I would like to give you a chance to respond in the same forum in which it was published, in my column in the Weekly Trust. I was particularly interested in your mention that the film was partially based on a true story and I wonder if you could say a little bit more about that? Finally, I would really like to see the final version of the film and if it changes my opinions on the piece, I would be willing to write a new review and a mea culpa admitting that my original review was flawed. Do you have plans to release the film on video any time soon or would it be possible to get a copy of the film? Thank you again for your response.

(Concluded next week)