I hope you have been enjoying your weekly dose of trailer reviews and hopefully, that has made you more interested in watching Nollywood movies. From the look of things, 2014 is going to be a good year for the industry. Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in April while the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) will be back for its second edition in March. I can’t wait! Our trailer for today is Udoka Oyeka’s Living Funeral which he co-produced with Orode Ryan-Okpu whose Pink Pearl Foundation has been quite active in the past few years in raising awareness of breast cancer.

For starters, the name ‘Living Funeral’ is not your everyday movie title. It is an oxymoron because for you  to have a funeral, the person must be dead, right?  This alone makes the movie different. It is not candy coating the realities. It is in-your-face-got-to-deal-with-it-now! The cinematography and use of lighting further drives home the sadness associated with a disease like breast cancer as well as child loss.  These creative choices make for a more interesting viewing. Thankfully, we get to see her when she looked different – like a normal  girl and all made up. We also see where she is wrapping a bandage around her chest (symbolising the loss of her breasts).

From the heart shattering dialogue to the medical props, the sense of loss and foreboding is clearly communicated. The hospital scene shows a sense of helplessness felt by her family. The background music is subtle and creates the right atmosphere.  Talking about music, we see a snapshot of Nigerian singer Omawumi and Waje on the microphone. It is hard to fault this piece of work, the only thing I would have done differently was to completely delete the quotes on loss or let them stay on the screen longer.

Kudos to  team Living Funeral for a good job well done and all the best at the 2nd AMVCAs, eight nominations is not a piece of cake. Good luck guys!

Verdict – Watch Living Funeral because it is different – technique wise and it also takes the dreaded subject of breast cancer from the eyes of a dying child.

Do you agree with this review? Post your thoughts, comments and suggestions below.

The Trailer Review is a weekly column by Isabella Akinseye published in Vanguard newspaper.

Vote for the film in the 2014 AMVCA by texting 3A for Stephanie Wilson for Best Actress, 4C for Liz Benson as Best Supporting Actress, and 6C for Udoka Oyeka and Orode Ryan for Best Movie Drama; all to +2783142100415

View exclusive stills from the set of Living Funeral here.

Watch the trailer of Living Funeral here.

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