New Nollywood Film Brings Hollywood Action and Global Awareness

“We wanted to bring awareness to the Niger Delta,” said a indigo-clad Vivica A. Fox at the Kennedy Center red carpet premiere of Black November (a film by acclaimed director Jeta Amata) attended by Nigerian diplomats, stars of the film, and top officials from Capitol Hill.

The film, which was originally called Black Gold, brought together stars of Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, and Hollywood with the likes of Ms. Fox, Mickey Rourke, and Kim Basinger and is centered around political turmoil in the Niger Delta, a region of Nigeria plagued by environmental and political issues.

The film details oil production in Nigeria — the fifth largest producer worldwide, and from where comes over half of that used in the U.S. —  where oil spills into the delta of the Niger River, leaking as much as the Exxon-Valdez annually, and causing as much damage… though little coverage of this atrocity is broadcast to the world.

Fox, who plays the U.S. Secretary of State in the film, says that she hopes this film will help bring these environmental concerns to light, and attended Tuesday’s screening to rub noses and shake hands with policymakers who can help expose the issue — like Congressman Bobby Rush who resolved to pass a resolution to help clean up the delta region after the screening the film.