TIPTOPSTARS

Home is home is certainly what hovers around the mind of India-based Cameroonian movie actress, Sherilline Queen. From all indications, she had nostalgically missed Cameroon these past years the movie queen had been in India, where she resides.

But if there is one thing Sherilline had missed more and seems to catching up with, with an unending appetite, it is her country’s film industry. She might not have been part of it upon her departure from Cameroon, but observing the home industry from far off India with its exciting expansion, the actress would surely have been quite inspired.

Now, back home for her maiden vacation, Sherilline reports that she is filling the gaps created during her absence from her country. “I’m catching fun like I have never done in my life,” she told us. “Much of it is in the midst of friends and colleagues of the film industry.”

“It's really amazing how the film industry in my country has grown,” Sherilline, who has been shuttling between Kumba and Buea explained. To the young actress, the people, just like the movies are such a wonderful gift to Cameroon. “And I have enjoyed their company maximally,” she confessed.

Sharing her experience further, Sherilline picked out some colleagues she told us, have marked her stay in the country this far. “One of them is the talented Adela Elad whom I admire for her calm nature and friendly attitude,” she said.

Sherilline told us further: “Nkanya Nkwai is a big brother I have developed much respect for. His knack for movies and willingness to contribute to knowledge on filmmaking captures me and I’m glad I came across him.” “Valery Nchifor is another great actor I am so glad to have met.”

Asked about Jeffery Epule, whom the actress on vacation, also met, Sherilline painted a positive picture of Cameroon’s leading movie artist. “Papa K is such a great actor and nice person. He is very welcoming and I have a lot of respect for him as well,” she explained.

Meantime, Sherilline is looking forward to filming while in Cameroon, having been contacted for some projects. “I wouldn’t want to disclose things so soon but I’m on board for a few productions. Just this evening at a meeting with some prominent filmmakers, I got another proposal.”

Sherilline who lives in Mumbai, speaks and performs in hindi. She has featured in Bollywood films including Chidiya Ghar Lol, a TV serial.

A country whose youth is not progressive in its perception of life, is entangled in the web of a serious development crisis. The height of such crisis is the delay to graduate from a job-seeking course that could stubbornly refuse to provide the pass mark that qualifies young persons to move on to the creation of opportunities. This becomes even more disturbing, when such young persons are endowed with great talents, yet depend wholly on a government that only entertains a handful at every given national opening. The danger this scenario presents could be the most dreaded thing a country would want to face, especially in the heat of competing economies.

Cameroonian youths, especially graduates from universities and other higher institutions of learning might have fitted squarely in this thesis a couple of years ago. However, today, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Either out of government’s snail-pace approach in developing its youth or cotemporary awareness, characterized by an amazing improvement in information and communication technologies (ICTs), Cameroonian youths have developed their thinking faculty.

The first thought that has surfaced is that of their endowment with a natural gift (whichever one each of them may have), vested in everybody. This gift, they have come to terms with, can turn an individual into a successful enterprise.

Undoubtedly, this mindset is doing the trick and that young Cameroonians are pulling mountains today, is no longer news.

It is this new dispensation that seems to leave no Cameroonian indifferent, that has definitely inspired Ngoh Dalida, herself, one of such movers and shakers. The young, yet talented media personality (broadcaster and writer) in celebrating this new movement, has brought up her thesis in a brilliant way – a magazine that reports on the evolution of the youth sector, telling the success stories of young Cameroonians in various domains in the process.

#Team237Mag, the said publication, sees that light of day on Wednesday, October 19, 2016. “It’s a 2014 dream that is coming true and I can’t wait to present this beloved project to Cameroon,” Dalida told TIPTOPSTARS. “Mine is a generation of young people who are not only amazingly talented, but are so passionate about what they do and ready to defy all odds, in a bid to reach the apex.”

Such zeal, to the Douala-based media personality who also works for Canal 2 English, is irresistible and holds her attention so firm. “Celebrating these folks via a publication would not only be creating another source of inspiration, but contributing enormously to the development of the Cameroonian youth,” Dalida explained.

According to the publication’s founder/CEO, #Team237Mag was initially conceived as a TV talk show which she and her team ran for a while last year, until sponsorship became hard to come by. “We weren’t ready to kill the dream, so we transferred it into print and the outcome was this sumptuous quarterly that is being awaited with a lot of anxiety,” said Dalida.

Against the odds of usually thin financial resources, the initiator of the project and her team have been able to settle on some of the best things that would constitute a typically admired Cameroonian magazine – glossily coloured, good editing and Charlie Ndi Chia (Publisher) on board.

“This is because Cameroonians have grown to extents that they would easily differentiate between good and bad quality,” Dalida explained. “We opted for quality work in a bid to satisfy the taste of our potential readers and thank God, the veteran Charlie Ndi Chia is on board to ensure that.”

Meantime, #Team237Mag will be unveiled at a ceremony billed for Wednesday October 19, 2016 in Buea. The magazine launch event already endorsed by scores of renowned Cameroonian entertainers will be hosted by actors Jeffery Epule and Elynn Fesse Basil and promises to be a crowd-puller.

Packaged in three months by a Charlie Ndi Chia led team of fine editors, the maiden edition of #Team237Mag is printed in 20 pages at Macacos, one of Cameroon’s frontline printing outfits, based in Douala. When it goes into circulation, it would be affordably procured for 1,000FCFA.

A la Mboma is a new hit single whose afro dab concept is an innovation of Nick Mayor. Inspired by the Cameroonian football legend, Patrick Ndem Mboma who had thrilled the world with a tricky goal from a back flip-stunning shot against France at a post-2000 Olympic games friendly. Nick thought it was high time to recall this unforgettable memory. He did that by honouring the legend but mostly by way of sending across an inspirational message through which he proudly addresses his foemen with an unbeatable confidence. Confidence according to the artist is Mboma’s tricky goal against the then mighty France (world champions at the time).

Citing other Cameroonian football legends and rappers such as Samuel Eto'o and Krotal, Mayor simply expresses his admiration for people who have made his country proud.

Two months after the audio release with constant online and radio promotion, Soundit Music has decided to step up the project by producing a one-of-a kind video directed by UK-based Chad Winson.

The National Actors’ Guild of Cameroon, NAGCAM, USA branch has resolved to put in place a conflict resolution and reconciliation mechanism to ensure that a peaceful atmosphere reigns within the group. This decision was reached at during the maiden executive committee meeting of the new NAGCAM disposition that held in Maryland recently.

The Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation Committee when created, would apart from playing a ceasefire role during conflicts that is generally feared could tear actors up, help in convincing a good number of them who have abstained from the guild, to return on board.

According to the new NAGCAM-USA leadership team manned by Moh Tita Pale aka Don Pale, such a body, once it is installed, would accelerate progress in the execution of the guild’s mission of offering an enabling working environment for Cameroonian actors in the USA. Such progress had been slowed down by conflicting stances that appeared to drag on.

During the meeting, the executive members of NAGCAM-USA also agreed to have the constitution of the guild adopted by May 2017. Review of the current constitution (used by the mother branch of the guild) to concur with the USA environment had come to a standstill. According to the Maryland meeting, a constitutional bylaws committee will go underway in December this year, during the first General Assembly organized by the new bureau.

Amongst other things, including the completion of the NAGCAM-USA registration process, the guild set a goal to produce two films every year, under the banner of the Cameroon Film Industry (CFI).

“It was a very fruitful maiden come-together,” Moh Tita told TIPTOPSTARS. The NAGCAM-USA boss who was visibly satisfied with the outcome of the meeting wished that every Cameroonian actor in the USA be part of the new vision that is intended to give value, not only to the art, but to the brilliant work the artists have been doing this far. “I’ll continuously enjoin actors of Cameroonian origin living in the United States to provide the lofty ideas we need to make NAGCAM an enviable professional organization,” said Moh.

NAGCAM-USA was created on the heels of the 2013 reorganization of the Cameroon Film Industry (CFI) that gave room for the institutionalization of professional film guilds in Cameroon. After an interim body, headed by Mat Atugon ran the guild for a period of time, Terence Neville Linoma became the first President. He was succeeded by Moh Tita Pale on September 4 this year.