Cleopatra Magazine Edition 15,DUBAI KING TO PAY $720 MILLONS DIVORCE BILL , MISS INDIA WINS MISS UN

Terri Donnelly

PARIS S FASHION N SHOW W 2022 ELIE E SAAB Elie Saab is a Lebanese fashion designer. His main workshop is in Lebanon, with additional workshops in Milan and Paris. He started his business in the early 1980s and specialized in bridal couture. He is the first Arab to be admitted to the fashion industry's governing body, Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.

Floral Fantasy: Elie Saab/summer 2022 collection is in full bloom and vibrant couture inspire by the Mediterranean.

Elie Saab

Elie Saab returned to the runway in Paris after a two-year absence with a couture show inspired by the Mediterranean.

Featuring 55 show-stopping looks in a very vibrant spectrum of floorskimming, full-skirted silhouettes, Saab brought the opulence and optimism of couture at its heady best .

His comeback follows the pandemic and Beirut port explosion of August 2020 which damaged his home and office.

Recognised and celebrated for his dramatic gowns and haute couture,

Elie Saab’s fragrances share the same elegance as his fashion. The two perfume collections – “Le Parfum” and “Girl of Now” – are distinctly

unique, yet both capture an essence of femininity that is symbolic of famed couturier

Saab's previous runway show in the French capital took place in February 2020, just before the novel coronavirus swept across the globe,

halting travel and prompting lockdowns.

The Paris Fashion Show 2022 ended in grand style with top designer label Fendi on display and newcomer Yanina Couture.

Stephen Akinmosa Cleopatra Magazine, London

DUBAI PRINCESS GET’S RECORD $720 MILLION DIVORCE PAYOUT

The potentially record-breaking settlement in the divorce between the ruler of Dubai and his ex-wife Princess Haya provided an insight into what the judge called the “truly opulent and unprecedented standard of living enjoyed by these parties” during

their marriage.

The court heard that before their separation in 2019, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid alMaktoum had provided Haya with £83m a year for her household spending plus an allowance of

£9m per annum for herself and various ad hoc payments.

A British judge on Tuesday shed light on the lavish lifestyle of Dubai’s ruling family by awarding a record-breaking settlement worth in excess of $720 million to a princess in her custody battle with the ruler of the emirate.

fleet of aeroplanes owned by the sheikh, including a custom-fit Boeing 747 upon which he insisted the children should travel, helicopters, a $400m (£303m) superyacht and luxurious properties worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The children and their mother also had support from about 80 staff .

Their children, Jalila, now 14, and Zayed, now nine, had annual allowances of approximately £10m each, as well as access to a

In one summer while they were married, Haya and Sheikh Mohammed spent £2m on strawberries, the court heard.

Among the items Haya unsuccessfully asked to be returned to her were haute couture clothing worth €74m (£63m) and jewellery worth £20m. After a video of the walkin safe at the beach palace was shown in court, Haya said most valuable items had been removed, leaving mainly costume jewellery worth about £20,000.

Asked by the judge whether there was “any point” it being sent to her, she replied “no”.

In the event, Mr Justice Moor ordered Haya’s ex-husband to pay her £13.7m for jewellery and £1m for haute couture clothing (she claimed £32m rather than €74m). She was also awarded

£5m to “buy a few reasonable horses and run them for several years”.

Holidays formed a significant portion of the yearly maintenance payments for the children, with £5.1m awarded for nine weeks of foreign holidays a year, two weeks in the UK, plus three long weekends in Jordan and three weekends away in the UK. Details of her spending provided for the proceedings included £6.7m paid to four security staff during her marriage to Sheikh Mohammed after they had allegedly blackmailed her over an affair she had had with one of

them. The court had previously heard of the affair and of a phone call the sheikh made to her about it that left her “terrified”. Her exhusband criticised her use of some funds from the children’s accounts to pay the alleged blackmailers. Moor did not hear from any of the alleged blackmailers, but said, while it would have been “preferable” if Haya had used her own cash, “she was in a very difficult position indeed. She would have been desperate for HH not to find out”.

Princess Haya is close to the British royal family and owns an £85m house near Kensington Palace. Unusually, she has not been seen at Ascot this summer despite being a keen equestrian

and regular racegoer. She is believed to be in the UK. She married the billionaire Sheikh Mohammed in 2004 and is his sixth wife. The princess was educated at private schools in the UK and studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University. She has served on the International Olympic Committee and has been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations world food programme.

Princess Haya is close to the British royal family and owns an £85m house near Kensington Palace. Unusually, she has not been seen at Ascot this summer despite being a keen equestrian and regular racegoer. She is believed to be in the UK.

She married the billionaire Sheikh Mohammed in 2004 and is his sixth wife. The princess was educated at private schools in the UK and studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University.

She has served on the International Olympic Committee and has been a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations world food programme.

Requests are alleged to have been

made to the UK through private Dubai channels seeking her return to the United Arab Emirates and she is believed to have been concerned about her personal safety in the UK. The Foreign Office, however, is understood to regard the matter as a private dispute.

Requests are alleged to have been made to the UK through private Dubai channels seeking her return to the United Arab Emirates and

she is believed to have been concerned about her personal safety in the UK. The Foreign Office, however, is understood to regard the matter as a private dispute.

There’s finally a winner for Miss Universe Ghana 2022 after weeks of fierce competition between 16 contestants from around the country.

Engracia Afua Mofuman crowned Miss Universe Ghana 2022.

Engracia Afua Mofuman crowned Miss Universe Ghana 2022.

Engracia Afua Mofuman emerged as the winner of Miss Universe Ghana 2022 on

Tuesday, December 21, 2021. She succeeds Naa Morkor Commodore, who held the crown for one year.

Engracia, 27, beat off still competition from 16 strong, intelligent, elegant, and brilliant models from all the regions in Ghana.

Per the competition rules, Engracia Afua Mofuman will represent Ghana at the forthcoming Miss Universe international beauty pageant scheduled for next year.

Dorothy Ndede and Magali Ama Kab grabbed the spots for the first and second runner-ups, respectively.

Jack Morgan

THE 70TH MISS UNIVERSE pandemic.

The previously reigning Miss Universe, Andrea Meza of Mexico, crowned her successor, a Bollywood actress, in the Israeli Red Sea resort town of Eilat. The pageant was held in the middle of the night, wrapping up at 5 a.m. local time (10 p.m.

EST) to accommodate the primetime schedule in the U.S. Sandhu said she was feeling “overwhelmed because it’s been 21 years since India got Miss Universe crown and it’s happening right now.”

EILAT, Israel (AP — Harnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned the 70th Miss Universe on Sunday, topping a field of some 80 contestants in a pageant that was touched by politics and the

Eilat, Israel’s southern gateway, is an oasis on the shores of the Red Sea, a meeting point for the sun, desert, and sea, and a crossroads between four countries and three continents.

Eilat offers spectacular natural landscapes and tropical crystal clear sea waters with thousands of species of fish and corals. Eilat is a leading tourism and leisure destination and home to some of the most luxurious hotels in Israel. Hosting 3 million domestic and international vacationers annually, Eilat offers over 12,000 hotel rooms of all price categories. Experiences include desert and sea attractions, diving in the magnificent Red Sea Gulf, jeep tours, walking tracks, and vibrant nightlife. The city also boasts worldwide recognition as a venue for major conferences and festivals. The City of Eilat invites you to come

and enjoy the perfect holiday experience and all that Eilat has to offer.

The contest suffered a lastminute hiccup with the arrival of the omicron variant, which forced Israel to close its borders to foreign tourists late last month.

Most of the Miss Universe contestants were already in the country before the new regulations came into effect. But those who came afterward were given special permission to enter, albeit with a mandatory 72-hour quarantine period.

COVID wasn’t the only potential

landmine that could have undermined the contest. The BDS movement called for a boycott of the event, and worked to convince the international contestants and their countries to skip the event in order to show solidarity with the Palestinian cause and protest Israeli policies toward them.

with “the atrocities committed by Israel.”

Initially, their efforts scored points. The South African government withdrew its support for the participation of Lalela Mswane, the reigning Miss South Africa, saying that it couldn’t “in good conscience” associate itself

Miss Bahamas and Miss Chile were officially awarded the Spirit of Carnival Award and the Social Impact Award via Miss Universe.

India Harnaaz Sandhu don win Miss Universe 2021.

While Paraguay Nadia Ferreira be runner up and South Africa contestant Lalela Mswane place third as second runner up.

Last year's pageant was delayed due to the pandemic before Meza

was crowned in May for her abbreviated tenure.

Sunday's contest was hosted by U.S. TV personality Steve

Harvey. Organizers said the pageant was expected to reach an estimated 600 million viewers via the FOX network in 172 countries.

STEVE HARVEY’S NEW $15 MILLION MANSION.

Steve Harvey got his start in stand-up comedy. He went on to land a hosting gig on Showtime at the Apollo and his own WB sitcom, and became one of the four comedians featured in Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy. Harvey launched a long-running radio program in 2000, channeling its content into the best-selling relationship book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. He went on to host a pair of daytime talk shows and currently hosts the long-running game show Family Feud.

Steve's massive $15million estate is 35,000 square feet.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

The gated mansion has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

Credit :Courtesy of Zillow

Upon entry, a grand imperial staircase is in the front of the home.

Credit: Courtsy of Zillow.

A 70,000 gallon infinity pool looks over the green 17 acre property.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

Steve's new home is surrounded by trees near the Chattahoochee River.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

A home gym is fully equipped with machines and weights.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

Steve has his own walk-in wine cellar that has a built-in bar top.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

A massive walk-in closet is attached to the master suite.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow

A large fully-equipped gym boasts a set of workout machines and weights.The comedian and his wife Marjorie can host movie night at their in-home movie theatre that comfortably seats more than a dozen people.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

An indoor resistance pool can be used for working out.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

A full-size tennis court sits below the home on the multi-layer property.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

The large master suite has stunning views.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow.

Both informal and formal gardens are scattered throughout the 17 acres.

Credit: Courtesy of Zillow The home even comes with an underground ballroom for events and an indoor resistance pool.

Outside sits a luxurious 70,000 gallon infinity-edge swimming pool.

The backyard also includes a tennis court, sauna and fields of green grass.

Both a Forman and informal garden can be found on the grounds with covered verandas and a guard house along with a caretakers suite.

The property also includes a runway that is meant to land remote controlled airplanes.

Queen Adelakun

DESIGNERS TO WATCH IN 2022 the La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.

Soon thereafter, he moved to Paris and was learning from the petit mains how to make couture garments.

He's pinballed between London, New York, Paris and Milan since then, finally returning to Dubai to ride out the pandemic. In May, he graduated from esteemed Central Saint Martins, whose alumni include Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Phoebe Philo.

Brocca grew up in Dubai with a mother who both loved, collected and surrounded herself (and by proxy, Andrea) with luxury goods: Jean Paul Gaultier perfumes, Chanel 2.55 handbags.

He would analyze and idolize, engrossing himself as much in the history of these items as the items themselves. At 17, he ran away from Dubai, dropping out of high school so he could attend

Not only has he dressed the likes of Lady Gaga and British singer Rina Sawayama. At 16, Brocca was also awarded the prestigious title of Guinness Book of Records’ ‘youngest couturier’.

“I’ve wanted to do fashion since I was seven and I took it extremely seriously,” he says. “When I got the title, I felt a huge responsibility to elevate the standard of construction in design.”

Saul Nash, is an emerging British menswear designer, movement director and choreographer from North East London. His design practice exists to bridge the gap between Luxury Menswear and Sportswear; unique technical garments, designed and cut for the liberation of movement.

Described by Sarah Mower of American Vogue as having a “sensitivity and intelligence that works right through to the structure of his design,” and having been hailed by Hypebeast as “the next superstar of sportswear” - Nash’s young brand is undergoing a meteoric rise.

Nash originally studied

Performance Design and Practice at Central Saint Martins in 2015, going on to receive a scholarship to attend the eminent MA Menswear at the Royal College of Art in 2018. In the same year Nash’s label was born. A deeply autobiographical practice, his approach marries the worlds of dance and fashion together telling personal stories of the cultural and societal landscape he grew up within, and challenging limiting ideas around masculinity.

The Saul Nash collections are carried at retailers including Selfridges, Browns Fashion, FLANNELS, FARFETCH, SSENSE, HTOWN and more.

Conner Ives has had a start in fashion most young designers would dream of. At just 23, the New York-born Ives had established his namesake label, enjoyed a stint working under Rihanna at Fenty and dressed Adwoa Aboah for the Met Gala – all while he was still an

undergraduate at Central Saint Martins. “It’s been kind of crazy,” he says, speaking from his studio in east London. “I’m very lucky to have such momentum behind me already.”

It’s clear from speaking to Ives, however, that such early success

is less a result of luck and more down to his steadfast self-belief and razor-sharp vision. From the age of 16, he was already interning with acclaimed designers, including Wes Gordon and Jonathan Anderson. At 18, during his foundation year at CSM, he was rejected from the bachelor’s degree program for womenswear – but rather than change tact, he became more committed to his vision of fashion than ever. “I felt like I was almost trying to defend myself… after that first year, I thought, ‘I never want a person to question my intentions again.’ I hunkered down and decided to never let anyone doubt what I was attempting to do here.”

Ives says his experience working with Rihanna at Fenty also impressed on him the importance

of diversity and democracy within a label – he wants to turn that experience into a blueprint for managing his own brand. “I’ve had some incredible bosses, but I’ve never before worked with a person who knew the name of every single person in the room,” he says. He was employed by Rihanna after she saw the white tuxedo dress he made for Aboah at the Met Gala in 2017. “I was presenting my sketches directly to her at the age of 22… in a room full of people [who were] my seniors. And she was always so animated and responsive.” Her faith in him, as a student, instilled the values of respecting young talent and team members in him.

“The way that I was treated by her in that position is how I want to treat my team now.”

Davis is the buzzy new name on the London fashion scene.

Having launched his brand digitally with Fashion East in September last year, his brand quickly garnered traction for its seamless blending of femininity with androgyny, and wearability with sexiness. His tops contain daring cutouts, while blazers with oversized proportions are sculpted at the waist to purposefully enhance the female silhouette. “The pockets are placed on the waistline, which makes the waist seem smaller,” Davis says of this conscious approach, likely influenced by his older sister, who used to make her own clothes. “It’s a bit more flattering than just wearing a man’s jacket.”

Unlike many designers of his

generation, he’d never dreamed of owning his own brand. “I just wanted to create and be involved in the process,” he says. After studying womenswear at London College of Fashion, he found himself working on the shop floor of Selfridges department store with fellow designer Grace Wales Bonner, who then went on to launch her own label and invited him to join the team – first as an intern, then as a permanent member of staff, creating tailored pieces and commercial knitwear.

Davis says he learned from Wales Bonner’s fastidious research, which has been known to take her from Black history and academic texts to art pieces. She encouraged him to not follow trends or pigeonhole himself, which manifests in his

uncompromisingly juxtaposing aesthetic – glamorous evening dresses sit seamlessly alongside get-up-and-go blazers. “There’s different parts of my brand:

there’s the tailoring and then there’s the denim and printed pieces. I design with both the younger generation and more mature clients in mind.”

Phoebe Philo, the British designer who became a cult hero in fashion for her intelligent and grown-up womenswear at the French fashion house of Céline, is to return to the industry with a new label next year.

After a three-year absence, Philo released a statement announcing that her first eponymous brand will sell “clothing and accessories

rooted in exceptional quality and design”.

The designer said she was “very much looking forward to being back in touch with my audience and people everywhere”. The luxury giant LVMH is Philo’s financial backer, but holds a minority stake, an arrangement which Philo flagged in her statement, saying that “to be

independent, to govern and experiment on my own terms is hugely significant to me”. It is thought the brand will be based in London, where Philo lives with her family.

Sixty years after Christian Dior revolutionised how women dressed with his New Look, Phoebe Philo did the same with the Female Gaze.

Her upmarket but understated Céline collections appealed to women who cared about design but did not see themselves as decorative.

Given the buzz around Philo’s new venture, at a moment when the fashion industry is searching for a post-pandemic identity, her partnership with LVMH is a coup for the luxury giant.

Bernard Arnault, LVMH chairman and CEO, said: “Phoebe Philo is one of the most talented designers of our time … I am very happy to partner with Phoebe on her entrepreneurial adventure.”

Titi Adesanya Raised in Nigeria, London-based Adesanya is no stranger to taking risks. She switched professional paths after starting her career in medicine.

As a life-long shoe lover, she decided to launch her luxury women’s footwear brand, Titi Adesa, studying at Cordwainers at the London College of Fashion and traveling to Italy to learn shoemaking from the artisan level.

To promote the brand, Adesanya turned to social media, since everyone was already there scrolling through, and has so far gained a small but growing audience, with more than 15,500 followers across all platforms.

She also focused on building her network of industry connections, which is how she ended up working with Level Shoes, her brand’s first retailer.

Launched in August 2019 by Titi Adesanya, Titi Adesa produces its footwear in a family-owned factory in Milan.

Titi Adesanya the founder and creative director of luxury footwear label Titi Adesa was recently awarded the emerging Talent of the year by Olivia Palermo at the Footwear Achievement Award.

Beyond her new collection, the

creative director is also working to expand her retail distribution.

She has plans to launch ecommerce by early Q1 of 2022.

Adesanya also aims to add more retailers and even new regions

that fit well with the brand, both organically and strategically. In December, the label will debut a pop-up shop in The Lotte in Accra, Ghana.

The founder of brand Tongoro established in Dakar, Senegal, Sarah Diouf's brand focuses on investing in local artisans and raising awareness of the cultural fashion scene of Senegal through

raising awareness of Senelgalese skilled tailoring, textiles and suppliers. The brand itself translates to “star” in Central African Republic where Diouf’s mother is from. Every look is

named after an African city or region that connects to Diouf’s life like the dramatic Gorée dress, named after the Gorée beach in Senegal or the Fitini bag, in Ivorian it translates to “small.”

Graphic prints, African symbolism, vibrant colors with a performative voluminous effect in a variety of styles from jumpsuits to maxi dresses, it’s clearly for a proud fashionable woman that Beyoncé, Burma Boy, Naomi Campbell, Alicia Keys, and Iman have worn looks and showed support for the label.

Since the celebrity support, the Senegal-based brand has become internationally known. On social media and lookbooks, it’s Diouf herself as a one-woman show presenting her brand as an influencer, hairstylist, makeup artist, stylist, and creative director of her brand. Sarah Diouf documents her journey with her brand in the documentary, Made in Africa and the goal of championing the community of craftsmanship, tradition, and the transformation of Africa’s apparel industry.

Sindiso Khumalo is a sustainable textile designer based in Cape Town. Central St Martins graduate, Khumalo, studied architecture at the University of Cape Town prior to moving to London, where she went onto study a Masters in Design for Textile Futures.

An architect turned fashion designer, Sindiso Khumalo is no stranger to hard work. Having attended the University of Cape Town before moving to London

to study fashion, Khumalo was determined to capture the essence of the black African experience through the medium of clothing.

Her label focuses on creating modern, sustainable textiles with a strong emphasis on African storytelling. She designs the textiles in her collections by hand through watercolours and collage.

Sindiso also works very closely with NGO’s in developing handmade textiles for her collections.

THE TREVOR NOAH’S STORY

Trevor Noah is a South African comedian, television host, and political commentator. He is the host of The Daily Show, an American satirical news program on Comedy Central. Born in Johannesburg, Noah began his career in South Africa in 2002.

Trevor Noah's rags to riches story is one of the most inspiring stories ever told. The comedian has done so well for himself that he is now considered one of the wealthiest comedians by Forbes.

An important part of his story is his upbringing and he never shies away from talking about it. Trevor mostly opens up about this in his comedy shows but now he sat down with American journalist Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes with CBS. “Here’s the thing that I always say to people. Being poor in a group or in a community that is poor is not as bad as being poor when you know what you’re missing out on.

So when I grew up, we played with bricks as cars. And you’d smash them into each other. And it was one of the most fun games I’ve ever played,” said Noah.

else and my mom said, ‘We’re gonna have to eat these mopane worms for longer because we don’t have money to buy chicken’.”

Trevor Noah toured the world Trevor then spoke about the food stages and amassed support they would used to eat in Soweto worldwide, but when he got and worms was one of them, “The offered a job at The Daily Show, same thing with eating mopane he saw it as a downgrade in his worms. What I didn’t like was salary. But little did he know, he when we couldn’t eat anything would easily become one of the

highest paid comedians. He said line? Yes, no. It immediately puts the last host before him, Jon me in a position where I have to Stewart, had to basically beg him choose a side when I think that the matter is a lot more complex than to take the job. that. I think everybody is defining Trevor Noah also weighed in the line for themselves,” Noah about the controversy surrounding tells Stahl. his friend and fellow comedian Dave Chappelle, who sparked Another topic came up in the outrage when he made comments interview, his love life – but Noah that many in the LGBTQ tried by all means to avoid the community considered to be subject. He has recently been transphobic. Here’s what the linked to actress Minka Kelly.

Noah admitted to the journalist Soweto native had to say: that he doesn’t like discussing the “Did Dave Chappelle cross the women he is dating.

Evelyn Maisvoreva

BEST AFRICAN FILMS 2021 both the oblivious elitism of the art world and the value (or lack thereof) put on the lives of migrants. A refugee from Syria to Lebanon, Sam Ali (Yahya Mahayni) broods on the girlfriend he lost, who is now living in Belgium.

The opportunity to travel there presents itself – but there’s a catch: he must allow an artist to tattoo his back, thus becoming a living work of art, THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS available to be bought and SKIN. sold.

Provocative and challenging, if Tunisia not the most subtle piece of Director: Kaouther Ben Hania political commentary, the film Music by: Amine Bouhafa certainly cements Kaouther Produced by: Habib Attia; Nadim Ben Hania as a name to watch Cheikhrouha; Martin Hampel; in Arab cinema.

Thanassis Karathanos; Annabella Nezri; Andreas Rocksén Provocative and challenging, if not the most subtle piece of Oscar-nominated. – The first political commentary, the film Tunisian film ever to secure a certainly cements Kaouther nod – The Man Who Sold His Ben Hania as a name to watch Skin is a scalding satire on in Arab cinema.

THE NIGHT OF THE KING Award for Best International Film, Ivory Coast.

Release date: 23 July 2021 (United Kingdom) Director: Philippe Lacôte Music by: Olivier Alary Produced by: Delphine Jaquet; Yanick Létourneau; Ernest Konan; Yoro Mbaye Languages: French; Dyula Nominations: Independent Spirit

Orizzonti Award for Best Film, more.

Director Phillipe Lacôte brings magical realism and Ivorian narrative custom to an unlikely setting in this dazzling if hard-tofollow prison movie.

Set partly in Ivory Coast’s “Mad Max”-like MACA correctional

facility and partly in the imagination of its newest inmate, “Night of the Kings” feels radically different from most films set behind bars, and not just because of its one-of-a-kind location. Naturally, the wild plots and power games one typically associates with the genre still feature, but “Night” stands apart — if not necessarily above — as director Philipe Lacôte zeroes in on an unusual tradition within those walls: that of the “Roman.”

The director grew up in Abidjan, where the film is set. When Lacôte was a child, his mother served time in “La MACA,” and he would visit her there. Now, many years later, he seizes on the mythic reputation of the place, where notorious murderers are thrown together with petty gangsters and political dissidents. The movie prowls the overcrowded corridors to reveal a rowdy yet selfcontained society in which the criminals set their own laws and customs.

(This is My Desire) follows the stories of Mofe, a factory technician, and Rosa, a hairdresser, on their quest for what Release date: 16 April 2021 they believe will be a better life on (Nigeria) Directors: Chuko Esiri, Arie Esiri. foreign shores. A passport, photos and a visa form recurring Set in Lagos, Nigeria Eyimofe elements. The characters'

EYIMOFE - This is my desire

misfortunes are part of their everyday life and they are sketching out the need to leave Nigeria at the same time. At the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, status, money, gender, skin color and family structures are inextricably connected.

The longing for another life is but one thread in this complex mesh, a promise that floats above things at

once near and far away.

"ABSORBING… the complexities of Lagosian life are captured with empathy" — The New York Times “Stunning feature debut” — British Film Institute, Sight & Sound

HAPPINESS EVER AFTER South Africa.

Director: Thabang Moleya - 2021 Credit: Civuyile Matsiliza/Netflix Happiness is a Four-Letter Word was a movie that really resonated with the masses. It’s a rom-com that focuses on women taking charge of their lives and discovering themselves. Of course, rich women but, you know. Either way, it’s always nice to watch a female-centric film especially since it’s about friendships more than anything else. More often than not, female friendships are ignored to focus on romantic relationships so it’s nice that that isn’t the case here. However, the movie is like the South African version of Sex and the City so people who haven’t watched the first instalment have something to

compare it with.

So, Happiness Ever After starts after the events of the last film.

Thus, as the movie starts you realise all of the things that are being said is easier said when you live in a mansion and buy designer stuff. Maybe this story of taking charge of your life is more suited when you can cry inside your Ferrari.

Right off the bat, Happiness Ever After looks stunning.

The production quality is excellent and everything looks spic and span.

Thanks to the success of the last movie, this one got a bigger budget to splurge on. But, all’s good. Some exciting drama is just up the road here complete with a slightly controlling husband, some family money drama and a commitment phobia.

FAYA DAYI Ethiopia. 30 January 2021 Director: Jessica Beshir "Faya Dayi," Jessica Beshir's striking feature-length debut, is constructed in such a way that it seems you are watching it "in your mind," an inner space where the images have powerful and symbolic resonance, as happens in dreams. The film weaves a spell with its rhythms, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, all accompanied by a vivid and haunting sound design. The overall effect is hallucinatory, akin to the "high"

given by "khat," the one cash crop in the Harar region of eastern Ethiopia. The community there once grew coffee and other lucrative crops for export, but those days are gone. Harar's economy is now dominated by khat and its seasonal rituals: harvesting, preparing, bundling, transporting, selling it—to other regions, as well as to locals who smoke and chew the leaves, lulled into a listless altered state by khat's psychoactive qualities.

Filmed in luminous black and white, each image more beautiful than the last, "Faya Dayi" is not your typical documentary.

THE LAST SHELTER Mali. 2021

Original title The film kicks off on an appropriately intense note, with an improvised graveyard on the edge

of the city of Gao in Mali, in the south-west of the Sahara. People buried there, often with just an approximate year of birth scribbled on the metal markers that stand in for gravestones, were inhabitants of the House of Migrants, which has for decades been hosting migrants on their way to Algeria, and then hopefully on to Europe, or those coming back after an unsuccessful attempt to find their place in the imaginary paradise of the West.

16 year-old girls Esther and Kadi have arrived from Burkina Faso, both exiled from their families.

Esther comes fully covered in a chador except for her face. Hurt

and hardened, she carries herself with pride and distrust. When the large, always smiling, unnamed man who seems to be the manager of the place tries to convince her to give him her personal information - surname, address, contact for a next of kin - she keeps silent. But when he starts explaining the dangers ahead, and relates experiences of other young, uneducated women who ended up sold as sex slaves in Algeria, or worse, a single tear starts rolling down her cheek. Among the film's many powerful scenes, this one stands out as an emotional watershed moment for the viewer who begins to realise the depth of migrants' plight.

NIKKY FREDDIEY’S 30TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

CLEOPATRA HALL OF FAME

MO ABUDU (NIGERIA) Among ‘Mo” Abudu is a household name.

Nollywood fans Nollywood Described by Forbes as one of movies, then this Mosunmola Africa’s most successful women

and by CNN as the ‘African Oprah,’ Abudu is the founder of EbonyLife TV, a talk show host, a filmmaker, and a human resource consultant. EbonyLife is a fastgrowing black entertainment lifestyle and network-available in 48 African countries-. Beyond her television ventures, Abudu has also executive produced various

shows and films, including Fifty, Nigeria’s highest-grossing drama, and number 1 film of 2015. It was also the only Nigerian film selected to screen at the BFI London Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix in 2015. Other popular films billing Abudu’s name in the credits include The Governor, a story about Nigeria’s

first female state governor, and Desperate Housewives of Africa, based on Disney’s Original Series.

Abudu also produced The Wedding Party 1&2, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016. It was acquired by Netflix in 2017 and was the highest-grossing title of all time at the Nigerian box office. Abudu is a highly sought expert on the African and global cultural and creative industries.

Mo Abudu is one of the biggest TV Producer in Africa. She is the owner and founder of Ebony Life Television, a Pan-Africa TV channel that focus on entertainment and fashion.

Her full name is Mosummola Abudu, was born in the United Kingdom, but an indigene of Ondo State in Nigeria. She relocated to Nigeria at the age of 7 and went back to UK after her father’s death.

Mo Abudu is a Masters degree holder in Human Resources Management from the University of Westminster, London.

In 2014, Mo Abudu ventured into film making with Ebonylife Films.

She produced Fifty which has now been turned into a TV series via her production company. And in 2016, she co-produced The Wedding Party movie 1&2.