Written, produced and directed by Faraday Okoro, Nigerian Prince is a heist thriller set to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival holding from the 18th – 29th of April. The winner of a $1,000,000 grant, the film uncovers the hidden world of Nigerian email scammers otherwise known as Nigerian Prince Scammers. It follows a Nigerian-American teenager who joins forces with an internet scammer in order to return to the United States. Here are five things you need to know before the April premiere:
1. The screenplay was co-written by Andrew Long and the film financed by AT&T Untold Stories, a film program collaborating with the Tribeca Film Institute to ensure storytellers always have a screen to shine on.
2. The director is a New York City based filmmaker whose short film Blitz was selected to screen at the Palm Springs International Short-fest. His work has aired nationally on PBS Television and Gaia TV. He was also among the 25 Screenwriters To Watch in the 2017 Austin Film Festival list. This is his first feature film.
3. Nigerian Prince was co-produced by Oscar Hernandez (Love At Last Sight) and Bose Oshin. The executive producers are made up of Biyi Bandele (Fifty), Spike Lee (Ghostwriter), and Sam Pollard (The Rich List).
4. The film was shot in Lagos by Sheldon Chau (Jungle, Flying Eggs) and the cast (by Avy Kaufman) include Tina Mba, Bimbo Manuel, Toyin Oshinaike, Shawn Faqua, Gregory Ojefua, Rita Edward, Antonio J. Bell, Chinaza Uche, and Kelechi Udegbe.
5. Nigerian Prince follows two characters: Eze, a stubborn, first-generation Nigerian-American teenager and his cousin, Pius, a desperate Nigerian scammer. After Eze’s mother sends him to Nigeria against his will, he retaliates by teaming up with Pius to scam unsuspecting foreigners in order to earn money for a return ticket back to America.
