Author: Osas Monday

In an abandoned print works in a scruffy but bohemian Lagos neighbourhood, an improvised cinema has opened, gigantic black drapes blocking out the light. Dozens of young people crowd round the screen on plastic chairs, ready to discover the new wave of Nigerian cinema. The second edition of the S16 film festival, which took place late last year, brought together Nigerian filmmakers looking to do things differently. They are determined to break away from Nollywood, the powerful and influential film industry that has inundated Africa’s market with blockbusters that generate millions of dollars. Nollywood is driven by two things —…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said for the first time Sunday that Ankara could accept Finland into NATO without its Nordic neighbour Sweden. Erdogan’s comments during a televised meeting with younger voters came days after Ankara suspended NATO accession talks with the two countries. Turkey and Hungary remain the only members of the 30-nation Western defence alliance to have failed to ratify the membership bids by Sweden and Finland. The Hungarian parliament is expected to approve both bids in February. But Erdogan has dug in his heels heading into a tightly contested May 14 presidential election in which he is…