Spin

Ayo Shonaiya launched production outfit Rainmaker 70 Filmworks in 1996 and has been steadily making a name for himself as a film and music video director ever since. Spin is his third feature after 1996's More Blessing and King Of My Country, which spent six months at the top of Nigeria's film charts in 1997. Spin may well top this success and expose his work to a wider British audience - following its UK premiere in London's Rio Cinema it has been selected for the second annual Black Filmmaker Festival, which takes place in London in August.



The film tells the story of Ruky, a Nigerian woman who is facing deportation from Britain unless she can find a way to gain a permanent visa. She could marry boyfriend Ebenezer, but he refuses to marry for anything other than love. Then Ruky meets millionaire Lucky Okoro and his lawyer Dele, and events take a different turn.



Production on the film nearly ground to a halt after the first 10 days, when the actress playing Ruky pulled out. But at the last minute, actress Caroline Chikezie, a contact of one of the crew members and an established actress with credits including Babymother and Virtual Sexuality, stepped into the breach after an impromptu casting meeting in McDonald's in London's King's Cross.



Shonaiya exploited his experience working on music videos to weave a soul and jazz-flavoured soundtrack through the story, with music supplied by Nigerian rapper Papa Ken and UK-based Nigerian soul/jazz singer Ola Onabule.