Four years after its publication by the United Kingdom’s Jacaranda Books, Anietie Isong’s debut novel, ‘Radio Sunrise’ is set to be adapted into a movie.
Royal Arts Academy and Closer Pictures, will commence production of the movie in early 2022. It will be shot at locations in Lagos and the Niger Delta and will feature some of Nigeria’s best actors.
Commenting on the adaptation, Isong, who holds a PhD in New Media and Writing from De Montfort University, Leicester, said: “I am very excited about the screen adaption of my first novel. Our film industry has come a long way, so I have no doubt the talented cast and crew will do justice to the script.”
Also commenting on the screen adaptation, the CEO of Royal Arts Academy, Emem Isong Misodi, said she was happy to work on her brother’s novel and that Nigerians would love it.
She said, “I am delighted to be working with my brother on the adaption of his award-winning novel. The film will feature some of Nigeria’s most celebrated actors, and we have decided to film it in Lagos and the Niger Delta, where the novel is set. I am confident the movie will resonate well with viewers not only in Nigeria but across the world.”
The CEO of Closer Pictures, Uduak Isong Oguamanam, spoke in the same vein, noting that, “The first time I read the book, I thought ‘this would make a great movie’. So, when Anietie started talking about adaptation, I was only too pleased. I loved the book and I’m certain film lovers all over the world will love the adaptation. It has everything; comedy, romance and social issues. We will work with the very best hands to put together a masterpiece.”
First published in the UK in 2017 and later republished in Nigeria by Narrative Landscape Press, ‘Radio Sunrise’ was longlisted for the 9mobile Prize for Literature in 2018. It later won the 2018 Mckitterick Prize.
‘Radio Sunrise’ tackles the commodification of journalism and is set against the backdrop of the militancy in the Niger Delta. The protagonist, Ifiok, works in a Lagos-based radio station and is unhappy with the media’s propagation of falsehood. Sadly, he cannot effect change as he is forced to join the bandwagon due to circumstances beyond his control.
Royal Arts Academy and Closer Pictures working on the production have works including ‘Weekend Getaway’, ‘I’ll Take My Chances’, ‘The Best Men’, ‘Falling’, ‘Lost in London’, ‘The Choir Master’s Wife’ and ‘Ayamma’ to their credit.