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 NEWTON
ADUAKA, Nigeria
:: Rage ::
Born in Nigeria,
Newton moves to England in 1985. Following a diploma course in
video arts and post_production, he embarks on a study in film
history, art and technique at the London International Film
School, graduating in 1990.
Leaving film school he pursues
and gains a great deal of production experience working as a sound
mixer on a wide range of productions culminating in a best Sound
award for a feature film at FESPACO '93.
He embarks on writing and has
screenplays commissioned by the BBC and Carlton Television. As a
short story writer, his works are published by Wasafiri, a
literary magazine housed by the University of London.
As a director, his short films
include Carnival of Silence (94), Voices Behind the Wall (90), and
the most current On The Edge (97), which wins him three
prestigious awards and various special mentions. The film stars
Berlin Silver Bear award_winner Meynard Eziashi. On The Edge is
presented in over sixty international film festivals including
Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, FESPACO and Edinburgh. It is acquired and
broadcast by ZDF & ARTE and other television stations across
Europe and the world. The film also screens theatrically in London
and Germany.
2000/2001, his debut feature film
Rage is released theatrically to huge critical acclaim in the UK.
RAGE debuts at the Toronto Film Festival followed by the London
Film Festival and continuing to various other world wide festivals
to date. Rage wins Best Director _ First Feature at the Pan
African Film Festival in Los Angeles, Prix Oumarou Ganda at
FESPACO, Le Prix Jeunesse at Vues D'Afrique Montreal and OCIC
Grand Prix at Festival d'Amiens.
London September 2001 Newton wins
Carlton's Multicultural Achievement Award for Film.
October 2001 to February 2002
Newton is Film Maker in Residence at the Cinefoundation Paris,
awarded him by the Cannes Film Festival to prepare his second
feature, Green_Orange.
April 2002 he completes a short
film commissioned by the Society of Film Directors France, Cahiers
du Cinema and the Directors' Fortnight. The theme of Cinema and
Mondialization is represented by his short film Funeral. Newton is
one of nine film makers from around the world selected for this
commission. Others include Walter Salles, Arturo Ripstein and Amos
Gitai. The film will be screened officially at Cannes 2002.
April 2002 he completes a short film commissioned by the
Society of Film Directors France, Cahiers du Cinema and the
Directors’ Fortnight. The theme of Cinema and Mondialization is
represented by his short film Funeral. Newton is one of nine
film makers from around the world selected for this commission.
Others include Walter Salles, Arturo Ripstein and Amos Gitai. The
film will be screened officially at Cannes 2002.
.
 RAGE
Country: Nigeria/England (London)
Year: 2000
Length: 93 minutes
Language: English with French Subtitles
Genre: Feature
 RAGE
is the cinema of now, intense, vivid, real and uncompromising. No
special effects, "guns", gratuitous sex or violence,
just simple storytelling from within the powerful vistas of inner
emotions outwards. The raw feeling of the inner_city and our
protagonists' London is the backdrop of an un_idealistic
exploration into the world of dreams and how they can lead us to
self_confrontation at critical points in our lives.
The opening scene is a
manipulative half_truth. It's night, and three teenage boys are in
a speeding car, the back seat filled by a bag of paintings, vases
and other obviously stolen objects. As a police car follows close
behind, sirens blaring, the boys _ T (for Thomas), G (for Godwin)
and Jamie, whose hip_hop moniker is Rage _ are panicked, screaming
at each other about who did what wrong.
Well aware of the race and class
systems embedded in the British psyche, Nigerian_born Aduaka
depends on a specific viewer reaction: frustration at being faced
with an image we think we know so well _ impoverished, violent
hooligans proving themselves through petty crime.
"Typical," we're supposed to tut, because if we don't go
with the stereotype at first, Aduaka wouldn't get the chance to
show us just how wrong we are. Despite this initially off_putting
smugness, Aduaka's debut soon reveals itself to be a thoughtful
and sensitive narrative on growing up in an unforgiving city.
Awards for
Rage include:
FESPACO 2001 - Prix Oumarou Ganda
(Best First Feature)
Pan African Film Festival Los Angeles - Best Director, Best First
Feature
Vue d'Afrique, Montreal - Prix Jeunesse
Amiens International Film Festival - OCIC Prize
Carlton Television London - Carlton Multicultural Award
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