PHOTO: LIMU’s new President Eddie Mantu Gibson
By Samuel G. Dweh, amuelosophy@yahoo.com
Well known Liberian professional Artist, Mr. Eddie Mantu Gibson, who holds a red belt in the Korean form of martial arts called Tae-Kwon-Do, from the Ba-fon Cobra Tae-Kwon-Do Club, has been inaugurated as President of the Liberia Movie Union (LIMU).
The ceremony took place in Monrovia over the weekend and he replaces Mr. Gregory Artus Frank.
Speaking during at the induction ceremony on Saturday, January 16, 2021 at the S.T. Trowen United Methodist Church on 13th Street in Sinkor, Mr. Gibson promised to do his best to improve the country’s Movie Union.
Born on April 1, 1972, and the eighth child on a list of 13 children, Eddie’s suit at the induction ceremony had some semblance of a ‘Martial Art attire’—overall white: long sleeve shirt, long trouser, and an extra cloth (resembling a belt) laid over his both shoulders.
Change of guard at LIMU
“I was instrumental in rounding up a number of young men and women back in 2004, to form what is today referred to as the Liberia Movie Union-Liberwood,” declared Mr. Gibson, whose passion for the film industry began from the story-telling session by his biological father, Mr. Thomas N. Gibson (now deceased).
However, Mr. Gibson added, the dream he shared with his fellow founders of the Liberia Movie Union in 2004 has not been realized.
“Seventeen years down the line, that constitutional mandate has not being fully achieved. I must quickly admit that our government has made some strides in the promotion of Liberian work of arts, but compared to other governments in the sub region, their promotion to us is infinitesimal. This is evident by the conspicuous lack of programs and budgetary allocations to help us ply our trade. This is also evident by the downplaying of Liberian film makers, giving credence to neighboring film makers,” he said.
The Liberian market is being flooded by foreign pirated film, he reported, and blamed National Government on thrive of piracy by its collection of four thousand and five hundred Liberian dollars monthly from “pirate marketers”
“Do the math and you’ll be amazed that 4,500 LD divided into twelve months, is a meager $375. 00 LD monthly. How can our leadership be cheating themselves and the very Liberian people they represent? How can you sit and watch more foreign films being on our markets than Liberian films? What will tourists and other international visitors to our country think about our country?” Mr. Gibson continued.
On piracy, he displayed a jacket of a movie disc with fourteen different movies, and made an indirect jab at Government officials providing protection for the “foreign film dealers” involved in illegal mass production and jacketing of films. “Marketers who deal in pirated works, under your very noses, by dealing in more than ten films to a single CD will never, ever build you monuments in their homes for giving them protection in Liberia,” he said to the governmental regulators for piracy.
He criticized the Government, through its anti-piracy arms, over accusing Liberian filmmakers of being impatient with raiding pirated films and other intellectual works from the market.
“Our country is about 174 years old and yet you’re telling us that we’re rushing to get the pirates off the streets?” he demanded.
Where constitutionally empowered anti-piracy Agencies are ineffective, due to bribery or other factors, the new leadership of the Liberia Movie Union will step in, the new president avowed.
“I will continue where Artus Frank has stopped. To the government’s office that stands between us and the pirates who claim that they have you in their pockets, better you give us relevance so that we give you relevance,” he stressed.
He said his leadership will retain his predecessor, Gregory Artus Frank, as Anti-Piracy Ambassador, due to his leadership’s remarkable fight against piracy.
On motivation of his Liberian professional colleagues to beat other people’s common perception against decision of success, Mr. Eddie Mantu Gibson mentioned the names of non-Liberians he considered “role models”: Sylvester Stallone (Actor), Halle Barry (Actress), Steve Harvey (Comedian), Sidney Poitier (Actor), Samuel L. Jackson (Actor)
On an “outstanding Liberian role model”, he mentioned Gregory Artus Frank on his “success” in his filmic raves in the Nigerian film industry—Nollywood.
“Frank Artus told me that when he told some of his friends of his intention to go to Ghana and Nigeria, they looked him in his face and told him he shouldn’t waste his time for he wasn’t going to succeed. But the story is clear, fellow film makers, that Artus Frank, a lowly kid from the slums of Monrovia beat the Actors of Nigeria and Ghana not only in their own back yards, but went on to become the face of Africa,” he recounted.
On his personal story, the new LIMU president said: “I was even told that I will never make it as an Actor and a Screenwriter. But with the determination to succeed, and cutting off relations with friends who only see the dark side of life, and with consultation with experts, your humble servant-your Actor-in-Chief, the god father and standard bearer of the Liberia Movie Union- is arguably the biggest script writer in Liberia today,” he bragged.
He bragged about being the “most educated sitting President of the Liberia Movie Union since its founding”, with one Master’s degree—in Peace Study and Conflict transformation and “a candidate for yet another Master’s in environmental Protection and Climate Change.”
He charged at complaining Liberian filmmakers on “poverty or hunger” as being the architect of their own suffering due to lack of imagination or creativity.
“Oftentimes I hear you cry like babies for being hungry and none achieving. Crying when there is a big-o field of opportunity, but shouting in protest at the way you’re been treated, because of lack of imagination. Crying for lack of market when, according to Liberia’s demographics, we have nearly five million people living in our country now. The little mathematics I know points to the fact that when you have at least a million persons, out of the five million people in Liberia buying one of your movies for just a dollar, you instantly become a millionaire,” he said.
One of the ways through which Liberian filmmakers can turn Liberian movie-buying community’s love or attention from foreign movie, the new President of the Movie Union said is to produce quality movies like those loved by the local movie watchers.
He suggested a Film/Movie education college for aspiring filmmakers who have little or no experience in the art, and challenged experienced LIMU members combine resources for erection of the School.
To Liberian filmmakers who often nag of self poverty, in spite of their professional career that can generate millions of dollars as oil and gas business does, the new LIMU president mentioned “nice storyline or screenplay, good directing (with good diction for non-pidgin movie), and good marketing strategy” as the routes out of their current deplorable common financial situation. He said God provided the same “24-hour” period for everybody to achieve.
“If we don’t have the time to step up our game then how do we expect people to buy our respective products? Americans and Nigerians put in to achieve the success they’ve achieved,” he reminded the audience.
Politics has disintegrated the Liberian filmmaking family, and is keeping Liberia’s film industry far behind each of other African countries on quality production and income generation.
“The young actors don’t look up to the older ones as role models but as political leaders in a crawling film industry,” lamented the Founder of the Eddie Theater, a private entity that nurtures people for the acting world.
“I have taken over an industry that is visibly broke,” he declared, and lamented over personal salary-less three-year presidency, in spite of being a Master’s Degree holder. “And this is true in the case of my Vice President for Administration who also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration.”
For his leadership’s vision, stated the following: sending at least twelve LIMU members to Nigeria in February (2021) for training in various filmmaking areas; training of more female members in directing of movie to be at experience par with their male colleagues; construction of a “LIMU Village”; annual film awards programs, creation of a Short Curriculum for coaching on movie script reading, standard pronunciations of English words onset, and bringing back into the LIMU fold members who had walked away.
He gave credit to his predecessor, Gregory Artus Frank, for initiating the training program in Nigeria. “It is our intention to improve our artistic proficiency so that our people can begin to have better appreciation of our films,” the successor noted.
“Pay your dues!” he blared at members of LIMU in the audience, as well as those absent.
At the conclusion of his inaugural speech, Mr. Gibson indirectly expressed his concern of some attendants’ violation of the Corona Virus law in Liberia by being without face masks.
“Before I take my seat, I will like to say thank you to the Liberian government for affording us the opportunity to have this assemblage at a time when our country, like the rest of the world, is locked down by the novel corona virus,” he said.
Before Mr. Eddie Mantu Gibson’s inaugural speech, VIP guests made remarks.
Mr. Gregory Artus Frank, former president of LIMU, described his successor as “godfather of Liberian film industry.”
The program’s Keynote Speaker, Mr. Theodorus Kasper, Head of Cooperation, European Union-Liberia Delegation, advised the new LIMU leadership to encourage filmmaking-members to feature interesting stories in rural Liberia in some of their movies.
Dr. Annika Hillers, Country Director, Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF), said Theater Art, or Drama, is one of the means used by her organization to create awareness for the protection of chimpanzee. She served as the Installer of officers of LIMU.
Other people who made remark are: Mr. Clifford Blamo Robinson, Jr.—Deputy Director General of the Liberia Intellectual Property Office (LIPO); Boakai Fofana, Deputy of Culture for Technical Affairs—Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (MICAT); Kekura Kamara, president— Liberia National Culture Union; Miss Loretta Pope-Kai, president—National Civil Society Organizations; Mrs. Mai Bright-Urey (represented by daughter Paulita Urey), president— Liberia National Tourism Association; and Reverend Matthew Gweh, Acting Board chair, LIMU (represented).
Five of the other VIP guests, whose names were announced for remarks, were absent.
Other members of the new LIMU leadership leadership, are: Mr. Cosme Pulano, Vice President for Administration; Miss Watta A. Kekula, Vice President of Operations; Mr. Marvel Nagbe, Chairman, Actors’ Guild; Miss Kebbeh Kanneh, Co-Chairman, Actors’ Guild; Mr. Dyrick Snyder, Chairman, Directors’ Guild; and Miss Lorpu Scott, Chairman, Producers’ Guild.