NUMBER 1: SOMKELE IYAMAH-IDHALAMA
Who’s this graceful young lady who shook the Nollywood in 2016 with her prowess and panache? Where did she come from? How come a gust of fresh wind could smell so arty and refreshing?
The answers to those questions are as much to be found in Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama as they would be asked of her in the first place.
I first noticed Somkele perhaps a couple of years ago in the Ndani TV Web series ‘Gidi Up’ and though she stood out there, what struck me back then was that this young lady has such a powerful screen presence which looked under-utilised in that fare.
Perhaps, a couple of Directors noticed it too because in 2016, Somkele came out smoking in two movies; ‘93 Days’ and ‘ The Arbitration’. In the latter, she believably plays the part of a Legal Counsel who represents her client and is conflicted as new revelations crop up during the proceedings.
I was quite struck by Somkele’s deliberate mellow range in that movie and that made me sit up a bit to assess her in the other movie, ‘93 Days’. She plays Dr Ada Igonoh, an Ebola Survivor in the movie and it was in that portrayal that she won our hearts.
Somkele gave us an insight into the conflicted emotions of that character. We saw pathos, poignancy, pain, and possibilities in her character. Most of all, she portrayed the power of Hope to the hilt.
She was Ada Igonoh and not Somkele for the duration of the movie (and expectedly so, if one would say that was what was expected of her). And there was something very powerful about her final Walk of Life out of the hospital, where she gave a backward glance.
That glance tells it all; a goodbye to an ordeal and there are few actors who can pack such innuendoes into a non-verbal action like that.
This lady lit up the screens in 2016. Let’s hope she continues to shine in the following years because she is, in my opinion, a new example of good acting.
And that’s the Truth, Ruth!
