SPECIAL FEATURE: ASHIONYE AND HER NEW BABY, "JOURNEY TO SELF" -THE MOVIE

Ashionye Michelle Raccah is a name well recognised in the Nigerian Entertainment industry, kicking off with the girl group, "Emete" years back and finally standing on her own as a solo artiste while starring in the MNET star studded soap opera, "Tinsel" before going on a short break to have her son, Ashioma.

Quite a long break, you might say as for a while, as Ashionye adjusted to motherhood but unknowing to her fans, she wasn't just sitting pretty at home.
Not one but 2 babies were birthed as Ashionye quietly put down on paper a great idea which began growing steadily in her mind for days, weeks, months and now will be delivered to you on big screens near you, come December 7th 2012....

Her baby screen debut as a producer and scriptwriter from the stables of her production company, AlleyKat Media..... "JOURNEY TO SELF" - the Movie starring herself, Katherine Obiang, Nse Ikpe Etim, Dakore Akande and Tosin Sido.



See a brief interview below as she talks about the movie:


Ashionye the movie producer... Tell us about your new role as a movie producer and your new movie "Journey To Self" ?
 I run a company called Alleykat Media which worked with Fressia Entertainment to produce the movie, Journey to self. Basically, I wrote and produced the film, while the executive producer is Fressia Entertainment.
It is my first screen play and I also featured in it with Katherine Obiang, Nse Ikpe Etim, Dakore Akande and Tosin Sido. Of course, there are other support and cameo appearances.

The Movie - Journey to Self?
It is an intense story of friendship, sacrifice, empowerment and self-respect.
Four childhood friends, Regina, Nse, Rume and Alex, get the news that another long time friend of theirs, Uche, has died.
The four ladies, on arriving at Uche’s house, find that she has left a series of letters in which she speaks to them from beyond the grave. The letters provoke her friends to open up on emotional baggage, as secrets and fears are revealed, leading to a journey of self discovery. 

It is a journey of struggles;  I believe that it is a story real people would like to watch. These are real issues that affect real women not just in Nigeria but all over the world.

Talking about family and friendship, many believe that it is difficult sustaining marriages these days. Those who are married are not sure of what to expect. What do you think of the trend?

I played the role of a character who is married to a banker, played by Kalu Ikeagwu, with two children. She is in an abusive relationship. A lot of women today in Nigeria and in the world can relate with that.

Basically, we are using the movie to send out a message, that whatever the situation you are in you can find a solution. If you have been in an abusive relationship for years, you don’t necessarily have to be there suffering in silence. There is someone out there who is ready to listen to your story.

What brought about this story for the movie?

If you look at my journey so far in entertainment, you would see that I am passionate about women and children. The stories of the women in Journey to Self are actually the stories that I read about in the media and i just had to put pen to paper and build a movie out of it all. Journey to Self was born in 3 months, days filled with sleepless nites at times as i stayed up till 4am , writing.
As you’re probably aware, I’ve always been a proponent of women’s rights and female empowerment in the past, the ‘Girlpower’ series being one of my initiatives. It was natural, therefore, as I set my mind to writing scripts, that one of the first I wrote would deal with some of the issues women face in their relationships both with men and in their friendships with other women.

What would you like to achieve with this movie?

I hope that it would change a lot of perspective and affect peoples lives in a positive way.
A lot of people would be able to relate to the stories in the movie and I hope it would help deal with this issues right there in the homes of the men, women and children who might have similar scenarios.


JOURNEY TO SELF  - THE TRAILER & MOVIE SYNOPSIS



‘Journey to Self’ is an intense story of friendship, sacrifice, empowerment and self-respect.

Four childhood friends, Regina, Nse, Rume and Alex, receive news that another long time friend of theirs, Uche, has died.

Uche was the magnet that pulled her friends together and over the years had become their shoulder to cry on, so much so in fact that she never felt she could tell them about her own problems.

As part of her last request, the ladies travel to Uche’s home in Abuja for her funeral.

The four ladies, on arriving at Uche’s house, find that she has left a series of letters in which she speaks to them from beyond the grave. The letters provoke her friends to open up on emotional baggage, as secrets and fears are revealed, leading to a journey of self discovery. For Regina, Nse, Rume and Alex the weekend they spend in Uche’s house becomes an emotional roller coaster as individual characters are tested.

‘Journey to Self’ is an intense, dialogue-based movie where the viewer is sure to embark on the same emotional journey as with the characters.

'Journey To Self' stars Nse Ikpe-Etim as 'Nse', Dakore Akande as 'Alex', Ashionye Michelle Raccah as 'Regina', Katherine Obiang as 'Rume' and Tosin Sido as 'Uche'. It also features Carol King with cameo appearances by Kalu Ikeagwu, Femi Brainard, Femi Jacobs and Chris Attoh.

'Journey To Self' is directed by Tope Oshin-Ogun, Executive Produced by Tosin Sido for Fressia Entertainment and written & Produced by Ashionye Michelle Raccah.

This is a movie that women should take their men to see!