Have you ever wondered if President
Barack Obama was really born in Kenya as claimed by the right wing og American
politics? Well, you won’t have to worry again after watching Oh-BAMA, the web
series.
Oh-BAMA is a six-part satirical
comedy web series that unravels Obama’s Kenyan mystery.
It is witty, well paced,
successfully crosses over between two cultures and continents and incredibly
well timed to be a major hit in the dramatic 2016 American presidential
elections season.
“I first thought of the series four
years ago but felt there are people out there who would actually believe a show
like this is factually correct,” says director Ose Oyamendan, a Hollywood
based, Nigerian-born filmmaker who is a graduate of the film program at the
University of Southern California, Los Angeles and used to work in the center
of American politics on Capitol Hills in Washington DC.
“We decided since Obama is not
running for office again, we should go for it. Interestingly, our lead
detective is called Donald John. And, you know who the other Donald John is?
Yes, Donald J. Trump!”
In the series, Detective Donald John
(Jason Corder), America’s #1 right wing private detective goes to Kenya to dig
out all of Obama’s Kenyan secrets. He arrives in Nairobi full of Southern
swagger, self-righteousness and right wing scorn.
“I liked the intense satirical take
on the absurdity of the idea that Obama is not actually American. It's also an
extremely funny script, funnier than any I've had the pleasure to work on yet
in my career,” says the series’ star, Corder, who is also the star of STAY, one
of Kenya’s top television series.
Detective Donald John’s sidekick is
Amani Gitau (Mugambi Nthiga – Nairobi Half Life, Lost In Africa), a former
police detective who is down on his luck. They comb through Nairobi, falling
for one scam artist after the other in a hilarious series that touches on and
knocks off all stereotypes.
“I love a good satire. Especially
one that's as timely and hilariously audacious as 'Oh-Bama', says Nthiga.
“Playing Amani was fun. All I needed was to read the logline to be all in. I
had worked with Ose previously at Ogilvy Africa. He was partially responsible
for some of Airtel's most popular campaigns in Africa. This wasn't a project I
wanted to say No to.”
The series was filmed in Nairobi,
with a couple of scenes filmed in Los Angeles. It also stars some of Africa’s
leading stars like Nini Wacera (The White Masai; Desperate Housewives of
Africa); Chichi Seii (Sense8) and one
Africa’s top models, Ajuma Nesanyana.
“My Character is such a sleek, sly
snake. I thought of the endless con men stories that float around Nairobi,”
says Seii, the self-styled Africa’s number one female detective.
“I imagined myself to be one of those
clever tricksters who can smell their prey even before the poor idiot has
spotted them”.
Before a career in film and
television production in America, Ose was an award-winning journalist in
Nigeria. He is currently in post-production on a landmark, international
documentary on the June 12, 1993 political crisis that almost crippled Nigeria.
All episodes of the web seriescan be
viewed exclusively on Youtube via the Oh-BAMA page at www.oseoyamendan.com
The series trailer can be viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dTbPzKb6wE
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Entertainment