Chiamaka Ozulumba
Talented Nollywood actor and recording artiste, Charles Granville appears to be breaking new grounds with the release of his new movie, Locked. The movie which will hit the Nigerian cinemas by August 9, 2019 features other great acts like Hilda Dokubo, Belinda Efah, Abayomi Alvin and popular music star, Sunny Neji.
Directed by gifted Nollywood film director, Simon Peacemaker, this long anticipated thriller is a stimulating account of affection and tragedy with a strong emphasis on mental health awareness, capturing vividly one of the less discussed but an integral part of human existence.
A young lady who takes her fiancée to visit her parents discover that her mother killed her father in a psychotic fit after she finds out he’s about to leave her for a younger woman. Upon this discovery, her mother holds her and her fiancée captive.
According to Charles Granville who doubles as the producer and the executive producer of the movie, mental issues is real but it has not been taken seriously in this part of the world. He emphasised that Africans must be educated about the realities of mental health issues and that depression is real.
“People are going into depression and it is causing them to behave in an unstable way, going as far as committing suicide. These are real issues around us which we all need to pay proper attention to. ‘Locked movie’ touches on the effects of child abuse, spousal abuse and its traumatic effect on the children, depression, suicide and dissociative identity disorder also known as multiple personality disorder”.
Speaking on why he chose to produce a film in line with ‘Mental Illness’, he said it is part of the efforts to build awareness around the plight in the society. “A lot of names have been given to people suffering from various mental issues and that is their understanding of what that condition is.
“People need to be more aware and identify with with the people going through these issues rather than attacking them because they don’t understand what they are going through and the danger it exposes them to. Rather than resort to calling them all sorts of names, they need our support and we must learn how to help them in these critical situations”.
The new movie, Locked is touted to be one of the best movies to be released in 2019 judging by the reviews of the trailer, caliber of cast, crew and the story. It’s scheduled to premiere in three Nigerian cities- Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt.
The movie is also already enjoying rave reviews from popular Nigerian celebrities on social media including Julius Agwu and popular movie critic, Charles Novia who have encouraged people to make out time to see the movie in the cinemas across Nigeria from August 9.
