Eystein Young Dingha Junior
Eystein Young Dingha Junior (born 21 January, 1992)[1], is a Cameroonian actor, screenwriter and director. He is known for directing The Planter's Plantation, winner of the Ecran d'Or at the 26th edition of the Ecrans Noirs Festival in 2022.[2] The film was also Cameroon's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Birth
[edit]Eystein Young Dingha was born 21 January, 1992 in Njinikom in the Northwest region of Cameroon. His father is from Kom, in the department of Boyo, and his mother from Bali, in the department of Mezam.[3] He did his primary education in the municipality of Njinikom and his secondary education at St. Paul's College in Bamenda.[4] He completed his higher education at the University of Yaoundé II and then left Cameroon to settle in Nigeria.
Career
[edit]Dingha began his career as an actor in 2012 and trained at Ruphina's House Academy in Bamenda.[5] His early acting credits in Cameroonian productions include: Samson, Ensomni, The Beast, Cypher Comedy Series, The Kaffi, Ndonne, and My Best Day .[3]
In 2021, he wrote the screenplay for Hidden Dreams, directed by Ngang Romanus for which he received a nomination for Best Screenplay at the Bayelsa Film Festival. The film went on to be Cameroon's submission for Best International Film at the 94th Academy Awards.[6]
In 2022, he released The Planter's Plantation, a musical film that he wrote and directed and starring Nigerian actor Nkem Owoh and the Cameroonian actress Loveline Nimo in the lead roles. In 2022, the film won the Ecran d'Or, the highest distinction at the Ecrans Noirs Festival, an annual festival taking place in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. He is the first Cameroonian director to win the award in the 26 years of the festival's existence.[7] In October of that year, the film was selected as the country's submission for the Oscar for Best International Film.[8]
In 2022, Dingha directed the documentary Clando, the exile bus (Clando, le bus de l'exil), about the internally displaced people caused by the ongoing Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon. The film is available on Arte.[9][10]
Filmography
[edit]As Screenwriter
[edit]As a director
[edit]- 2019: Woman Perfect
- 2019: Consort
- 2020: If Only
- 2022: The Planter's Plantation[11]
- 2022: Clando, the exile bus
As an actor
[edit]- 2016: Samba (TV Series)
- 2018: If I Am the President
- 2020: Saving Mbango
- 2020: Full Moon
- 2020: The Journey of the S
- 2022: Behind Gates
Awards
[edit]- 2022: Ecran d'Or at the Ecrans Noirs Festival .
- 2023: Ecobank Ousmane Sembene Special Prize and Burkina International Plan for Girls' Equality Special Award for Combativeness and Innovation for Girls at FESPACO 2023.
- 2023: Best International Film, Uganda Film Festival.
- 2023: Yarha D'Or at the Yarha Film Festival.
- 2023: Best Film at the LFC Awards.
- 2023: Balafon d'Or for best film, best director, best poster, best screenplay, best costume and Golden Awards at the Balafons a of Douala.[12]
- 2024: Best fiction film at the Vues d'Afrique Festival.
References
[edit]- ^ "Eystein Young Dingha Jr. discography - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 2025-04-12.
- ^ "Ecrans Noirs 2022 : un film camerounais en or". www.cameroon-tribune.cm. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ a b Admin, D. K. (2021-10-27). "BIO & PROFILING || Meet Dingha Eystein Jr, Producer Of ThePLANTER'S PLANTATIONS,FilmMaker,Actor,Director ETC". Daily Kamer. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ "St Paul Comprehensive College | Bamenda". AfricaBizInfo (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ Jovial (2016-10-20). "Ruphina's House Music: Campton Fly Baby Releases New Video". Afro Hustler. Archived from the original on 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ EsBiMedia (2021-11-15). ""HIDDEN DREAMS" SELECTED FOR THE 94th EDITION OF THE OSCARS". esbimedia.com (in French). Retrieved 2025-04-12.
- ^ StopBlaBlaCam. "Cinéma : qui est Eystein Young Dingha, le premier Camerounais à remporter l'Écran d'or aux Écrans noirs". www.stopblablacam.com (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ Festival, L'équipe Offshore (2022-10-18). "Oscars : le Cameroun choisit "The Planters Plantation" comme soumission de long métrage international". Offshore Festival (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ "Clando". Generation Africa. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ Cameroun : Clando, le bus de l'exil - Regarder le documentaire complet | ARTE (in French). Retrieved 2025-02-24 – via www.arte.tv.
- ^ Ng’onana, Pélagie (2025-01-06). "Eystein Young-Dingha Junior, Camerounian Director of the Film The Planter's Plantation". Filmbuff. Retrieved 2025-02-24.
- ^ "Le film « The Planters plantation » triomphe aux Balafon 7seven Awards – Radio Balafon". radiobalafon.net (in French). Archived from the original on 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2025-02-24.