THE RISING & SHINING STARLETTE!

Miss multi-talented and multi-faceted, a real gem and a darling to talk to. She is a sweet girl with a very caring heart who is striving to put both Cameroon and Africa on the map. Her positivity and drive is definitely worth noting.
I believe she will make it because of her sheer determination and passion and I also think that her efforts to help in Cameroon will pay off.
Below is her interview, Happy Reading!

Name: Sophy Aida
Age: 21
Location: New York, USA

DC: What is your favourite colour and why?
SA: My favourite colour is black because it is a colour that goes well with everything and it is also very elegant. You cannot go wrong with black and you always have the little black dress which makes you feel sexy or the black shoes which you can wear with a pair of jeans.

DC: Who is Sophy Aida?
SA: Erm, well, who am I? I am a young Cameroonian woman, an artist at heart who loves everything that relates to Art, from performance, to sculpture, to painting. I am a very dedicated, confident and strong woman who is just trying her best to put Cameroon on the map.

DC: What do you do to relax?
SA: I like to play the guitar, I always wanted to learn it. I write a lot of scripts, which is a way to get off my mind anything negative. I also practise Capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts originally from Angola and it helps me to de-stress and gets my mind off negativity too. I also sing and take voice lessons.

DC: How did you get into show biz?
SA: Erm, basically I started theatre when I was 2 years old in Cameroon. I had to grow out of it because it wasn’t a popular choice so when I moved to the US, I became exposed to the entertainment industry even more and I saw that I could go to school to learn and earn a qualification in this field. About 2 years ago, I started by auditioning for plays, did some short films and an independent feature film. By doing this, I met a lot of people and also got the opportunity to attend the American Black Film festival in 2007 where I met more people and also partook in a boot camp class with the actor Bill Duke. He saw my potential and told me to develop my talent and that he wanted to work with me too. This is where I suddenly knew that this field of work could be for me after all.
When I went back to Orlando, Florida where I was living, I immediately packed my stuff and headed back to New York where the opportunities were and that was in early 2008. When I moved, I looked for an acting school and whilst there I met someone who was looking for a host for a show and I was given the position in a show about African News. I was not passionate enough about this so my then boss put me through to someone else who was looking for a host on a show on the Black Entertainment Experience and that is how I got my break into TV and people started to hear about me in the community.

DC: What future stuff are you working on?
SA: I am in talks with Optimum Radio to host a 2 hour French music show. I am also talking to an online TV network about a potential show too. My love and passion is still acting and I am working towards that.

DC: Were you formally trained?
SA: I was trained on the job on the presenting side and right now I am going to “New School” for general studies. I like to get a degree in film directing so that I can go back to Cameroon and develop that industry.

DC: Do you get star struck?
SA: No, not really. I feel that we are all the same. They are individuals like me who just took their passion forward!

DC: What did your parents say about your choice of career?
SA: Well, erm, they didn’t understand, especially my father. He wanted me to work in something more specific in order to have a “normal” life because they did not see where acting was going to take me. They could not understand why someone would want to become a professional entertainer but when they saw my passion, they became more supportive and encouraging. My mum especially is very involved and aware of everything I do.

DC: Do you think the views of our parents are changing?
SA: Yes I do. I think they are getting more open minded especially as the young Africans are getting more opportunities to travel abroad and experience newer things. With TV and the way the media is nowadays, they are seeing that the world is moving forward and there are even some parents now who are pushing their children towards this not so typical career paths! I can definitely see some changes which I thought would never happen!

DC: What are your passions?
SA: Acting is my first love. Humanitarian work is also another passion and I am actually trying to start an NGO that will help young men and women in Cameroon through theatre. I hope to launch that in 2010. I want to be an actress to be able to give back.

DC: Who or what is your inspiration?
SA: My first inspiration is my mother. Being an African woman is not that easy but she managed through. She went through a lot and despite this she was still there for all her children. My father too is my inspiration because through hard times, he was there and still is there working hard to provide for all his children. The last one is Oprah Winfrey because when I was young, I watched the film “the colour purple” and in that film there was a character called “Sofia” who was a strong woman who knew what she wanted and I wanted to be just like that woman especially as her name was somewhat related to mine. It was not until I moved to the US that I realised that that character was played by Oprah! I was having so many doubts too about my career choice because of all the negativity I was getting and after watching Oprah’s life story on TV, I knew that nothing was impossible. I knew that through dedication and hard work you could make it.

DC: What do you think about the TV standards in Cameroon?
SA: To be honest I didn’t even realise that there were more than 2 TV channels in Cameroon! When I went back home, I had no time to watch TV at all! Nevertheless, from what I remembered while I was growing up I knew that there were a lot of repeats and short shows. The news is now better, the décor too is better and I was really impressed There seem to be people who are making moves to change things, which is great.

DC: You always look absolutely great, do you have a stylist?
SA: Thank you [she laughs] No, I don’t have a stylist but I am very fashion forward. I put everything together myself. I think I have a flair for fashion and I love vintage! I love to put different styles together to see what it looks like. I am very daring and not afraid at all. As you can see, I am rocking an afro!

DC: Yeah, and I am loving it too!
SA: Thank you. I am also trying different styles with my hair too!

DC: If you were God for a day, what would you do?
SA: Wow, that is a hard question! Ok, I will put Africa on the map by making it more positive so that people can see it as one of the great continents too. I would lower the rate of suffering that is going on in world and make more people proud of where they were from.

DC: Do you think coming to the US has helped your career choice?
SA: Oh yeah….no doubt about it. I cannot lie and say no not really. I believe that if I hadn’t come to the US, I wouldn’t have seen that my passion was recognisable. Even when I was in France, there were little opportunities for ethnic minorities but when I came to the US, It was completely different. I f I were still in Cameroon, I wouldn’t have been able to do this and that is why I want to take this back there to show that anything is possible.

DC: What is your goal?
SA: My ultimate goal is to build an Arts school in Cameroon that will give scholarships to talented kids in any form of Arts, from singing to instrument playing, to acting, painting, sculpting etc. I am currently working towards this goal as I will need the money to finance the scholarships.

DC: What has been the attitude of young Cameroonians towards you?
SA: Most have been supportive and there have been some who have been jealous however, I have had a lot of encouragement generally.

DC: Thank you so much for your time and good luck with all the projects!
SA: Thank you. I would like to say that I love your initiative. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help!
One last word, us Cameroonians need to support each other, we also need to go back home and help and develop. Please contact me if you need any advice on how to get into what I am doing. Thanks!

To contact Sophy Aida, please visit:

www.myspace.com/sophyaiida

http://www.facebook.com/

DC: Dulce Camer

SA: Sophy Aida

Hope you enjoyed reading! Please contact myself or Ngum if you are doing anything out there that you want people to find out about. Use Dulce Camer, it is created to serve YOU!

Watch out for a review of Miss Cameroon UK 2008 show happening tomorrow. Who is going to win? Come down and find out for yourself ;-)

Stay sweet

Dulce

xxx