A Conversation with Director Andrew Osawaru

If I could ask you about that first film. Did you sell it on video? Did you exhibit it? AO: We actually exhibited it for a while and sold some of it on video. […]Some people came to watch it and they enjoyed it. After that time, there was a long lapse, because actually nobody […]

If I could ask you about that first film. Did you sell it on video? Did you exhibit it?

AO: We actually exhibited it for a while and sold some of it on video. […]Some people came to watch it and they enjoyed it. After that time, there was a long lapse, because actually nobody saw the interest in doing films. I didn’t see the marketability of it and the economic part of it. So, we kept doing stage productions.

CM: Who were the other people involved. Were you the director or the producer?

AO: There was this young man then, Osarodion. He is late now. He was the producer. I directed. So after that time, we didn’t do much again, like I said. We took a long break before we did the real first Edo movie.  That was Evbakoe, and it was bankrolled by Soul 2 Soul, one of the biggest marketers.  His actual name is Monday Ezekiel Osagie. His business name is Soul 2 Soul, Nigeria Limited. That was here in Benin, and it was a very, very huge success, and it was an eye opener to others.

CM: When was that?

AO: That was in the 90s; 1999 or thereabouts, 2001, that period. It was about a woman who was wicked and was maltreating a young boy whose mother was late. The guy grew up and became strong and he did good for himself. And at the end of the day, the woman who ill-treated him started begging for his help. So that film was a bomb. It shook Benin. After that, other marketers and other producers began to develop interest in Benin movies. And today we have, if I’m not mistaken, up to about one hundred producers now in the movie industries. We have about 12 very distinguished marketers, having their national licenses and all. Edo directors that we have now are about 10 or thereabouts.

CM: Where is the main market for the film?

AO: The actual market for Edo films. Most of the Edo indigenes outside the country. They buy more. So that’s where the market actually is, outside the country. If we sell 100 here, we sell 200 outside the country […] Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, London.

CM: I think I heard there are some people making Edo films in Italy. Is that right?

AO: Yeah, some of our colleagues who were here have also travelled out, decided to form a clique outside. They are also doing films over there. So at times, they start some there and come and end it up here. Or we will start some here, send it over to them to end up there. So there is a collaboration. I have a very close friend. His business name is I John 5:4. We do business together, both here and South Africa. About three of our films now, we’ve done it like that in collaboration. We shoot some scenes here. We shoot some scenes over there. Then we edit them together. The films come out beautifully well.

CM: Do you do more English films or more Bini films?

AO: We do more of the Edo films, where the sponsorship is regular. Most of the marketers in Edo-land, they want to sponsor Edo films because they get their money back faster.  But with the English, we do once in a while when the sponsorship comes. So, I do more of Edo films.

CM: And you are also an official in the Benin film association?

AO: Yes, I just handed over. I am the past president of the Edo Actors Association of Nigeria. I just handed over to the new president now. And also, I am the current task force chairman of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, for the state. We are in charge of monitoring locations and seeing how productions are done in conjunction with AGN rules and regulations.

CM: When you do an English film and you do an Edo film, is there any difference in the sort of themes you focus on?

AO: The difference actually is not anywhere but in the technical equipment that you are using. Because the Edo films are of a little budget compared to the English films. The English films can accommodate sophisticated equipment. But the Edo films we use the best available that is not too expensive. But when it comes to logistics and every other thing, it is basically the same.

CM: So, it’s cheaper to make an Edo film?

AO: Yes, it is cheaper because the producer or the marketer is mindful of the profit he is going to make. The market for the English film is a lot bigger than the market for the Edo film. So they are going to spend less, as much less as they can in the Edo film.

CM: There has recently been a crisis in the English language industry as far as marketing. Has that affected the Edo industry?

AO: No, it hasn’t. The one thing about the Edo people is that they adapt easily. Whenever there is a crisis anywhere, they don’t allow it to bother them.   They are focused to do what they want to do and they go about it. The truth is right now in Edo, a lot of the actors and directors have the flair for it. It is a passion. That’s why they do it. They have a passion to act, a passion to exhibit their talent. They are very good at it. Sincerely, Edo is the cradle of Black civilization, so every freeborn of Edo is a born actor. […] It just flows naturally. The proper Edo person can sing, dance, and act, freely.

CM: Is there singing and dancing in the Edo films?

AO: Yes. A lot of it. There is a new genre of Edo film now. They call it the dance drama. It is basically melodrama. They sing and dance, and act alongside. For now, it is the most profit[able], […] [Audiences] appreciate it so much now. They buy more of it than the general drama films. So, right now, it is in vogue.

CM: So, if I write an article about it, what would be the most important thing you would want people to know about the Bini film industry?

AO: The thing that I want you to write about is that it is passion-laden. Everybody you see in it is not in it for the money, but for the love of it. So you can write an article on that.