TAFF celebrates Africa through motion pictures – Kelechi Eke
Weekend Magazine: Recently the maiden edition of The African Film festival was held in Dallas, United States. What was it like? Kelechi Eke: The outcome surpassed our expectations. Twenty-five countries participated this first year. Attendance was great, and many Dallas residents have had one common statement: ‘It was bigger than what we thought.’ WM: You’re […]
Weekend Magazine: Recently the maiden edition of The African Film festival was held in Dallas, United States. What was it like?
Kelechi Eke: The outcome surpassed our expectations. Twenty-five countries participated this first year. Attendance was great, and many Dallas residents have had one common statement: ‘It was bigger than what we thought.’
WM: You’re the founder of the festival. What triggered your decision to bring it to a place as distant as the United States?
Eke: Our mission is to celebrate African culture through motion pictures; to address social, economic, ethnic, political, religious and health issues that affect the continent; and to provide an equal platform for independent African filmmakers to showcase and distribute their work on a global scale. We want to increase the availability of African films in non-African communities, universities, colleges and in public libraries as reference materials in the study of African culture, history, people and issues.
WM: Will you say your aim has been achieved?
Eke: Yes. We screened 42 films at TAFF. Can you imagine what it would cost filmmakers outside the United States to rent a theatre to premiere their films in Dallas? Moreover, one of the top universities here in the States has shown interest in acquiring TAFF’s Best Narrative Feature film, ‘Aisha’ [from Tanzania] into their library.
WM: You entered the filmmaking business under BIGOBI Productions in 2011. Have you had any regrets?
Eke: I haven’t had any regrets as a filmmaker because of the reasons I got into filmmaking to begin with. If I got into it wanting to become rich within a short period, then it would have been a different case. The nature of my films touches a lot of people. I walked into a restaurant one day and met an older African man in his sixties, who came to shake my hands saying: “buying your film is the best ten dollars I have spent in my life.” It simply gave me chills. Till date, it is one of those feelings that money can’t buy.
WM: What has it been like, doing what you do in the Diaspora?
Eke: It has been fine making our stories abroad. African immigrants abroad have lots of stories to tell. Staying away from home is not the easiest thing to do. We hope for a better Nigeria and Africa at large.
WM: Your first movie, ‘Lost in Abroad’ is a story about what Africans face living abroad. What inspired it?
Eke: When I came to the U.S. after High school, my goal was to get good education and come back home and put my skills to good use for the benefit of my people and country. But when your own family back home are the ones begging you to stay where you are due to hardship in the country, then you can imagine. I didn’t think I would be in the United States at forty. When that happened, I woke up one day with a nostalgic feeling of being ‘lost in a foreign land’ hence ‘Lost in Abroad’ and I got to writing.
WM: How much impact did the movie have in America and how did you ensure it came to Nigeria despite piracy concerns?
Eke: ‘Lost in Abroad’ had tremendous impact here in the States. The premiere at the historic Majestic Theatre was probably the first time that almost 800 Africans and friends of Africa gathered in one place to watch a movie. I went on to premiere the film in eight different U.S. cities – the most for any film made in the United States. Then I also premiered it at the Concord Hotel in Owerri, Imo State. I was more concerned about people getting the message in the movie than piracy issues.
WM: ‘Lost in Abroad’ became the first African movie to premiere at the historic Majestic Theatre in Dallas and later accepted into the library of some Ivy League schools, as a reference material for African studies. How did this happen?
Eke: It was all by God’s grace. In one of the many premieres that I held for the movie, a university faculty member was in attendance; and after the film she told me they could use the story for their African and immigration studies programme. It became a domino effect and various Ivy League schools acquired ‘Lost in Abroad’ for their African and Immigration studies.
WM: What challenges did you face in the early days of your career as a filmmaker?
Eke: The major challenge was really not utilizing ‘known faces’ in my films. I believe that my stories are strong enough to carry the film and it has worked for me. Eventually, I made friends in the industry that are very well known. So it is easier for me to cast them now that they have seen what I can do than when they didn’t know me and if I had been chasing them around to feature in my film.
WM: How are you able to access Nigerian talents and give them room to grow through your productions?
Eke: Proving myself was the key. I had to show what I could do before earning the respect of my colleagues and upcoming talents in Nigeria.
WM: You write, direct, produce, shoot, edit and star in your movies. How do you pull it off?
Eke: It really ties back to the last question. I did not have sponsors giving me money to make films; I needed to prove myself. So I worked hard. Thank God for my technical background. Editing software was a breeze. Writing scripts was as logical as my computer programming methods; and if I could tell the story I felt I could bring it to life in directing. So I did. Operating the camera while acting, all came with my imagination, creativity and my technical background as a software engineer.
WM: Your most recent film, ‘The Other Tribes,’ about tribalism in Africa, earned you the 2015 African Oscars People’s Choice Award for Best Director. What do you expect when you’re working on a script?
Eke: I tell stories from the heart. I look at real issues affecting us as a people and dive in to tackle them. ‘The Other Tribes’ was as realistic as tribalism in Africa can get. And the morale of the story just shows us how myopic such a practice is. I am yet to release that film on DVD. It is a very special story that every African can relate to.
WM: What do you do when you are not doing anything film-related?
Eke: I spend time with the family. I am just like one of my own kids. We play a lot together.
WM: And how do you relax?
Eke: When I am not spending time with my family, I am out playing football. I am also the founder of Africa United Football Club.
WM: What are you working on at the moment?
Eke: I am currently working on ‘The Stepchild,’ a story that depicts some of the challenges that children from broken or blended families face and the effects that it might have on their lives.