What Nollywood needs to get right – producer of “Bent Arrows”

Why did you go into writing? I have always loved writing right from when I was a child. Through the years I have written stories, songs and diverse poems. A couple of years ago, I delved into writing scripts. Initially I just wanted to write screen plays. I wrote a couple of scripts and by […]

Why did you go into writing?

I have always loved writing right from when I was a child. Through the years I have written stories, songs and diverse poems. A couple of years ago, I delved into writing scripts. Initially I just wanted to write screen plays. I wrote a couple of scripts and by the time I met Mr[Lancelot] Imasuen who would later direct Bent Arrows, he encouraged me to go into full time script writing. His advice turned out to be good because as a producer you get to exercise control over what comes out in the script. I learnt a lot of things later. It is one thing to write the story; it is another thing to get it produced.

Bent Arrow took the movie industry by storm. What inspired the work and made it a success?

A lot of factors made it successful; we had a beautiful story line, the movie  itself was star studded and it passes a lot of values not only to young people but  parents as well. It was a wonderful story and the acting was superb. We had some of the best actors and actresses in the industry on location such as Olu Jacobs,  Joke Silver, Stella Damasus, Elebuwa, Ngozi Ezeonu and Dennis Elliot. It was directed by Lancelot Imasuen. All of these factors made the movie really good.

What challenges did you face trying to assemble this formidable cast?

Funding was a major challenge. Alpha Bridges, an entertainment outfit founded by me and a couple of friends including my husband, basically funded the movie. We even funded the sound track album which was recently released. After overcoming that initial challenge, the next was finding a suitable timetable that would be suitable for all the cast to work with. Often, most of the actors and actresses are very busy. That was also another challenge we overcame.

What measures have you taken to ensure that you do not lose your earnings from the film to pirates?

Right now, the movie is not being marketed anywhere. You cannot find it in the market because we have not started distributing it on a mass scale, but after the Lagos premier in the next couple of weeks, it will then be released at the cinemas. We don’t intend to bring it out in the market for a long time until we fashion out measures to ensure that we do not lose out at the end. Presently people can only view it at the cinemas. We are hoping we do not experience problems with piracy.

What stands “Bent Arrow” out from the pack?

First of all we have a fantastic plot and a memorable story. It took time to put the script together and we had a lot of input from different quarters before the work was finished. After the shooting, we had the finished product sent abroad for post production. It also has an independent sound track album that goes with the whole project. The entire work – storyline, cast, crew and production were superb and qualitative. Put together all those ingredients and you have a world class movie. I always had the dream of having a movie that would come with an independent soundtrack album and this dream came to pass with the coming of Bent Arrows. We had the best producer; Colbams Asuquo come from aboard to make it a reality. I wrote some of the songs, while he wrote some. There were others we co-produced. We also had songs by Rooftop MC, Stella Damasus and Styl Plus.

It took you several years to produce this film as the practice in Nollywood, what do you make of this trend?

That doesn’t augur well for professionalism in the industry. I don’t think you can put up something worthwhile with a million naira. Making a movie entails a lot in terms of money and human capital using the movie we produced as a good example.

How do you assess Nigeria’s movie industry generally?

There is a wide difference between what is accepted internationally in terms of standards and what we have in Nigeria. Hollywood is much better, but I really do salute all those involved in Nollywood. I think the greatest challenge we have is finances and getting companies to sponsor. Abroad, there are studios like Paramount Studios sponsoring films. It’s a lot easier if you don’t have money but you have one or two companies sponsoring your project. It is not as if we do not have talents- we have good script writers, artistes, directors and producers. We have them in abundance. All we need is improved funding. Once we get that right, there is no limit to what we can achieve in the industry. Sooner than later we will be able to take Nollywood to where it rightly belongs.

How do you combine your hectic schedule with taking care of your husband and four children?

It’s challenging but I have a wonderful family, especially an understanding husband who is very supportive. He encourages me even when he knows that I am student. If I am away in school he takes adequate care of the kids and this encourages me a lot. It makes it a lot easier. Fortunately my children are grown up today; so they understand when I am not always there for them. They are all into entertainment so they love what I do naturally. For them it is a lot of fun. That is why I am proud to say that I have not had any moments of regret in my career.