When Nollywood saw ‘A Place in the Stars’

A riveting account of drug trafficking, the movie focuses on how fake and adulterated medical drugs are being traded for billions of dollars – dangerous men willing to kill to protect this money and a young man with a nagging conscience sworn to get rich or die trying in a very corrupt country. According to […]

A riveting account of drug trafficking, the movie focuses on how fake and adulterated medical drugs are being traded for billions of dollars – dangerous men willing to kill to protect this money and a young man with a nagging conscience sworn to get rich or die trying in a very corrupt country.
According to Gukas it was important to show a trailer “that gives an idea of what we’ve done and see if it has any value and we can get support for the onward journey. For many; it ends with making the film and then we are stuck; but we need to get money to make another movie.”
An exciting component of the production is its soundtrack recorded with a 19 piece orchestra in Budapest, Hungary, which Gukas said was as ground-breaking and as important as the film itself.
He said: “Music and expression of it as a cast of emotions, is a very strong part of the film, because it’s memorable and underscores the movie’s narrative. I didn’t want coloured music but universal. That’s why I turned to George Kallis. At all levels it never rose above the film. It was uplifting what I was hearing and he was able to achieve universally appealing sound.”
George Kallis, producer and conductor in a pre-recorded interview said: “The main story was about a father-son relationship and I wanted the music to portray that and most of the writing scored around that element.”
Kallis who researched on Nigerian instruments and orchestra templates, said it was particularly enjoyable and “I wanted songs to have memorability and linger in the heads of audiences.”
Amidst cheers and applause for the masterpiece, watching clips of the production, one felt like being transposed into the solemnity of the music as guests watched clear red camera shots of fingers plucking cello strings, heads nodding over violins firmly wedged on shoulders as they played in unison with the other instruments.
Ace journalist, culture enthusiast and promoter, Jahman Anikulapo, said he thought something was missing as the work was a far cry from what fans are used to watching on AfricaMagic channel. “This movie is about a new experience for all and I’m very proud of ‘A Place in Stars. I believe we’re in the era of the new Nigerian film,” he said.
The movie, Gukas said, was difficult to put a definite budget on. “I knew we would have to shoot, take a rest and come back largely due to funding.” It is estimated to have cost slightly over N162 billion ($1 million).
Some of the cast spoke on their frustrating sojourn in the almost decade long production.
Yemi Blaq (Dayo Thomas) said there were no frustrating moments asides the fact that, “My hotel room in Jos was a pure pink colour.”
For Gideon Okeke, lead character, Kim Dakim, this is his first film ever, after he was most disappointedly refused the role the first time he applied.
“Steve is annoyingly a perfectionist and he treats music the same way as film,” said Segun Arinze (Diokpa Okonkwo) of the movie’s director, whom he said “always wanted a second take.” He added that: “the movie thought us value. We were patient with him and knew his challenges.”
Responding to whether he was thinking about the conversation as an African or African in the global role when he made the movie, Gukas said: “When I made ‘Keeping faith,’ it was an experiment to answer two questions. I enjoyed the process and wanted to do it again. Then, I had capacity depending on where I wanted to play. I wanted to be a global player and lend Nigeria’s voice on the global scene. We wanted to produce film and also manpower pool and therefore paired Nigerians to understudy experts which cost us extra days. Just to get people to understand and accept the concept was a challenge.”
Also featuring music from Jeremiah Gyang, the movie is set in 2006 Nigeria, telling the story of Kim Dakim, a young lawyer who gets a client with a case that leaves him conflicted. He has information that can save many lives if he passes it on, but he also stands to make millions of dollars if he doesn’t.
In a very corrupt country where everyone loves money and no one cares how you make it, Kim sees this as his chance to make it big. Problem is Okonkwo (Segun Arinze) the king-pin of the counterfeit medical drugs trade, whom his case is against, doesn’t play nice. He kills at will to protect his million dollar trade and is not pulling punches against Kim and his client. He has Kim’s client in jail and assassins out to silence Kim. Suddenly Kim is at war on two fronts; one to stay alive and the other against his conscience and everything he has been raised to believe is right.