INTERVIEW: Funding is the greatest challenge of a typical Nigerian filmmaker, top Nollywood producer, Chidi Nwokeabia
By AZUH AMATUS
Leading film producer Chidi Nwokeabia joined Nollywood in 1993 as an aspiring actor, on the set of hit Igbo movie, Unforgiven Sin.
Today, the accounting graduate from University of Nigeria, Nsukka, is a household name in the industry, where he has distinguished himself as a top-notch producer and revered scrip writer.
Nwokeabia, a multiple-award-winning filmmaker, in this exclusive interview with Azuh Amatus, spoke passionately and extensively on Nollywood, challenges and possible solutions to the perennial issue of funding for practitioners.
The producer of hit films such as Champions of Our Time, The Last Girl Standing and several others also shared his thoughts on several other germane topics within and outside Nollywood.
Enjoy the encounter!
We would like to know more about you, family and academic background?
My name is Chidi Nwokeabia, I’m a Nollywood filmmaker. I studied Accountancy from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. I am married with a supportive wife and family.
When and how did you join Nollywood?
I joined the movie industry in 1993. I had gone to visit a friend of mine, a movie producer and director, Mr. Emma Oguguah in Surulere. I met him and some of his friends in the middle of an audition for a movie “Unforgiven Sin”. Mr. Zack Orji who eventually played the lead role was there with his wife. That was his first attempt at acting a Nollywood movie. I watched for a while and suddenly I was called to come and read. It was in Igbo and I read well and that was how I was given a role. The rest as they say is history. From acting I switched to producing.
As a top producer and script writer, which was your first film, respectively?
My first film as a producer was The Last Girl Standing shot in 2004, while my first script was The Law Students produced in 2006.
And like how many movies and soaps do you have in your kitty as a leading producer?
I have shot like 12 movies and two television series.
What would you say is the biggest challenge facing Nollywood currently and possible ways to tackle it?
I have said it several times that funding is the greatest challenge of a typical Nigerian film maker. For an industry that has been self-funding for decades, I think that if successive governments in Nigeria all agreed that this industry has done well in terms of contributing albeit minimally to the country’s GDP, it makes economic sense that this same industry should be properly funded to achieve more. Government and the corporate Nigeria community should set up film funds and distribution outlets to encourage filmmakers to make more films.
What makes a good producer and also who is a good script writer?
A good producer and script writer must be amenable to new ideas and innovations. He/she must be able to learn from others. Film production is dynamic. The producer and the script writer must be able to conform to global practices since the standard of film making has become universal.
Have you ever been harassed sexually by desperate actresses on set?
No I have not. Largely because I have not given anybody the green light. I define my terms from the beginning. “We are here to work”. I tell them from the beginning. Poor or compromised casting does not show until you get into the editing room. By that time it’s impossible to correct your errors.
Do you think the government has done enough to support Nollywood?
They have not, especially the current government. However not minding that it comes in bits and pieces, I must commend the Lagos state government for their consistent initiatives towards the creative industry. My award winning film “Champions Of Our Time” was bankrolled by the Lagos state government under the former governor, His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola. I remain eternally grateful. It is sad that an industry that has contributed to the growth of the economy and has provided employment for millions of Nigerians has received little or no assistance from the current government.
As a producer cum script writer what is your biggest achievement in Nollywood?
I wouldn’t want to blow my own trumpet but I must point out very modestly that I have been around for a while and within that period I have contributed my quota to the growth of the industry.
In 2004, my film “The Last Girl Standing” was one of the top ten highest grossing films in the country in terms of revenue and was screened in Italy by the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board because of the topical issue of rape it showcased.
In 2007 my script, “Champions Of Our Time” won the third position in an international script writing competition organized by the Pan African University and intermediary of Italy.
In 2010 the same title “Champions Of Our Time” won several national and international awards, the biggest being the best West African film award at the Fespaco film festival, Burkina Faso. Fespaco happens to be the oldest and largest film festival in Africa. That happened to be the first time a film made in Nigeria by Nigerians was winning such award.
In 2009, my television series ‘The Patriots” which I scripted and produced won the best Nigerian television series award at the Terraccota film and television awards held in Lagos.
What would say is the biggest challenge facing producers and script writers in Nollywood today?
The producers and script writers face the same funding challenge the industry faces. We are usually empty to make others full.
In your opinion, are Nigerian producers and script writers well remunerated?
Unfortunately no. We are embarrassingly under remunerated.
Any regrets as a top producer and script writer in Nollywood?
None, at all.
What are the three major things a good producer must look out for on set?
Not just three. A producer must look out for all the departments of the film production chain. No area should be given attention more than the other.
The cast, the crew, the costume, make up, welfare set design, the location, the lighting, the sound. He must make sure that all are provided. No area is more important than the other.
Can you screen play and produce a pornographic film?
Pornography is a no, no for me.
Also, what stands you out as a producer cum script writer in Nollywood?
I do extensive research and consultations in my scripting. That is not to say others don’t. I am amenable to learning both from the old and young. Nobody knows it all.
If you were not in Nollywood today, where else would you have been?
Sincerely I do not know. God charts the affairs of men. I don’t know where else He would have loved me to be.
You have produced and written several hits in Nollywood, what inspires you, especially as a revered script writer?
My immediate environment inspires me. There are a lot to be written about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. In terms of stories, there are plenty inspirational topics rich in content that abound. All you need do is find your space in a large canvas of creative people.
Can anything make you quit Nollywood?
Nothing. If I have to quit, it’ll be by my own volition and conviction, not by “anything”.
And lastly, why is there so much envy, jealousy and back-biting in Nollywood?
In one word, poverty. If you excuse me I’ll add idleness. if we all are busy doing something, if I’m engaged in Port Harcourt and my other practitioners are equally engaged in other parts of the country, nobody will have time for envy, for jealousy and there will be very few or no backs to bite. There are a lot of brilliant practitioners with brilliant ideas and proposals in Nollywood. Unfortunately government and corporate Nigeria are consistently neglecting this group of people and sometimes engaging the wrong people. This breeds jealousy and backbiting.
