Tag: Adelana Mould

With over two decades as a filmmaker in the movie industry, Femi Odugbemi, whose works including Tinsel, Maroko, Battleground and most recently The Eve has been well-rated by movie lovers, is currently working with Multichoice on grooming the next generation of filmmakers across Africa. The former president of ITPAN speaks with ADENIYI ADEWOYIN in this interview.

WHAT project are you working on?

Presently, I am working on the Multichoice Talent Factory.

Can you tell us more about the project?

The Multichoice Talent Factory is an intervention in Africa’s creative industries to try to invest In the future of a few select professionals with the aim of not only being empowered with superior information and education in whatever their best practices is occurring but also to hone them with the business of TV, the kind of information that will make them not just talent but creative entrepreneurs. So we hope that graduates of this school will not only work as crew members.

We hope that they are creating work, we hope that they are building structures so that they are employers of people. One of the challenges of our industry is that talents can’t seem to translate their creative talent to prosperity. They are unable to find how to fund their work, we hope that the knowledge we transmit will take them from not just excellent superior talent in whatever their area of specialisation is but also to being business minded to understanding how the two connect and hopefully to build on that information. Ten years from now, we hope they are the leaders of this industry and not just leaders by talent but leaders in terms of the economy of the space.

The MTF is constructed of three foundational structures; one is the academy which will admit twenty students, and those twenty students will commit themselves to one year in schooling. It’s just like film school joined with a business and passion school.  You don’t have many films schools who have the production that Multichoice has, so the chances of them being able to work in an ongoing production is very limited unless you are part of something like this. The second level is the master class; the master class will take individual skill level and improve them for those who are already working. There are a lot of people who are self-taught, there are people who have already started making films but would like to make better films, so the master classes are tailored to support that.  The master class is also tailored to find the gaps in our industry. There are things we just don’t do well yet as well as we will like to do them like sound, lighting and so on. The third thing is a portal which is an online thing that allows me as an artiste to open an account, upload my work, and describe what I do and connect with one of the filmmakers from other places. So if you can think of Facebook, LinkedIn then you can have an idea of what is possible.

In what regions are the three hubs?

Yes it is twenty students from each hub; that is twenty from West Africa, twenty from East Africa and Twenty from Southern Africa.

Why is Mulitichoice taking this project to other African countries and not just Nigeria?

Because film and storytelling has become Africa’s biggest opportunity, Africa’s biggest possibility in terms of improving economy and because we want the Nigerian film maker not to have a tunnel vision about not just Nigeria; it’s a big continent and a big world. I think the biggest education anybody gets is to travel; whether you travel virtually or you travel physically you never come back the same. We don’t want Nigerian filmmakers, we want filmmakers who are Nigerians. Secondly, Multichoice is an international company. What made Nollywood what it is was the decision of DSTV to put them on and show them in different places in Africa.

Why is it so necessary to go to film schools to become a film maker?

Knowledge is power; it is as simple as that. I went to film school; there is something about any profession that has lasted over time and that one thing is that there’s a systemic way of training people that come in for the future. Filmmaking is over a hundred years old, why would there be film schools if the knowledge was available to everyone on the street? When we say we are professionals, part of professionalism is to actually be schooled in the skills of that trade.

What are the criteria for participating?

You must have graduated post secondary. You need a base of basic education, basic math, basic English, basic use of excel, basic use of power point, you need to have a basic educational level. We want people who are thinking larger than life; if you are not thinking larger than life you won’t be thinking about hiring others.

Are there plans to follow up on the beneficiaries after the whole training?

That’s what the portal does. It’s all connected and that is the amazing thing. Not only does the portal become the platform from which they connect with each other but it’s also the platform for which we connect to them. If they are on the portal, it is hardly unlikely that I will not know what they are doing. But what that means is that they still have access to me, they still have access to people from the master class. Right now there is a lot to do and I am writing stories, I have executive produced The Eve, which just went to the cinema.

I have executive produced another film called The Falcon, which is coming soon; so, yea I am trying to remain productive. There is no way that I can try to mentor people in a business in which I myself am not active. If you look at my career, you will know that I have always been excited about the opportunity to teach, to help young people grow. When I was president of ITPAN, my major project was ITPAN training school. I feel like training and empowerment is the biggest responsibility, and so, for me, this is the most important thing, the MTF, because it gives me a glimpse of the future.

As a veteran, in what aspects do you think the movie industry needs to grow?

It’s a work in progress – that has always been my answer. We should be optimistic because if you look at Nollywood 20 years ago and Nollywood today you will know that it is a huge improvement. So if you exponentially think of Nollywood in another 20 years, especially with the interventions on MTF, I am hoping that whatever the gaps are, these kids come out and have enough knowledge and passion to feel them. We are not there yet, which is why we are starting MTF.

There are gaps in business knowledge because obviously we have many people creating content who need better understanding of how to market, how to distribute and how to raise funding for their films. We can’t keep asking our uncles and aunties for funds; we can’t keep selling family cars and houses to raise funds. At some point, we have to figure out how other people do it such that the filmmaker doesn’t carry a debt burden all the time just because he wants to make film but being that we have to learn how to grow our audiences. Technology is also asking questions about how we light, how we shoot, in our story telling techniques. So all of these are ongoing challenges.

Do big names really matter when casting for a movie?

For me, I don’t think it’s really a debate. You cast people for roles they are suited for. The way they got their big name is because they could perform. So, for me, if we keep excellence and performance at the heart of everything, that debate is unnecessary. It also not about just the actors, directors need to do their work. Directors are the ones who are supposed to make sure that round pegs end up in round boles. I don’t think a surge of emotions against established actors or create opportunities to block younger emerging actors because when we do those, we are looking at irrelevant side but there is a common goal and that common goal is excellent, superior story telling.

What has kept you going as a filmmaker?

I love story telling. It is about who I am. I have a passion for it. I would make a film if only one person will watch. I think it is passion that wins and gives you an elongated career. If money is why you are there, regardless of how much money you make you will lose interest eventually, so I say to young people find your passion and go at it at 100 miles an hour.

What is your favourite movie at the moment?

I don’t want to name names because somebody will send me a text immediately after that, ‘so you don’t like my own film?’ But I am also big on the younger film makers. I really think that Nigeria is blessed with the new generation. For me, I am always excited about the future of Nigerian cinemas.