So I went to the "Lagos to London: A Nollywood Masterclass" yesterday at the British Film Insitute.

The directors speaking were:
Amaka Igwe
Tunde Kelani

And a professor:

Duro Oni from the University of Lagos (I came late so I didn't hear much of what he had to say but he was basically talking about the history of Nollywood)

It was interesting to say the least.

It would have been a lot better if the interviewer they had chosen asked relevant straight to the point questions that could be answered rather than making long winded statements and waiting for replies (as she did.) It would have been nice if she had done some research too.

In opening and in introducing Amaka Igwe she began listing her films. On the first one that she said Amaka interrupted her to say,

"No that one isn't mine, I didn't do that."

How are you going to be interviewing someone and you have not even researched their body of work?

She then asked about her "legacy."

Amaka looked taken aback and replied,

"What legacy? I've only made 6 films"

In fact some of the better questions came from audience

I liked Amaka she was very humorous in her approach and was engaging too. She spoke about her experiences from acting in school, to writing, to working in soaps and directing films. She was honest too. When asked about making films, she was honest in that her primary concern was money. Even though she is passionate about films she doesn't want to go hungry, so even if something sounds like a good idea, if it isn't going to make money she won't do it.

When Tunde Kelani spoke you could see people switch off. He mumbled and kept his head down throughout and simply read through the papers on his stand. There was no eye contact with the audience. From the way he gave his talk, one would think that he has never seen the information he was reading. He stumbled throughout with emphasis in all the wrong parts. It was painful. I kind of switched off at this part and began to read through the handouts that we had been given. In fact he would have been better off giving handouts of his talk. The information would have been better communicated this way.

After Tunde Kelani's speech he showed an extract of one of his films. He said that as it was a work in progress the sound had not been done yet. The extract began playing and there was sound, but it was in FRENCH! With NO subtitles! That was a bit baffling… I didn't see what the point of that was. WEIRD!



Here are some of my favourite quotes throughout:

Amaka Igwe on being asked on what advice she would give to someone trying to break into the industry,

"It's Nigeria, It's not that kind of program. If you want to do something just do it."

She made some valid points about people waiting around for funding and things to happen instead of making things happen for themselves but at the same time everyone knows that you need an avenue to break in.

Amaka Igwe on someone making a comment on reducing the amount of shadows while filming to make the film look more professional,

"And who said there should only be one shadow?"

Tunde Kelani backing her up,

"The more shadows the merrier."

I didn't quite agree with them on this sentiment but on the next one I did somewhat,

Amaka Igwe on the complaint about "bare walls" in films,

"Someone said that you should not have bare walls. In a country full of bare walls, am I supposed to start painting walls and wallpapering so that you in your comfortable house in London can feel better about not seeing bare walls, I don't think so."

One of the audience members asked about censorship. It was a girl who had made a film that had included homosexuality. The censorship board would not approve it.

Amaka Igwe made the point that people are sensitive and that the board need to take into account people's sensitivities, as well as religious tolerances. She said that they will not approve anything that "affects the unity of the country."

Another person made the point that if they are to be so strict that the industry will only go so far for they will not tackle issues for fear of offending people. She said that it is something that should be understood because Nigeria is a country that doesn't allow same sex marriage, so it will not be portrayed in films

What I didn't get is why it is acceptable to portray lesbianism in the films (Up to Me, Last Wedding, Girls Cot) but not man to man? Are lesbians allowed to get married in Nigeria, I don't think so, so to me that point didn't stick for me.

The point was also made that Nigeria is trying to change from a censorship board to a classification board so that a wider range of films will be allowed to be shown.

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Thanks for that Ms Soul......On the homosexual issue, many a thread have been opened about this topic on NR that you might find interesting.

I'm reading "Walking with Shadows" now by Jude Dibia and it is simply "unputdownable" if ya get my drift.

And reading ya post I'm wondering which nolly director is cheeky enough to put that into film, cos it would make a great movie.....hmmmmmmm and whether it will ever get past the censors board is another issue,LOL!

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Nah so we see am oh!!!

Kikis, dozens of Nolly directors will be ready to make such films but why spend millions to make a film that will not be distributed?

Aah, so thats the main problem with producing such a flick, it will get stumped at the censors board!!!!. That's sad sha, cos it would make a great movie

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Nah so we see am oh!!!

I looked it up on amazon but its not available!!!

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Why do they allow "lesbianism" if they are so against homosexuality...

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It's not on amazon yes, i got my copy from Lagos

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Nah so we see am oh!!!

true remember that american movie bout homos that won awrds.cant rem the name.

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Never believe anything in politics until it has officially been denied-Oto Von Bismarck

Beautiful_Soul, was the interview white or black ?
If black where they African, Caribean or Black-British ? thx.

Good post by the way young lady...

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UP ISI-EWU!! UP NIGERIA!!!

Bareback mountain

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The interviewer was black and she was not good at all... She was wishy washy and timid. She had a bitrtish accent and was wearing a hed wrap... I couldnt tell where she was from though... she could have been African or caribbean...

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Bareass Mountain perhaps?





Its Brokeback Mountain actually

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Nah so we see am oh!!!

HAHAHAHA I can't believe I got it wrong!

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thx.

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UP ISI-EWU!! UP NIGERIA!!!

B_S, hope u took pics o?

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I am what I am.