Working in Nigeria has been a spiritual experience – Nick Moran

FROM NOLLYWOOD MAGAZINE

Could you summarize your experience directing a movie in Nigeria?
Very rewarding. It’s been a spiritual experience. Very rewarding. The tremendous thing, the really impressive thing in the Nigerian film industry is its strength. It’s power as an industry, not necessarily the films. It’s come out of nothing, it’s come out of curfews and economic disasters. So, these films have been made out of nothing as entertainment. In three or four years, it has become the biggest video consumers market in the world. You don’t have the money to make films that you would in Hollywood. You don’t have the facility, but you still make something more personal and more appropriate for yourselves. For me, it’s been very rewarding working with the people. It’s something so honest, so real.

How has this project gone for you?
It’s been very different and it’s gone quite badly because our producers left and we had to get Jeta Amata. He was just in the cast and he has become the producer and we had just two days to organize everything. So, there were a lot of errors, a lot of mistakes and a lot of shortcomings because you can’t organize a film in two days. Jeta and Stella (Damasus-Aboderin) and Kat (Henshaw-Nuttal), I think all appreciate it’s a cultural exchange. I think I got people to act differently, in a way you don’t always see in Nigeria films. Something that’s a lot more realistic, a lot quicker, a lot pacier. Nigerians think very quickly and speak very slowly in movies. I tried to introduce a little bit of that. And I tried to make people understand the story so that they act within the scene rather that within the film.

What does that mean?
If someone is playing a hero, they don’t play a hero in every scene. They play the scenes. It’s the scenes that make them a hero. You don’t act the film; you act the immediate,, the present. And a lot of Nigerian acting is about posing and speaking. But you have to think on the line. You have to think and speak at the same time. I say to people, ‘You pick up on each other’s rhythms and ideas when you talk, and it’s been a joy for everybody. There’s a lot of European influences I brought in. And I feel that I understand, I won’t say completely, but I understand a lot of what Nigerian films are about, what Nigerian people are about. It’s an exchange.

Have you finished the film, all the same, in spite of the pressure of time?
Yes, we’ve finished a film. I need to pick up some shots, one or two days filming, bits and pieces. Another thing, people work very slowly. On a British film set, you have a whole lot of people, twenty to thirty people, shouting at each other. On a Nigerian film set, there’s only the director. If you’re the director in Britain, you sit in a chair. People do things for you; you just look in the monitor, you tell people what you want. But here, you do everything. You have to run and shout, scream and push and pull.

But you had a crew; don’t they play their parts?
It doesn’t matter. Even if they do, it’s not the same. If you’re the director here, you’re the filmmaker. If you’re the director in Britain, you’re the ship’s captain, you just tell people. You see what I mean? There’s a much more, very organized hierarchy in the British set up; so, it moves like a military machine. You have film schools in Britain. So, people learn the way to do things. You learn from the floor up or you learn from the classroom. In Britain, you know exactly what your job is and you won’t do any other thing than your job.

Compare that with your experience in India.
In India, they have film schools. They shoot on film, not on video and they shoot the same way as in Britain or America. oot for, maybe, five or six weeks or two months.

As an actor, what films have you been in?
I did a film called, The Musketeers directed by Peter Hymnes. In Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I played the lead. That’s the most-successful British film ever. The film won the BAFTA as Best Picture. I’ve starred in 14 feature films and about five or six American ones.

All this in the space of...
Four years. I’m in six movies that’ll be coming out in 2004. I’ve directed a feature film for Universal (Studios). I’ve written, produced and directed. I went to drama school and I’ve done work on soap operas on TV.

What do you think of the actors you worked with in Nigeria?
Kate was superb. The same for Stella and, of course, Jeta and Jumai. They can work anywhere in the world. I think you can put Jeta and Stella on a plane and fly them to London or Los Angeles to go and work.

So, what are you going to do with the movie you’ve shot here?
It will be shown on BBC. It’s part of the deal. I’ll cut a Nigerian version of it and a BBC version.

If you’re asked to come back to Nigeria for another project, would you be enthusiastic?
Yes, but I’ll do it differently. I’ll certainly arrange a producer beforehand, and do more work on the script. Come back with more money. I’ll try and shoot something on film. I’ll try to come back here and be a positive influence, not in a smug way, but just to introduce some of the ideas I know. A lot of people have said things to me in the past two weeks that have meant a lot. So, it’s been a very important period in my life.

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Hmm, nice interview. Abeg o, Oga Sola what will it take for Nigerians to also shoot movies with films? Does this (necessarily) add more to the sound quality; are there other advantages? For me, I think it's bulky though. Please enlighten moi.

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I can't deny, it's a nice interview but i want to ask Uncle Sola, what's the name of the movie and when will it be released also what's the concept of the movie or film which ever one fit best.

Shooting on film is way too cost intensive.Nigerians can never afford it and in my opinion,it is not even necessary,and it does not add to the sound quality as you put it.
Ofcourse it adds the professional look and prestige to the image of nollywood,but it does not really change the contents that significantly.Film is just a medium to tell a story,and the story still has to be told.
The only advantage film has lies in it's image quality which is still way ahead of DV format used in naija at the moment,but since we are making movies direct to tape/discs,film is unnecessary overkill.
But if we do start making movies for the big screen,there is always the HD video formats(HDCAM/SR or DVCPROHD).
Even in hollywood,only few people can afford to shoot on 35mm anyway.

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Thanks a lot Brother abi na Uncle Vince for d enlightment! I really thought it adds to sound quality, not knowing that it doesn't. Yea, like u said, the story still has to be told, and I believe we'll get there (using them film) someday. Thanks again.

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thanks for dat response vince

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