Tell us about your journey into film-making and what inspired you to become a filmmaker? My journey into filmmaking began in my teenage years through creating and acting in drama presentations in the church. I was fortunate to have an instructor with a thriving career in theatre, who gave me intense training. Although I studied Electrical Engineering at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ogun State, I soon realised the profession wasn’t fulfilling.
Naturally, my instinct was to pursue acting professionally. So, I joined Jason Vision, a theatre company owned by the late Wole Oguntokun. We performed every other Sunday at Terra Kulture and I had an exciting one-year experience with him.
However, my eyes were always on television. Growing up, I was heavily influenced by Nigerian TV shows of the 80s and 90s such as the ‘New Masquerade,’ ‘Village Headmaster,’ ‘Behind the Clouds,’ ‘Checkmate,’ ‘Third Eye,’ and ‘Fuji House of Commotion.’ These shows marked the golden years of the Nigerian TV.
With the emergence of Nollywood and its commercial expansion, I felt the quality of storytelling had declined. I saw an opportunity to contribute to the industry and interned with renowned filmmaker, Amaka Igwe, learning storytelling and production techniques for TV. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when you started your career in the Nigerian film industry? Starting my career in the Nigerian film industry was challenging due to the limited access to informat.