AKEEM LASISI writes a stampede session that concluded the 2019 edition of the iRep International Film Festival puts Nollywood on trial
He was not originally billed to be on the panel. But in the tradition of the CORA Stampede – a flagship conversation programme of the Committee for Relevant Arts – seasoned producer, Mamhood Ali-Balogun, found himself on the table, (no) thanks to the absence of one of the people slated for the rite.
With multi-talented artist, Ropo Ewenla, as the moderator, the CORA Stampede held last Sunday at the Freedom Park, Lagos, was the last major programme of the 2019 edition of the iRep International Documentary Festival powered by documentary film-maker, Femi Odugbemi, and many-in-one Jahman Anikulapo. It also had on the panel Dr Tunde Onikoyi of the University of Ibadan and Ndidi Nwaneri, a researcher. The festival, which turns bigger every ear, had attracted many stakeholders to the Park, exploring various aspects of the sub-genre while also screening many films.
As the programme progressed, a question came on how committed Nigerian film-makers have been to democratic ideals in terms of promoting such with their contents. The desired picture, the panel observed, was for producers to see themselves as champions of the audacity of hope, to envision a Nigeria and Africa far better than it is today.
But Ali-balogun insisted that Nollywood had been sensitive to socio-political issues in Nigeria. A major challenge, he said, was that many of the young producers who would otherwise interrogate politics lacked the required depth.
“As a film-maker, you have the responsibility to be sensitive to what is going on – whether deliberate or not,” he said. “There is no art for art’s sake. In Nigeria, our film-making has always been political, right from the era of Ogunde’s ‘Yoruba Ronu’. Most of the films at this festival are not even that political. The fact, however, is that many of the people churning out films today, what do they know? How much do they know? The sense of history of many of them is warped due to the quality of education obtained.”
The stampede also raised issues on the attention being given to the rural areas which UK-based Lookman Sanusi said was not enough, just as playwright and scholar, Dr Bisi Adigun, also accused Nollywood of lacking a clear national ideology. Some young film-makers also expressed frustration at daunting challenges of funding and marketing, while some said experienced documentary film-makers were not forthcoming on training and mentoring.
For Ali-Balogun, it is not possible to decree an ideology for Nollywood. He also challenged younger film-makers to take advantaged of the democratised production space, saying it cost little nowadays to produce works.
Advising them to sharpen their skills, he said, “As a film-maker, you have to be deliberate with your work. You have a reason for wanting to have a film or to be a film-maker. You cannot be an accidental film-maker.”
Nwaneri urged the younger professionals to be determined to make and be the best. She told them that, in every sector, success was a product of perseverance and determination, adding that most of the challenges they spoke about reared their heads in other industries too.
While Onikoyi shared his experience working on films, Ewenla also advised the young, “Go to Youtube. Watch people who make films. Take the faltering steps and keep doing it. Learn it. Producers of many of the films you see here will still go back to edit them because learning is a continuous thing. I know Tunde Kelani does that a lot.”
On the opening night of the festival, notable but deceased members of the artists community were honoured. They included the film historian and critic, Professor Frank Ukadike; visual artists, Bisi Silva and Professor Okwui Enwezor; professor of African Studies at Carleton University, Ottawa, Pius Adesanmi, and the theatre artiste and prolific TV drama scriptwriter, Paul Emema. While Nwachukwu Ukadike died last year, the rest died this year.
It, however, also celebrated founder of Terra Kulture and Bolanle Austen-Peters Production, Bolanle Austen-Peters, as she “essentially she represents the spirit of progress and possibilities in our culture producing community, a major inspiration to many young people; more so, because at the inception of the festival, she was the first supporter we had.”
African Movie Academy Awards’ judge, Shaibu Husseini’s interventionwas also in this light.
