If there is a woman to watch now in the Nigerian movie industry, it may just be Joy Odiete. The founder of Blue Pictures Film and Distribution had, before now, been strategically spreading Nollywood products within and outside the country. She consolidated this on Sunday, December 6, when she unveiled a double-hall posh cinema at City Mall, Onikan, Lagos. She caused a great transformation to the low-level Genesis Cinemas once housed there.
In the past one decade or so, some women have boldly stormed the scene, commanding the art and business of Nollywood, with the likes of Mo Abudu and Bolanle Austen-Peters taking the front seats. Now, Joy, as she is fondly called, has mounted the stage, as she has not only opened the inspiring cinema, but she also premiered her first feature film, titled ‘Gone’, to the admiration of the guests, including seasoned actor, Richard Mofe-Damijo and gospel star, Sammie Okposo.
Those who had been at Genesis at City Mall were positively shocked when they saw what Blue Pictures has transformed it into. According to them, it is only a big dreamer, moblisier and perfectionist like Joy that could turn around its fortune and that is what has happened. While she did this with the support of Access Bank, which bankrolled the project, the redesigning was handled by engineer, music producer and performer, Olatunde Obajeun. All industry players who gathered for the opening endlessly marvelled at the top-notch, elite entertainment arena that the cinema has become.
For one, the cinema promises comfort with its luxury seats whose blue skins smartly echoed the name, Blue Pictures. “It looks intimate. It now looks far better than what it used to be,” Okeke said.
Speaking at the event, Ken Mparu, a major catalyst in the return of the cinema in Nigeria, saluted Joy for entering the fold big and promisingly. He noted that Nigeria currently had some 70 cinema houses, with the Blue Pictures’ being a great idea for producers and other practitioners.
Mparu said, “I didn’t realise Joy was doing this. So, it’s quite a surprise. It is a story of gradual growth, growing one step after the other. A successful step informs more successes. I know what this arena was like before. It is completely different now and it is fantastic.”
An official of Access Bank, Ajiri Onowotu, said it decided to associate with Blue Pictures because the idea it brought forward was dependable.
“Joy had been having an account with us while doing distribution. She came with the idea, which is the dream that has come true. As a bank, we want to associate with customers with inspiring ideas,” Onowotu said.
For Mo Abudu, the coming on stream of Joy means that women are making more impactful moves in Nollywood. Noting that it was wonderful that there was an industry that practitioners could call their own, Abudu stressed, “I don’t want to say we (women) are taking over. But we are running the industry now. I’m happy to see more women come on board.”
Director of the Lagos State Film Censors Board, Adebukola Agbaminoja, who represented the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Life, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile Yusuf, welcomed the Blue Pictures’ initiative, while noting that the state still needed more cinemas.
Agbamioja said, “I am not surprised at what is happening today, having followed Blue Pictures over the years.”
Although Joy radiated fulfilment, she took the guests through an eventful memory lane. She was an employee of Nu Metro music and video shop then at Silverbird Galleria when she got the vision to build a cinema. Those whom she shared the idea with – some 14 years ago – however did not believe her because they believed she had no financial capacity for it.
The woman, whose husband, Marvelous, was also conspicuously present, conceded that it had been very difficult getting funding, but she feels great that the dream has become a reality. Joy enthused: “ There were a lot of rejections as we wrote proposals upon proposals. Today we are here, thanks to Access Bank. It believes in us and it has made this happen. You have to partner with the right bank that sees your vision and run with it. Of course, you can be anything you want to be if you have God.”
