2016 was brought to a climatic close with the release of the romantic comedy drama, The Wedding Party. At N 450 million from only cinema showings in Nigeria, this movie is proof that Nollywood may just be the industry, investors need to better leverage .
The Wedding Party is the brainchild of Executive Producer, Mo Abudu and was produced by the ELFIKE film collective. BUSINESSDAY interviewed 3 of the producers from the collective. In the first of this series, DON OMOPE, Head of Film at FilmOne Distribution shares insights on producing The Wedding Party. Read on to discover what he had to say about how much there is to recoup from investing in Nollywood.
Can you describe what you do?
I manage and execute the process of making great films. It is a role similar to the CEO of a business. One has to keep an eye on compliance, regulation, and creativity. Before a director is hired, a producer gets the idea for the movie, sources funds, and executes.
How did you become a movie producer?
Roots are different. You can work your way up to a producer’s role from a production assistant. Far too often, you may get stuck, so it is always better to go to school and learn. I started off as a cinematographer and went to school for that. Combined with a Master’s degree in journalism, I have an eye out for stories that stick. I may be a director by background, but I assumed a producer’s role, a more holistic one at FilmOne.
What are the milestones FilmHouse and FilmOne has been able to achieve for cinema in Nigeria? Can you explain the difference between the two?
FilmHouse is the exhibition arm of the business. With 10 cinemas in Nigeria and more planned in the years to come, it is the largest cinema house in the country. FilmOne is the sister company to FilmHouse, in charge of distributing and producing films.
Is it profitable to make and exhibit movies in Nigeria?
The movie industry could potentially be the new oil and gas. The possibilities are there. With 200 million people in the country, if you make a movie for under N100 million and only 300,000 people see your movie in the cinema, you can recoup N400 million. If there were cinemas for 1,000,000 people, you can make a billion naira! With only 28 cinemas in Nigeria, it may appear that moviemaking is not profitable. Now imagine if Nigeria has 200 cinemas. Without your base expenditure increasing, the possibilities are endless.
How can one access funds to build cinemas in Nigeria?
The Bank of Industry is giving out money to build cinemas if you have a proven track record of being a good businessman. It is sad to see that in the entire Northern Nigeria, there is only one cinema. Building multiplex cinemas right now is big business. When building cinemas, one has to take into consideration, compliance, what food to serve, and how many screens can be accommodated. The truth is Nigeria needs a 500% increase in cinemas at this moment.
The Wedding Party was produced by the ELFIKE collective, is a collaborative effort the way forward to produce movies now?
I would say yes and no because it goes beyond collaboration. If you collaborate, do it with the right crew. 2015’s top movies came from the ELFIKE collective. Ebony Life produced “Fifty”, FilmOne produced “Taxi Driver, Oko Ashewo”, Inkblot produced “Out of Luck”, and Koga Studios produced “The Visit”. In addition to this, there was a pool of expertise and resources. Koga Studios had the right equipment including cameras that were used to shoot Star Wars and the James Bond movies, Eboby Life had tremendous marketing expertise and huge ambitions with content, Inkblot’s team have a background in investment banking, finance, and law.
Moviemaking is a collaborative effort when you want to do a movie at such a scale as The Wedding Party. Executive Producer, Mo Abudu envisaged that pooling resources together as a collective would produce a record-breaking movie that will resonate with Nigerians. People saw The Wedding Party over and over again because they loved it and appreciated it. Even though there were massive debates and late nights, the results were worth it.
What does the industry need now?
The industry needs a support network, an incubation system where scripts can be reworked until it is up to standards and the best team players are brought together to make a movie. Rather than just complain about the standards of movies in Nigeria, investors need to put their money into filmmaking. Nigerians need blockbuster movies. The way forward is the discipline and professionalization of art. The business of art, finance’s influence, and research are existing variables that need to be understood to make great movies.
What do audiences want? How do filmmakers discover this and fulfill their wants?
Filmmakers have to know their audience. In 2014, “30 days in Atlanta” grossed N 143 million with 16 cinemas in Nigeria. “A Trip to Jamaica topped that and was proof that this kind of success is not a fluke. AY understands how to make people laugh and he created movies that will cater to his audience. What satisfies people in the different parts of Nigeria, accounting for the 250 ethnic groups and diverse needs is the research question that needs to be answered. Even within Lagos, films do differently depending on the cinema location. Filmmakers need to invest time in studying their audience.
There has been a recent trend of adding artistes (musicians and comedians) to the casting mix of movies. Is this a deliberate strategy?
Nobody has a bigger following than a musician or a comedian. Still, this is not just about people’s marketability, it is also about people’s ability to get the job done. The right mix is needed. People felt that a movie had been made that did not insult the intelligence of Nigerians and gave us something to celebrate.
What is the future for Nollywood in 2017?
2016 was a great year for movies in Nigeria. There were amazing movies released such as “’76”, a period drama with great costumes and cinematography, Bolanle Austen-Peter’s “93 days” following Nigeria’s struggle with Ebola, Omoni Oboli’s “Okafor’s Law”, and of course AY Makun’s “A Trip to Jamaica”. I would say, the possibilities for 2017 are even bigger.
Watch a video clip from the interview HERE
