What I want to achieve with ‘Godmother’ series —Ola Yusuf

American-based Nigerian film maker, Ola Yusuf, has said fans and movie lovers should anticipate his first production in Nigeria entitled “Godmother”.

The American-trained filmmaker revealed this in an interview, talking about the ‘Godmother’ and his quest to sell the Nigerian and African story to the world at large.

“The five-part episode series revolves around politics, unionism, cultism, power shift amongst the people, power dynamics on campus.

“We have a unique story. Tony Umez, Tobi Makinde, and a couple of them very impressed with the story. I wrote all episodes of the story,” Yusuf said.

On the contributions of the cast and crew, he said, “I am working with Captain Degzy, who also directed A Tribe called Judah. We’ll be working together as directors.

“We have wide range of talents on this project and it is a story that Nigerians have never seen before. There is no gainsaying, it’s a fact. I have complete confidence in my team and they are the best in the industry.”

Speaking of the choice of the University of Ibadan (UI) as the choice location for the production, the filmmaker stated that “Initially, I conceptualised using University of Lagos (UNILAG) because I am a UNILAG graduate.

“But because I wanted the story to have the elements of unique architechural structures, and I couldn’t find those in UNILAG. So in UI, we have those unique structures that actually depict an era.

“Though the story happened in 2006, but regardless, we wanted to be able to have visuals that are really compelling because so many film makers have been using UNILAG, so we just felt like trying to use some where else that has not been over used.”

“We have had serious challenges from the beginning, like actors bailing on us and the likes. But look at us today, we have started and I am actually impressed with what I have seen here today because it actually compensates for the challenges we had at the beginning.”

The accomplished filmmaker stated that although he lacks experience working in Nollywood, his background in directing and being behind the scenes in several productions in several states in America is an added advantage.

He said, “I have done productions in New York, like Hollywood projects. I learnt everything in school, from the lights, sounds and directing.

“I attended Full Sail University, Orlando, Florida, where I studied film. I also attended Southern New Hampshire University where I studied English and Scriptwriting. I had my MA in arts.

“I didn’t stop there; I went to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to study film and TV production. That’s the best film school in the world. Most successful filmmakers actually attended UCLA so I decided to follow that route, despite the film schools I have attended, so I am well-trained when it comes to filmmaking.

“But then, while in all of these film schools, I wrote Nigerian and African stories and pitched them and I felt like it would be really good to tell our story. So I decided to tell come to Nigeria, tell our story, and sell to the world that we can showcase our talents to the world.

“We have very unique stories and talents that the world is waiting to see. So that is what brought me to Nigeria.”

Furthermore, he said, “If you see the scale of the production, you will understand that it is a very big scale. It is a 5-part series and I’ve had people say I could’ve started with a feature film to learn about the politics in Nollywood because that is another thing.

“As a first time filmmaker I’m surprised seeing all of those but then I am not new in the game and I can adapt.

“I hope the country gets better and the people are less greedy because that is another thing, the people are greedy and act unprofessional, and it is really sad.

“In America, there are things that actors and actresses would not do, there are very professional in their conduct, When I see all of that, I am amazed and shocked. I would like to do this again because I know life is a challenge and I feel like if we all run away from it, there is no way it is going to be better.”

He, therefore, said that although getting investors for the project from abroad was difficult so he had to fund it himself.

“This is a self-funded project and I hope that the people and industry gets better, we support one another and I think it is going to help, coming together, and I want to be a part of that success story.

“For now, I have not received any support, but my team is in contact with Amazon Prime to be able to distribute movies like get a lincensing deal. This is a self-funded project and we are talking about hundreds of millions invested on this project.

“When you are passionate about something, fear is thrown out of the window. So for me, my passion and will to succeed has been a major driving force,” he said.

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