‘With good funding, we can win Oscar for Nigeria’

For US-based Nigerian filmmaker, Nnaemeka Andrew
Madueke, hard work pays. His film, The Mystery of Birds, won
the Best Film by an African in the Diaspora at the 2012
African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). His latest film, Take
the Spotlight, earned him yet another award of Best Filmmaker
at the 2014 Peachtree Village International Film Festival in
Atlanta, Georgia. In this interview, Madueke whose inspiring
films feature Hollywood stars like Lynn Whitfield and Glenn
Morshower, opens up on his career and challenges. Excerpts:
What other films do you have and what efforts are you
making for them to be seen in Nigeria?
My other films are ‘Night To Fly’, ‘The Okra Principle’ and
‘Mystery of Birds’. The Africa Channel, an African television
network based in Los Angeles, California has screened these
films in the past. Their network covers most of the USA and
the Caribbean, so because of this we ship DVDs and also get
many emails from people who have seen our films in those
regions. We’ve also shipped a lot of the DVDs to the UK.
We’re also currently working with a Los Angeles-based
distribution network to get the films on a couple of major
content streaming sites including Amazon.com. The films
should be on those sites by the end of the first quarter in
2015. We’ve tried to bring them to Nigeria a few times but hit
some roadblocks. But we’ll keep trying.
Tell us about Take the Spotlight that won you the Best
Filmmaker award?
Take the Spotlight is the story of an American film director,
Artie Rain, hired by two African producers to make a film
about a modern day African slave trader called ‘Gustav’ who
is portrayed by Chinedu Ikedieze in a brief but marvelous
cameo. Artie Rain puts his heart and soul into trying to make
the film but encounters all kinds of snags including those
created by his over-zealousness. A lot of comedic elements
are introduced in the story to make the movie exciting and
entertaining while at the same time dealing with the more
serious aspects of the movie.
The storyline doesn’t sound like the central character is an
African?
That was exactly the point that the producers, Amaechi
Madueke, Iorna Handem, Chinedu Ikedieze, Allen Warchol and
Daniel Foster wanted to make by embracing this story. We
wanted to make a film that has a very universal reach and
appeal. So, right from the beginning, we challenged ourselves
to come up with a story that ventured out to other territories
while holding onto some African elements. We initially
struggled with the idea of doing a story that did not have an
African as the lead character, especially since all other films
that we’d done in the past followed the path of the Diaspora
African experience in his new environment. But after some
soul-searching, we completely embraced the idea. We un­
derstood that we could give a more positive knowledge of our
African-Nigerian heritage to the world, by presenting an
excellent story regardless of its central character’s origin.
Are you going to continue on this path in future?
We are going to follow the path of inspiration as we always
have. We will do whatever story or idea that we’re inspired to
do regardless of the setting or central character, but with a
bias or inclination towards stories about Diaspora-Africans.
That’s because it is our life story and also because there’s a
big vacuum for very good productions of such stories.
A lot of us in the Diaspora want to be reckoned with. So in
our little way, we will represent our culture with the tools and
talents at our disposal in this case, films. We see ourselves as
ambassadors for Africa. This means that no matter how long
we’ve lived in our adopted country, we still understand that
we are the first point of reference for Africa for other races. So,
whether we are making films or trying to corner other bounties
in life, we will not let our heritage limit our vision or who we
are. We strive to reach for the same stars as everyone else.
There are enough stars in the sky for everyone, not just for a
certain part of the world.
Apart from Chinedu Ikedieze, who else is in the film?
We also have Hollywood’s Lynn Whitfield who features in
movies like ‘Eve’s Bayou’ and ‘A Thin Line Between Love and
Hate’, and also Glenn Morshower from movies like ‘Black
Hawk Down’, ‘Transformers’ and ‘After Earth’. The film
equally parades Allen Warchol, Megan Glover and Nigerian-
Diaspora actors like Nene Nwoko, Roy “KC” Nwakamma, Uju
Egbuji, Hayley “Gigi” Polak from South Africa and a host of
others. The film really boasts of a diverse and interesting cast.
How do you really feel after winning the Best Filmmaker
award?
Winning the award is just a good step towards our end goal,
which eventually is making a film that will be nominated and
celebrated in the topmost platform in the world like the Oscar.
I am thankful for the producers who believed in the project
enough to commit their time and resources. Amaechi Madueke
of That Kid Productions, Iorna Handem of Handem
Productions, Allen Warchol with whom I developed a lot of the
central character; Daniel Foster who is the founder of a
Dallas-based acting studio, Class Act Dallas and through
whom we secured a lot of the talent in the film; and then
Chinedu Ikedieze who has played a pivotal role in providing
priceless resources and direction towards eventually
showcasing the film and our other films to the African
audience.
I am also thankful for all the actors who gave their time and
talent in making the film. Actors are the heartbeats of films,
the ones who bring to life the merely written words. I have a
whole new level of respect for actors after working on this
film. I also thank the production crew, Edgar Rodriguez and
Clay Pacatte for the cinematography; David Pinkston for the
sound and colour editing; Jesus Martinez for his beautiful
music score; Miss Keke (Kelechi Onwumere) for her marvelous
music; Henock Getamassey (Jukebox), who came all the way
from Ethiopia, for his wonderful music; Samuel John, David
Gilden, Phyllis Anyiam and a host of others. I am grateful to
some of my schoolmates from my alma mater, Federal
Government College, Okigwe, Imo State who attended the
screening in Atlanta. Some of them flew miles while others
drove from other cities in the USA to attend the event. Their
presence at the screening was fulfilling for me and winning the
award crowned it all. I am equally grateful to other film
festivals that have showcased the film so far including Capital
City Black Film Festival in Austin, Texas, Film Maker’s Corner
Film Festival in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Urban Media
Makers Film Festival in Norcross, Georgia.
Is this your first award in the industry?
No, it’s not. But this is the only award so far for ‘Take the
Spotlight’. Our last film before this one, ‘Mystery of Birds’ also
won an award for Best Film by an African in Diaspora at the
2012 African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). I was really
thrilled when I received this award in Nigeria. You know, it
was like a grand homecoming for me. And that indeed
indicated that the future of the industry is bright.
What’s next for you and your crew? Do you have any new
projects in the pipeline?
We are still sorting out details with ‘Take the Spotlight’ like
how we are going to distribute it. Winning this award in
Atlanta did come with a couple of offers for distribution here in
the United States, but the truth is that we are not yet ready to
let it go for distribution until maybe the third quarter of 2015.
By then we would have screened it in a few more places like
Nigeria and hopefully other parts of Africa. We are also looking
at translating it to other languages so it could gain more
audience worldwide. As for new projects, yes, there are greater
ideas where this one came from. We currently have a great
story idea that was actually conceived about six years ago but
are we ready to make it now? Maybe, not right now. Our goal
is to hit the highest pinnacle with our next project, and to do
this; we are talking about funds with which to bring in the
best talent that one can find. I am talking about the best
cinematographers out there, best sound people, best editors;
elements that must never be neglected in making the perfect
film. With ‘Take the Spotlight’ and ‘Mystery of Birds’, I
personally did a double as the director and editor just because
we did not have much funds available. I do not want to keep
doing that, because honestly, my expertise has peaked.
Finding better expertise would definitely thrust us into folklore,
but again, we are talking funds. I bet you that with proper
funding, we can win great laurels and awards for Nigeria and
the African continent. Even, we can win the Oscar. A good
movie just like a rich pot of soup is all about how much one is
ready to commit.
Do you have plans to come and shoot films in Nigeria?
Given the right opportunity and funds, yes, I would definitely
love to do that. My brother, Chuks Madueke who is also a writ­
er and I discuss it all the time. In fact, we have started to
develop a story that would be filmed in Nigeria in the near
future. I would love to work with a lot more Nollywood actors
and make my mark in a burgeoning industry. Thanks to the
initiatives of the Nigerian government and organizations like
AMAA and then the Nigerian film producers and actors that
work tirelessly to bring scripts to life. It is because of them
that the Nigerian film industry has come into reckoning
worldwide.