Paul Nnadiekwe, a Nollywood actor and filmmaker known for his role in Kayode Kasum’s Àfáméfùnà: An Nwa Boi Story, has turned his personal struggle with procrastination into Inertia, his latest short film.
The almost four-minute film follows two friends on a car ride. When one of them suddenly stops the car, they confront the shackles of procrastination and how it can keep people from acting on their goals, dreams, ideas, and aspirations.
Speaking recently with The Nollywood Reporter (TNR), Nnadiekwe revealed that Inertia took nearly a year to complete after its conception.
“The reason was majorly because I was not happy with the sound quality, so it killed my momentum, and I started procrastinating,” he said.
However, the filmmaker eventually decided to push past his excuses and shoot the film.
“I shot the opening sequences later to make it more interesting. Overall, procrastination is a plague that affects everyone.”
With procrastination remaining a challenge for many creatives, Nnadiekwe advises emerging filmmakers and other creatives to “do it uncomfortably if you must.”
Wearing three hats as writer, director and actor on the project, Nnadiekwe describes his creative process as unorthodox and spontaneous.
“I get an idea and I either pen it down or record a rough voice note. I may not have the full picture, but I start building and along the road figure out what I’m doing.”
Inertia was produced in collaboration with creatives including Okpala Emmanuel, Riyo David, It Takes a Village Production, Emmanuel Izuoba, Tomisin Okupe, Edit Bro Abuchi and Nnadiekwe’s Vous Film.
Speaking about his collaborators, Nnadiekwe described them as friends and like-minded individuals who believed in his vision and were willing to help bring the project to life.
“It was magic,” he said of the experience.
Based on his experience, the actor, who also appeared in the film adaptation of I Do Not Come to You by Chance, believes collaboration can help creatives minimize procrastination.
“You procrastinate when you have too much to carry, and then you get overwhelmed, and then you start to linger, and that’s how you continue to procrastinate.”
Beyond its central theme of procrastination, Nnadiekwe hopes audiences take away the idea that “nothing happens unless one acts on it” from Inertia.
“Nothing gets into motion until you start to do something, even your life in general. Nothing changes till you decide you want to change stuff.”
