Fred Amata: “Nollywood filmmakers should use the art they express to tell the true story of who we really are in Africa.”

Nollywood, the glowing Nigerian film industry, has spun a galaxy of stars who have etched their names on both local and global silver screens. Among these luminaries stands Fred Amata, born into a family of filmmakers, whose journey pans through acting, directing, producing and culture advocacy. On 27 February 2016, Fred Amata succeeded Andy Amenechi as the fifth President of the Directors Guild of Nigeria and held sway until March 2021 when he was succeeded by the incumbent, Victor Okhai.

We caught him in the closing strides of his comeback movie, “Voltage,” and he spared us an exclusive window into his new flick and his remarkable career.

TNR: We’ve spent quite a bit of time now pursuing you. It means that you have something on the fire. So let’s know what’s happening to you.

Fred Amata: I have a new project that I directed, that’s coming out on the fifth of July. It is titled “Voltage”. It is a take on the conditions of a country that is blessed with resources and all but plagued by corruption. That, basically, is the theme of the movie and the plot goes into different directions. Call it my latest work.

I was out for a while, not really directing or doing anything. I was just doing some documentaries. But this is my first major film for cinema, and that’s why there’s so much hype about it.

You started as an actor, but you’ve gone into directing, producing, you were even president of the Directors’ Guild at a point. Did that stop your productivity?

You made a very broad statement: That I started as an actor. I’d like to address that first.

I actually went to the university and studied Theatre Arts, and I majored in Directing. So a lot of times when people say you started as an actor, I get a little pinch in my mind like “see all dis suffer wey I suffer.”

But you have a point there being that the first film I did, nationally, was as an actor. I did my youth service in ’86, by ’87 I was already on national television. By ’88, I was already directing “Ripples” for national TV. But I didn’t get my credit until ’89.

By 1997, I won Best Actor in the film, “Mortal Inheritance”. Subsequently, everybody generally thinks of me more as an actor because that was huge publicity. As for my foray into being president of Directors’ Guild, being a pioneer, I thought I had a lot to offer in terms of where the industry should be going toward, and I tried to give my quota to the guild system in Nigeria.

Yes, that had an impact on my performance or practice as a filmmaker and actor because I became more administrative and that’s why I slowed down for a while. But I am back now. My true calling is behind the cameras or in front of it. Not the administration.

How would you describe the time when Nigeria was just about video films and now that the big screen is back? Back because it used to be there in the times of Ola Balogun, in the times of Ogunde. How do you see this new era? This is probably your first time in this era?

Not exactly. I’ve been involved in films made for cinema.

When it comes to filmmaking for cinema, I’d like to go far back. You see, in 1967, my father made a film on celluloid: A film called “Freedom.” It was shown all over Nigeria and, in fact, all over the world. Thus, I grew up watching “Freedom”. It was for a group called Moral Rearmament.

I not only grew up watching “Freedom,” I grew up sometimes helping to project and screen the film. Because we had a projector, we travelled the whole of Nigeria with this group, and I learned a lot about film. I like to claim that I was born into a legacy of creativity before I went to study Theatre Arts and Film. In essence, I was involved with the first film Nollywood ever did, on celluloid; the first one they tried, though they didn’t succeed.

I was involved in another one, “The Return,” which didn’t succeed as well. Finally, it came out, but the filmmakers had shot on a different format. Then Jetta Amata, my nephew, shot a film, “Amazing Grace” on celluloid, and I was on location throughout. I acted, and I also helped behind the scene. Therefore, talking about celluloid, I’ve been there going through the rounds. Then there was this time they did a musical with Onyeka Onwenu and Sunny Ade, “Choices.” It was shot on celluloid, and I was the lead model in that. I’ve had some background in celluloid.

Now, what we’re experiencing today is more of a digital revolution trying to match celluloid and, in that vein, which is what you’re asking, I might just be new. The renewed impetus of films made for cinema in Nigeria, for me, it is a huge transition that has always had an antecedent. If you go back to silent movies, you’ll know that before silent movies, there was theatre. When silent movies came, there was fear that silent movies would take over theatre productions. But they succeeded to live side by side. Thus, when silent movies was growing, talkies—that is movies with people now talking— came on and talkies successfully chased silent movies out.

They thought movies were going to kill theatre, movies didn’t kill theatre. Then television came and they thought television was going to kill movies. But television did not kill movies. Everybody found their niches; consequently, television became a new style and you now had movies that you can go to the theater to watch.

Currently, there’s social media and people think social media is going to take over everything. But no, everybody creates a niche. So, television has created a niche. Social media has a niche, even films for screen and cinema still have their niche. With this growth in different sectors, what I’m saying is that the different media or screen, telephone screen, laptop screen, television screen, before you have big screen and IMAX screens, they’re all screens. And they start to dictate what kind of production is suitable for each kind of screen.

For instance, in today’s Nollywood, there are people doing four-day films that are doing so well on YouTube and there’s the Funke Akindeles with the billion-naira films and I think all will find some kind of equilibrium and will continue to thrive. As for films, I think it’s one of those disciplines that will be there forever.

This particular outing is big screen, I’m suspecting.

Yea, I made it specifically for the big screen, yes. It’s for the big screen and it’s going to the cinemas nationwide. It’s being distributed by Blue Pictures film. We have given it our years of experience; our best shot and we like what we have seen. We hope everybody loves it as much as we do.

Who’s starring in this picture?

We have a mixture of the old and the new. We have Segun Arinze, Ricardo Agbo, Keppy Ekpenyong Bassey, Kate Henshaw, Olumide Oworo, and Aaron Sunday; we have, too – you know when you start to call names, you end up jumping most of the names – Efe Henry, White Money from Big Brother, Eletu, and Linda Osifo.

We would like you to speak on the philosophical side of movie making. What role would you say Nollywood has played in shaping the Nigerian culture and identity?

No doubt, the audio-visual medium is so powerful everywhere it goes; it shapes nations, beliefs, ideologies and ideas. On the continent, in Africa today, the role of Igwe is now better recognized just because of Nollywood. Also, in my career, I’ve been involved in an NGO that’s called Arts For Behavioral Change, and the impact of the audio-visual medium on society is immense. It’s huge. And it should be better exploited.

Too often, government all over the world overlook it but history will point you to the fact that the Germans, the Americans, during the end of World War II, employed a lot of their audio-visual medium to affect society.

In Nigeria today, the impact is huge. On fashion, on way of life, it’s affecting us. Therefore, I believe that a true filmmaker cannot do art just for art’s sake. Art has got to have a social responsibility that it delivers to its community, and I believe that Nollywood filmmakers should use the art they express to tell the true story of who we really are in Africa, especially who we really are in Nigeria.

We’re a great nation; we have a history that is lost, that is hidden; we have traditions, religions, and cultures that have been bastardized by the external influence, influx of the West. We need to start looking into our real stories and culture and bringing out the authentic and original Africa that we are because I believe that Africa is the beginning of civilization and beginning of the world and, therefore, we must trace our roots back to where it all started.

Talking about the authenticity of our culture, then how do you react to the ban on money ritual movies and smoking by the federal government? Would you say it’s an overkill or they’ve really crossed the line?

I think it’s a two-edged sword. It’s like this: art imitates life. Life imitates art. At the level where art imitates life, you cannot be saying remove art from the things in life that we see regularly and that we want to use to tell our stories. That would be high-handed.

On the other hand, life imitates art; therefore – we just talked about the filmmaker being more responsible in his interpretation of art – when it comes to that, we now see the paradox and the contradictions.

But, for me, as an artist, as a creative, as an individual, I do not think that the law should be so draconian. It should not be, because this lifestyle happens within the confines of our society. Let’s leave the creatives to handle it in authentic, real ways that tell the real essence of the story rather than the misconception of the art.

At a time, rituals and everything was so bad that, all over Africa, they saw Nigerians as ritualists just as, when we were growing up, we thought that Indians don’t kiss because of the audio-visual medium. But, in all honesty, the industry has evolved way beyond that. It’s so long a time that it’s shocking that they’re still talking about that.

It’s true that the handling of so-called rituals has improved since “Figurine” and it’s even better used. Even in “Jágún Jágún” the use of rituals is more realistic to me than all those magical, more like demonizing our culture, that used to play. So you’re right. But I want to ask you the obstacles, challenges that faced you while establishing the Nigerian Association of Movie Producers.

Obstacles, challenges? Well, you have asked a different question from what we have been talking about since.

You’re also wearing more than one hat.

I don’t think you know much about my involvement in the Association of Movie Producers, I was one of the pioneering practitioners who sat down and said, “We must come together and have guilds and associations that help us pursue our interest.”

Yes, the details are there but, for me, I was listed among the first people who signed the MOU that we got to set up the Association of Movie Producers. This was done years ago in Mafoluku if I remember properly. That’s a long time ago.

I haven’t talked about it in years. People like Zeb Ejiro, the late Amaka Igwe – who else can I remember? –  clearly were there then. We were brainstorming, rubbing minds, and finally we did a small paper and signed up on it. That’s the much I can clearly remember right now.

Essentially, you are more comfortable dealing with us as a filmmaker. What are the themes that resonate with you the most and why? You have worn many hats in the last few years.

Yes. I even became a marketer at one point in time.

Now, you want to deal with me as a filmmaker; therefore, let me reduce it to asking about themes and the story.

Talking about the hats, there’s Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN), where I was president. Association of Movie Producers member, and then I was member of one committee at one point in time. But just a senior member. And yes, I’d like to engage more as a filmmaker because that is what I am intrinsically. Others were along the road; things that we do in Nigeria.

Do address my question. The themes and stories that resonate with you the most and the reasons behind it.

I do not know from which vantage point you want me to answer that question. From the point of view of an actor, director…

As a filmmaker.

Of course, if you’re asking me that question as a filmmaker, it will be the themes that resonate most with me, not the films because some of the themes would have been films that did not really make it. However, I’ve mentioned subject matters that I would like the professionals within the Nigerian film enclave to pursue: That would be stories that edify who we truly are as Africans; where we are truly from; what our true nature is, and how and why we’re who we are today. That’s an investigation that I think a film can tell.

The other themes that you find, rituals, comedy and all that, are perfect. They help tell whatever subject matter you want. But, for me, the major theme that we should pursue should revolve around the stories that bring out the true original character of Africa so that we can retell those stories and hopefully regenerate, recreate, the originality of who we are, even though there’s change in life.

Are we ever going to hit the kind of pitch that the musicians have hit?

That’s a very good one!

About 20 years ago, I was in Spain, and they were saying we don’t have quality filmmakers in Nigeria. I said to them that we have quality filmmakers in Nigeria, and that we have always had quality filmmakers in Nigeria. There will always be quality filmmakers.

Nonetheless, there’s quality and mediocrity in everything we do. If you want to buy soap now, in the market, there’s mediocrity and there’s quality. Accordingly, at one point in time, the mediocrity in Nollywood was choking the quality in the industry, but it did not stop the fact that there was quality in the industry.

At that time, I told them in Spain that Nollywood will take over from Hollywood and they were laughing at me. But, if I tell you today that Nollywood has the potential to take over from Hollywood you won’t be laughing at me so much. Am I right or am I wrong?

You are right.

Therefore, I’m saying essentially that we have the potential, the quality, the drive. Everything is pointing to Nigeria being number one. Apart from technology … not even technology because, once a new technology comes out, we grasp it.

The main concern that we might have is maybe financing because of the structures that the two other biggest environments have put on ground.

In theatre arts, where we’re still struggling with hundreds, they have thousands of theatres. But in terms of the art and the technique, Nigeria is going to continue to blow the world, and we’re coming. We’re just starting, really.

You have to balance creative expression in the industry with leadership and responsibility. Don’t you think there’s any challenge in that department?

I totally agree with you to the extent that Nollywood is in evolution, but people don’t realize that. The fact that Nollywood is in evolution means that all the collaborative departments in Nollywood are evolving and all at different phases:  acting, directing, set construction, lighting, gaffer electrician, every single aspect is evolving. Financing is better than it has ever been before, and better structures of financing are being put in place.

However, the guild system still needs to evolve because it is still one of the least evolved. Acting might be one of the best evolved because it comes naturally to Nigerians and it’s individualistic. So, my conclusion is that, at a certain point in time, the different departments that need to be in place to ensure that things grow, will be in place.

For instance now, under financing, we don’t have completion bond in Nigeria. We don’t. But abroad, it is a given. If I give you 30 million naira, what’s the guarantee that you’re going to complete the film? Besides, we don’t even have businesses where all they do is finance films. That evolution is still coming.

In the other areas, we’re doing quite well. In lighting, we have improved from “Glamour Girls”. In script writing, what we started as television style shot themes and plots have changed. Now, sometimes, we have a complete story of a single protagonist and all the challenges that he faces. In other words, stories are being better told.

That responsibility that you’re talking about is also going to take place. That one belongs to the guilds. I said to myself that the guilds need to start engaging in the legals to get us where we need to be. They haven’t started going to court for the needs and requirements like a labor organization. What artists need to do is to go there and make sure that it is the law. All that is still going to come to play.

What motivates you? You’ve been around, many people have – I don’t want to say – fallen aside. But what motivates you to continue creating and continue contributing to the arts?

I don’t know how to do anything else: I was born into a legacy of creativity; I believe that I would do this. I don’t think I’ve done my legacy movie yet and that will be a huge one. So, I think that’s what is still driving me, until I can achieve that. Thank God for “Voltage” because it’s showing the way to that.

Showing the way that you want to go?

Yea. Of the kind of quality, the kind of production values, the kind of directorial approach that Nollywood needs to, the kind of levels that we need to sustain. That’s why I’m excited about it.

I also noticed that you look fit. Are you doing something to stay that way?

I used to play soccer, but I have bad knees now, so I just walk. I do a lot of exercises and luckily for me I don’t eat too heavily.

Yes, I see you don’t have a big belly.

I don get big belle before, e don come down and you say you no go chop like dis, you no go chop like dat again.

How do you maintain your sense of authenticity and relevance in your work?

That’s a very big question. I can’t continue to strive … relevance is a very fickle thing when you’re in this industry. They can forget you so easily and if you get work you can come back so easily. So, we continue to strive and pray to God and give out our best.

You see, things keep happening and we’ve always said, ‘Oh, you have not gotten the right budget, you have not gotten the right this, you have not gotten the right that in all the years gone by.’ Now that things are looking up in the industry, we’re hoping that we get complete projects to deliver something that can even try to beat “Voltage,” because Voltage is up there.

So what role are you playing apart from directing “Voltage”? Are you in front of the camera?

I directed “Voltage,” but I’m also in it. I’m in “Voltage” as the picture of a dead man. Thus, you’ll only see my picture briefly in the film. I’m just a picture on the wall.

Do you hope to win a director award for this?

Let’s put it like this, most of all the work I have done, when they’re special jobs like this, I’ve always hoped that they would reach the basic level to be nominated for various things. If we get that, we have won.

If the award comes, it’s long overdue, but you cannot put a ceiling to that. My films have been there in AMAA awards; I’ve won TEMA awards; I’ve been at the AMAA awards; I’ve Best Director before, Best Supporting Actor and all that.

In today’s Nollywood, the biggest awards are not really the most authentic in terms of the growth of professionalism.

That’s not quite clear. What do you mean?

The biggest awards are not the most authentic in terms of professionalism. For instance, a film that we did, “Amazing Grace,” was in the AMAA. “Amazing Grace” did not win Best Sound. Yet “Amazing Grace” was the only film in the entire awards that has what is called Dolby for sound, which is the highest form of sound for any film. Yet films that did not have Dolby won, in spite of the fact that they did not meet that professional technical criterion. That’s wrong. That’s what I mean.