Can refer to me as a misfit
Tunde Kelani, popularly known as TK, is a Nigerian filmmaker,cinematographer, photographer, storyteller, director and producer. In a career spanning more than four decades, TK has produced movies that promote Nigeria’s culture for the purpose of documenta
Weekend Magazine: You’ve built a reputation for scripting movie drama that is vintage TK. What is the distinguishing quality? Books. Most of my works are adapted from literary texts. When I was young, I read books so much I began believing nobody can be a good filmmaker without reading.
While some of my movies are from books, others are merely works of fiction. Interestingly, some of the fictional movies have now become published books, too.
I also use movies to promote causes. For instance, Arugba, one of my fictional movies, is about the millennium development goals (MDGs)from a cultural viewpoint, not the Osun Osogbo festival, like most people believed.
WM: As a young child, was there any incident that led to your decision to become a filmmaker?
Yes, my love for photography has always been there since childhood. Throughout my secondary school days, I was doing amateur photography; I was always with a camera. I found money to get the camera for myself. I was witnessing things happening all around me; I needed to capture the moments. That was what built my interest in film making.
Then, I didn’t think about whether it was lucrative or not. It was my passion and interest that I was pursuing.
WM: What was your experience your first time of handling a camera for filming?
I started work professionally in 1970. I didn’t just come across the camera; I was well trained by the best African broadcast managers at the former Western Nigeria Television (WNTV). After three to four years at WNTV, I went to the London Film School for a two-year course on the arts and techniques of filmmaking. I was trained both in Nigeria and abroad.
WM: Wasn’t there any parental scolding to separate you from your camera?
When I was young, I felt my parents abandoned me with my grandparents. But sincerely speaking, staying with my grandparents has made me who I am today. They opened my eyes and mind to our culture and traditions. I inherited an insight into Yoruba life, culture, traditions, philosophy, literature, music, morality and everything positive through staying with them.
WM: When should moviegoers be expecting your next movie?
My new movie, Sidi Ilujinle,has been screened already. It is the Yoruba adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s book, The Lion and the Jewel. It has been adapted and brought down to the level of our people. The idea is to retrieve the book and make it interesting. It is a play which has theatre, music, dance, poetry and prose, all in one movie.
My body of works is a legacy for me, from Ti Oluwa Ni Ile to the last one, Sidi Ilujinle.
WM: Do you engage professional script writers in your works?
Yes, I do. Film-making is collaborative; many people come together to work, so I have to work with writers.
WM: Some film critics describe you as a total film maker. Are you?
Yes, I am a total film maker. I am a story teller who uses the medium of cinema to tell his story. I am making films that others will not make because they (my films) are meant for archiving and documentation. The culture is threatened, so my aim is to document as many things as possible through films.
WM: Do you use a particular kind of camera that gives your films the quality that differentiates them from other Nigerian films?
Camera is not as important as what you put in front of it. I spend more time on production value, and I have been so consistent with the resources that I have.
WM: Many of your works have been locally and internationally acclaimed. Are they as financially rewarding?
The truth is: I am presently insecure, financially, because I have lots of debts I need to pay. I am owing a lot of money. Piracy hasn’t only affected my work, it has destroyed it. Mainframe has become so popular because our movies have become pirated and we are everywhere. Piracy made us popular, but killed us as well. It is true that some people still earn good money in the movie industry, but the commitment of the producer is far more.
WM: How did the early theatre practitioners and film makers impactyour development?