EDITOR’S NOTE M

ovie making in Nigeria has come a long way, and the recent films to come out of Nollywood are a testament to this. There was a time when it seemed as if there was no hope for Nollywood, and then boom! Living in Bondage: Breaking Free was released. I hadn't seen Nigerian movies in a really, really long time, so when a friend of mine visited and suggested we watch it on Netflix, I agreed- hesitantly, I must add. Boy, was I impressed, considering what I had seen in the past. It all made sense, from sound to acting, costume to the storyline.

Who thought about a remake? Who was behind the movie?

His name, my friend said, is Charles Okpaleke. As it turns out, a conversation one night inspired the idea of remaking Living in Bondage. For Okpaleke, it was an opportunity to keep our classics present and alive in the minds of our new generations, so he secured the rights to the movie, bankrolled it himself, and then took a massive risk of working with new talents for his first film. In this interview, Charles Okpaleke shares many details about producing movies, his reason for working with new faces, and the many films still in the making. See pages 8 through 10. Considering the many traumas we have been through and are going through as Nigerians, it is amazing how we tend to build fortresses using coping mechanisms. People from different generations are in really dark places and need help, but speaking about your mental health in Nigeria is strictly taboo. Many people have a dark cloud of depression or thoughts of suicide brooding over them daily and won't speak up because of the fear of being labelled. Now, I am not referring to those young men and women who do not want to put in the work and instead hide under the ‘my mental health' umbrella. Far from it. There are many people who genuinely need help. We must stop shaming people who are going through something that has started to affect their mental state.

Please remember that: It is ok not to be ok.

Until next week, enjoy your read.