FINDS HER WINGS

From web-series, short films, a feature film and a now a historic stage play, Chioma Onyenwe sure-footedly inches her way towards a place of glory in the creative industry. Nseobong Okon-Ekong reports

TO BE SURE, CHIOMA HAD SET UNDENIABLE FOOTPRINTS AND WAS ON THE WAY TO FINDING A PLACE OF GLORY FOR HERSELF IN THE FILM INDUSTRY. IN 2010, SHE PRODUCED ONE WEBSERIES, ‘SKINNY CHEF’ ABOUT THE CULINARY SKILLS OF A CHARACTER WHO WAS YOUNG, SINGLE AND COOKING AND A TV SERIES TITLED, ‘CABU CABU’- THE STORY OF A TAXIDRIVER ON THE KALEIDOSCOPIC AND EVENT-FILLED STREETS OF LAGOS. SHE BEGAN TO ATTRACT ATTENTION TO HERSELF IN 2012 WHEN SHE PRODUCED ANOTHER WEB-SERIES TITLED, ‘GODDAMMIT IT’S MONDAY’ - A COMEDIC LOOK AT SOME OF THE PRESSURES YOUNG PROFESSIONALS FACE IN THE FASTPACED CITY OF LAGOS

Her first name is a talisman that commands favour to her in the Nigerian creative space. The name Chioma carries a load of resentment and attraction, perhaps in equal measure, depending on who she is interacting with. Often, doors open at the mention of the name, particularly when it is linked to Chioma Ude, founder of the Africa International Film Festival, AFRIFF. On the flipside, Chioma Uchechukwu Onyenwe has attracted hatred to herself for the same reason. Her closeness to Chioma Ude, in more ways than one has defined her trajectory in Nollywood. Possibly, we can change that to read that she was already looking in that direction and honing her skills, then meeting with Chioma provided the platform for a prepared candidate to meet with a lifetime opportunity. As the story goes, Chioma Onyenwe called Chioma Ude in 2013 and volunteered to work at AFRIFF. She knew she was tapping into a big network that would enhance her interest in the film industry. However, she came equipped having taken a course of study on ‘From Script to Screen’ at the MET Film School in 2011. She also founded Raconteur Productions where she designates herself as Content Producer and Filmmaker in 2012. Her new interest in film making was a tactical departure from Economics which she studied at the University of Lagos and Management for which she took a Masters degree at the Imperial College London, but she did not mind. At the time she made her definitive move into the movie industry, she was barely one year at the job of Coordinator of Alumni Relations, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Part of her job included fundraising which she had earlier pursued at the Imperial College.

To be sure, Chioma had set undeniable footprints and was on the way to finding a place of glory for herself in the film industry. In 2010, she produced one web-series, ‘Skinny Chef’ about the culinary skills of a character who was young, single and cooking and a TV series titled, ‘Cabu Cabu’- the story of a Taxidriver on the kaleidoscopic and event-filled streets of Lagos. She began to attract attention to herself in 2012 when she produced another web-series titled, ‘Goddammit It’s Monday’ - A comedic look at some of the pressures young professionals face in the fast-paced city of Lagos. It was adapted from a blog called ‘God Damn it, it’s Monday’. She used to follow the blog. It was about a guy who started working for the first time and hated his job, and hated waking up on Mondays. She contacted the blogger. “I had worked on people’s sets as production assistant when I was in UNILAG but I just kind of jumped into the deep end and contacted people and we shot six episodes. We put it out and the reception was great.”

confidence to step up her game to produce a short film titled ‘Skales’ and a documentary titled ‘Inside TEDxEuston. In the same year she started working at AFRIFF, she