Family is Everything to Me, I’m a Hands-On Mum
Filmmaker, Biodun Stephen is on a roll. Back to back the award-winning movie director is churning out movies and has stamped her position. Just weeks after the theatrical release of her movie ‘A Simple Lie, Stephen is set to debut her latest feature, ‘Strangers’. The movie premiered in cinemas on April 29. She speaks with Chinedu Ibeabuchi about her movies, challenges, and how she balances family life
You are reckoned as a member of elite filmmakers in Nollywood. How’s the journey like reaching this feat? Well, the journey so far has been straight and narrow, curvy and bumpy. It has been an opportunity to learn, unlearn and relearn. It is an opportunity to also grow as a filmmaker due to collaborations, master classes, working with other senior colleagues, and learning from my junior colleagues too. I would not say it has been a smooth ride; it is also humbling to be tagged as one of the elite filmmakers but I am happier that the works that I have done are being recognised and respected – that is a lot! As a filmmaker, you want to create pieces that people would find relevant and impactful and once they find their walking path, they find you relevant. I am just glad that through the last few years, the journey though has been bumpy has its highs and lows, I’ve had my really ugly moments but it’s been such a fun time of learning and unlearning and absolutely just enjoying the process of making a film and the appreciation for the work and all the hard work that comes in. It’s just really gratifying on top of that.
Among Nollywood lovers and critics, the name Biodun Stephen is to cinemas what Lionel Messi is to football. Would you say you are now living your dreams?
You flatter me with some of the words you use. However, I just think that again, I see filmmaking as a ministry; a ministry to speak some truth; to inspire, change lives, impact, highlight and shine light on certain topics that people don’t even talk about. For instance, in ‘Strangers’, which hits cinemas from April 29, the story itself was exactly what I would like to tell. Am I living the dream as a filmmaker? Well, not fully but I am very honored that the work that I do is being appreciated. It is very humbling and also very pressuring because you cannot drop the ball. There is such a high expectation that comes with - Oh, it’s a Biodun Stephen film. Biodun Stephen has her name on this project, so there is a certain standard that is expected. I don’t think of it as living my dream yet but really, it is a joy that I am telling stories through the film but it is also such a pressure to try and meet that expectation. It is such pressure. But for Strangers, I think that it just sits perfectly for me as a kind of film that I would like to tell, because it is inspirational- You just need to watch the film. It’s such a beautiful story and I like stories that have journeys, that take you on a journey and Strangers does that absolutely. It helps you to believe again - not just believe in God but believe that your dreams are valid. That’s what Strangers do for you. It’s such a beautiful film, I can’t wait for people to see it - Come April 29th.
As a director, what’s different about “Strangers”?
It is a brilliant story of perseverance, a
story that God can raise the stone to help you when he wants to do it – nothing can hinder him. It’s a story of doggedness because the lead character, the protagonist was very dogged. It’s a story that exemplifies excellence and diligence. It’s an emotional story of a mother’s love. It has so many layers and it’s a story of faith because at the very core of who we are is our maker who is God, and how he sorts of orchestrates our path in life. Sometimes, life challenges want to deviate you from a certain path but if you just let go and let God, he would steer it right the way he wants it. I really want people to come out on April 29th to go see Strangers because it’s such a beautiful story - it’s inspirational. You will believe again, you will smile, laugh. You will leave that hall feeling good. It would strike a chord.
How’s it like taking the shoot of Strangers to a remote area?
We wanted to do justice to the film. We couldn’t go to the exact location that the film was demanding but we found this beautiful place right on the outskirt of Oyo state, somewhere so in the neck of the forest and we found this beautiful community. We had seen cattle and Fulani and we were very worried about our safety but you would be surprised that they were Fulani who were speaking Oyo. They were happy people and were so happy to have us. We were the noisemakers in that village and I remember they would cook us corn every day. They were such a warm community. There was no power supply there, so we were just like the bringers of the vibes. For the 10 – 12 days that we were there, it was such a joy to just work and of course, there was fresh oxygen to breathe and it was a peaceful place to work as well.
What factors do you look out for before taking up any project?
Story is king and that was what Strangers had. It’s a beautiful brilliant story never been told before. And that was why I wanted to jump on that production and like I said, I literally begged the executive producer that I wanted to be on the project.
What motivated you to take up the job of directing the movie?
In late 2018, I was introduced to Evangelist Banji Adesanmi and we had spoken on the phone about the project. When he started telling me the story, I realised that it was something I had read about and it’s pretty much in line with what I want to do as a filmmaker. I like to tell very impactful and inspirational stories that speak about people’s truth and Strangers just sat right well into what I wanted. It was a challenging one, as a matter of fact, I’d let you into something - I wasn’t supposed to direct it, I don’t even think Evangelist was looking at me as a director. He was looking at me more for the producing. I think I had mentioned or hinted that I would like to direct this piece of work. It was just a no-brainer when he told me the story. It was such a fascinating and inspirational story and I just knew that it was such an honor to tell the story. I’m very glad he took that chance and gave me the opportunity to do so.
Funding remains a big issue for many filmmakers. How do you fund your projects?
I think funding is the major issue for us in Nollywood and we are really hoping that we can get international funding to help. We can get creative loans. Already we’ve seen that with the CBN creative loan that would be coming in and I think with the funding, we can do a lot more collaborations because if you have, I have, we have. If we pull all our resources together, we will be able to make the kind of film that we want. Collaborations can also help with funding. Govt. can support, so also are international collaborations and grants. All of these can really help to ease. But more importantly, when you get the fund, how do you explain ROI which is very key?
Some Nollywood films tend to do better than Hollywood films at the cinemas lately. Does this have anything to do with the quality or hype?
I don’t think it’s because of hype. It’s more of the quality because story is king. It’s the authenticity of the story. If the story is captivating and gripping, people would jump in on it. And if you now add quality production and hype to that, it would go places but the foundation of any film is the story so the story has to be gripping, it has to be powerful, it has to be intriguing, it has to be entertaining. It has to suck you in. That is when you will realise the production value.
What area do you feel Nollywood needs to improve and why?
Infrastructure! Infrastructure!! Infrastructure!!! We don’t have the infrastructure to even begin to compete with Hollywood. We are scraping the surface. A lot of us are creating our own studios. We are really trying to do the most and I always want to say this, I salute Nollywood, Nigerian filmmakers – we do the most with the little that we have. Infrastructure is one of the very key ways for us to even begin to make life a lot easier for us in Nollywood.
With your busy schedule, how do you unwind?
I like to sit back and kick it back at home with my children. I like to just be at home, catch up on what I have missed, hear my children tell me stories of things that happened around us in their school and I like to watch TV. I am a TV girl and I love to just sit back and watch Lagos on television and I never get tired.
What does family mean to you and what kind of mother would you describe yourself as?
Family is everything to me. I’m a working mum and I try to be very hands-on. I am very blessed that I have two kids - a pre-teen and a teenager. Thankfully, diaper days are over but now, given the influence of social media - you are even more hands-on than before because there is so much going on around us and it is very easy to get caught up in the whole of that rockers. And I am a praying mum, I am a hands-on mum and I am friends with my daughters and I am a stern mum. I wear the hat of the type of mum I want to be depending on what the situation at hand is asking me to be.
Family is Everything to Me, I’m a Hands-On Mum