Behind the Glass -The Short Film

Behind the Glass| The Short Film| The Journey

I recollect fondly, many years ago, while completely immersed in the theatrics of seasoned actors as they performed one of Prof. Wole Soyinka’s popular stage play at the Terra Kulture in Lagos, how the award winning playwright must have felt seeing his words come alive gracefully on stage.

That thought resonated even more after the curtain was drawn and the announcer acknowledged the erudite Professor’s presence in the theater to rousing cheers, applause and cat calls. I turned in awe to see the grey-haired afro bearing septuagenarian bob his head up and down elegantly in return.

There was no way I could understand how he felt at the time, after all, he had seen scores of his plays on Broadway and other renowned theatres the world over.

The feeling must have been watered down over the years, or so I thought. I imagined that he would feel elated at the idea of seeing his work in flesh and at some point, critical of the performances of the actors as they struggled with the  interpreting of his literary works.

 Years later, when I got the invitation in June 2022 to the Okolo Art community Maiden edition showcase, that featured poetry, art, dance, recitation and drama, I was just grateful to be a special guest at the event in Ibadan.

At the time, I thought nothing more of it. My publisher, who shared the invitation, did not give any hint of what laid ahead at the event.

During one of the stage performances that afternoon, I was shell shocked to hear familiar names and lines from my second work of fiction –Waste of Sin.

By the time it dawned on me that the actors were dramatizing my work, my first reaction was that of confusion and utter shyness.

Although no one in the hall at the time had any inkling who the author of the dramatized work was, I felt an overwhelming timidness. I wasn’t Prof Wole Soyinka neither was I anywhere near his dexterity and skillset with the mastery of words nor the exhilarating fame that came with it. 

The way I felt that afternoon was nowhere near what he must have felt.

But it felt good! Darn good!

There I was, completely mesmerized by the actors as they darted effortlessly about the stage bringing color and life to thoughts that I conceived while seated on my dining table in Lagos.

If the actors got their lines wrong during the performance I couldn’t care less, I was just glad that they considered my work worthy of their time.

The thought was then conceived. If they could get a group of seasoned actors to reproduce the script on stage in Ibadan, how difficult could it be to get them to switch to acting behind the camera.

If my works must be turned into a movie, then I would have to enlist the support of seasoned Nollywood producers and A-list actors for the works, that was for sure.

I killed the idea, after giving it a lot of thoughts.

I decided that making my works into a movie, when all I had to show was just three books. I was certain that making movies from my works would distract me greatly from completing my lofty target of “10books before I am 50!”

To achieve this goal, I would clearly need to publish a book every year until I am fifty, especially knowing that I am only 29. (that sounded like I have got a lot of time on my hands…lol)

I concluded that I would consider movie production as part of my retirement plan and the 10stories (when I am 50) would form the seed investment for an illustrious career in showbiz. Gbam!

My next stint with showbiz was a scheduled meeting with Zeb Ejiro!

How could I have imagined meeting with the producer extraordinaire whose name was constant with film credits after each episode of popular soap operas that dominated our TV screens in the 90s.

Produced by Zeb Ejiro

Directed by Zeb Ejiro

Executive Producer – Zeb Ejiro

The Nollywood maestro and pioneer, honored an invitation by an old friend of his, who owned the drink.ng brand.

I had only been briefly introduced to him 24hours earlier, yet he set up the meeting on my behalf.

Networking is Bae!

I recollect that an Indian friend of mine, YY, was greatly enthused about my second book – Waste of Sin, after he had read and shared copies with the Indian community in Ilupeju.

I am certain I have not met a middle-aged man with such boundless energy and positive vibes as YY. For his age, it is inconceivable how he seeks out opportunities to connect people within his social circle. And he did this effortlessly whether the person was Indian or not. His social circle included, actors (I met some Bollywood actors), directors, tourists.

YY always smiled heartily, no wonder he looked almost ageless at 50. Same face, same smile, same energy since I have known him.

He is the second best connectologist I have ever met, second only to Kamil Olufowobi- The world greatest!

YY pulled the strings and within a few days, I was connected with Zeb Ejiro, whom I gifted copies of my first two books in anticipation of his feedback on the commercial viability of making a movie off any of the stories.

YY also assembled a group of movie enthusiast- all Indians, who were willing to sponsor the movie!

Amazing! In this life, have quality connects!

It felt like moving from zero to a hundred within a week and this is something only a few individuals like YY could pull off. He called, texted, harried and prompted his friends, showing an uncommon zeal for success, so much that one could have thought he owned the collection of stories.

Zeb reverted within two weeks with positive news for all the stories.

This was a great validation.

What was left was the sponsors and they were ready to commit on the condition that I put in the hardwork.

The big decision was whether to commit to the big dream of making all my movies myself as my retirement and leisure plan or to pursue glory in the immediate jettisoning my “10 books before 50 goal.”

Sadly, I disappointed my new Indian friends.           

What was required of me was the least in the scheme of things, yet I didn’t put in any effort!

None!

I watched the project suffocate from lack of attention till it fizzled away and died naturally.

I wasn’t ready. I just wasn’t ready!

Unknown to me, another temptation was lurking in the corner after my third published work.

I didn’t see it coming.

It came disguised as a meeting over drinks to talk about life, career and the medium-term future with an acquaintance. 

Enter Mansu!

She was relocating out of the country and was touching base with contacts in hope that it could spark a project. She had authored a couple of books for kids and had her hands in everything artistic at the time. I was meeting her only for the first time although we engaged occasionally via text messages.

I am certain we both did not think that the seeming innocuous meeting would berth a great feat only a few months later.

We exchanged copies of our books and promised to give feedback after we were done reading.

A few weeks later she was talking about making one of the 14 stories in Dreams from Yesterday into a movie!

There you go!

I didn’t decline her request. How could I? She is a bundle of talent and an eclectic version of myself many years ago. She is self-motivated, has got energy that can move mountains and never walked alone. She has got a contact list that can be quantified in huge monetary terms.

Unlike the previous attempt to turn my book into a movie with my Indian friends, she had read the stories and could connect with the message and the general theme.

The fact that she is an author also meant that she could empathize with the typical challenges that young (at 29, YES) authors like myself had to contend with.

Since I had passed on the sponsorship offer on my second book, Mansu and I produced and bore the cost of production of a low budget short film for “Too impaired to deal”- the 9^th story in “Dreams from yesterday”.

The film is titled “Behind the Glass”

Mansu pulled all the strings, to be honest, while I was just there for the ride. She worked on the budget, selected the young actors to work with, engaged the crew, chose location, fought off betrayals from colleagues and worked tirelessly against time and a tight budget to deliver her first movie as a producer.

Weeks later, I turned on my laptop to watch the first cut of the movie and I got emotional. No, I didn’t shed tears.  I felt some type of way that words are incompetent to describe.

The closest to it would be fulfilment. However, the movie project left me with more questions than answers.

Maybe I should have made the movies years ago! Perhaps I should have collaborated with the Indians who wanted to write a script that included Bollywood romance in Waste of Sin.

Maybe I should have enjoyed the sponsorship without the burden of working on a budget only months later.

Maybe this. Maybe that. Maybe yadayada!

In my opinion, this was just the right time to produce the movie.

Mansu was just the right person to work with now. Life calls for completeness not perfection and the right time was just now.

Look out for the short movie “Behind the Glass” soon!

Cheers.