sunkanmi adebayo

“In the next 10 years there will be more producers and filmmakers jostling for a space to express themselves through films and it will be a new vibrant and exposed generation of filmmakers with a more global worldview. There will be a Diasporan incursion into the Nollywood space and room for growth and healthy competition.” – Olasunkanmi Adebayo Q: Sukky Lala is your nickname, what’s the story? Sunkanmi: (chuckles) I used to do stand-up comedy as a student back in University of Ibadan. It is a stage name. Q: Interesting. What is your journey into film? Sunkanmi: I was born and grew up in Lagos. Growing up for me was fun and interesting. I grew up in the center of Lagos and experienced the hustle, bustle and the so called madness of Lagos. I was born into a family of 5 attended primary and secondary school in Lagos. I had the opportunity of watching a lot of TV and cinema growing up which influenced my decision later to foray into theatre and eventually film. I was always in some drama group or film club. Q: What were the first movies you remember seeing as a child and which ones exactly influenced you? Sunkanmi: I first enjoyed productions on our local TV, NTA. Shows like New Masquerade, The Village Headmaster and Behind the Clouds and a host of others were points of reference especially for performance and story. I remember watching a lot of Nollywood (Yoruba and English) but my most favorite ones were the works of Hubert Ogunde, Ade Love, Moses Olaiya and later Tunde Kelani. For Hollywood, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws and Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump generously excited me a child then. I can also vividly remember movies like Indiana Jones and the temple of Doom, Clash of the Titans and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. It was a blend for me as Indian films were not left out. Q: Adventure films often excited us as children. So at what point did you decide you wanted to make films and what was the edifying journey? Sunkanmi: The world around me growing up was colorful. The splash of resplendence at parties, the yellow signature of commercial buses and playground blues of exciting games with other kids for me was a fantasy and I always fantasized about capturing those moments as a kid. The moment I decided I wanted to make films was during my studies as a Theatre arts student in the University of Ibadan. It was some of the best times of my life, directing and acting in plays, and meeting the theatre greats like Adelugba, Fatoba, Bayo Oduneye, Femi Osofisan was magic because they were story-tellers per excellence. During one of my class projects which was a Jamaican production Queenie, Pearlie and Hopie. I explored a Multi-Media approach and that for me was the moment I started considering film as a medium to express myself also as a director. My main motivation was questioning myself on how all the great African dramatic works will find their way into film to a broader audience. Plays like Arthur Miller’s Death of Sales Man and Inspector Calls by JB Priestly were points of reference for me as I started imagining their film versions. My education started from theatre, my desire for film was grounded in my theatre experience and the experimental and gritty approach to staging plays. I became an ardent consumer of films by filmmakers like Sidney Lumet, Stanley Kubrick, Ousmane Sembene, Innaritu, Cuaron, Martin Scorsese, Traffaut, Tarkovsky, Billy Wider, Godard, Wong Kar Wai, Spielberg, Steve Mcqueen, Edgar Wright and Spike Lee. My desire to learn more about film led me London Film academy and Bournemouth University in the UK to take courses related to cinematography and directing to broaden my horizon. My education however is from watching films and observing the approach and styles of these great auteurs. My course at London film academy was a short stint in cinematography but my real education experience was at Bournemouth University where I studied film directing. There I was exposed more to the evolution of cinema and narrative constructions that changed the face of film over the years. There I learnt more about the art of collaboration and what I call production paranoia which is just the passion to create with freedom and have something to say with your film. Access to equipment and resources made learning such a mind-blowing experience. Also you are grounded in film history, theory and practice which help you develop a voice and persona as a film maker. Networking with Industry professionals was also a big deal. Q: You’ve had the opportunity to experience both worlds. What are the gaps? Sunkanmi: The only comparison I can make is the academic situation here vs. a developed country where I studied. The answer to this is very apparent and it is not about the film industry, it is the country as a whole. The same way all essential sectors like health, Agriculture, education, technology are suffering, the same it is for Nollywood or even worse. No serious government agency supervising the affairs of the industry. Lackluster guilds, lack of distribution for film and TV content, inadequate exhibition structures, lack of training and capacity development for filmmakers. Almost zero grants, and student loans to support budding filmmakers. Corruption and greed looms, distributors and exhibitors are becoming major producers putting their work as priority for cinema slots. The issues are beyond Nollywood to be honest, these are policy problems and we already know where to look. Again I can’t make comparisons, think of the opposite of the things I have mentioned above. The problem here majorly is that there is no system, no real way to measure value and guarantee progress for the film industry. There are individual strides but not enough to push things forward. Q: Would you prefer to be a Hollywood Filmmaker or a Nigerian Filmmaker? Sunkanmi: I am Nigerian, I am African. My worldview and experiences stem