Marthins Harrison: Making Impact with the Hulks Project

Documentary filmmaker, event producer and graduate of the Pan Atlantic School of Media and Communication, Marthins Harrison, is Creative Director of MHframe Production, a Multimedia company situated in Lagos with expertise in storytelling, broadcasting, corporate communication, event management and visual perception management.

As an alumnus of Pan Atlantic University school of Media and Communication, Harrison believes that beyond entertainment, media remains an incredible tool for social change.

Thus, he created the Hulks project, a series that focuses on the average Nigerians and their struggles with an ultimate goal to use his experience and expertise to create content impact on society. In this interview with MARY NNAH, he talks on how wants to achieve this and more

Tell us a bit about MHframe Production.

At MHframe we are in the business of visual perception management. That is, we create compelling and creative visual content that resonates with viewers, across all genres, scales or platforms and in a quality that represents your business in the best possible way.

What inspired the Hulks Project?

Unemployment continues to plague Nigeria and many are forced to live in extreme poverty unable to fend for themselves and their families, everyday millions of people take to the streets in a bid to make ends meet. For some, they are viewed as a public nuisance and often looked down on while others are happy going about their business. Deep beyond the hustle of this informal sector, are untold unique stories of lost hope, struggle and survival.

Therefore, Hulks project was created to make you take a moment, pause, see, listen and appreciate how much of life is happening around you.

Hulks is a documentary series that brings to you true life stories of the everyday Nigerian – the good, the bad, the ugly and the very ugly; letting you into the lives of Africa’s most populous nation, their tears, faith and dreams.

The Hulks Project is an initiative conceived out of empathy, compassion and a desire to alleviate the suffering of as many people as humanly possible. I really just got tired of walking past people every day and only wish to do something to help in my own little capacity. So, as a filmmaker, I thought that if I could tell their stories – who knows how far this can go and who will be moved to lend a helping hand.

Is there any particular experience in your life that inspired the Project?

Well I come from a very humble home and like many Nigerians, I’ve had my fair share of struggle and so it becomes very important that at any given opportunity, I want to be a blessing to the next person as you really never know how far a little kind gesture will go in giving someone a bit to hope.

How long did it take for you to put the series together?

It’s been a long time coming, the first episode was in 2014. The first episode was released with the aim to help amplify the struggles of the poor within our society and get support from the public but wasn’t sustainable at the time, but we resumed production in March and we have since put out two episodes with many more to come.

Through this series, we have supported and changed the lives of families in Lagos, the most recent beneficiary is Mr Gabriel, a 71 Truck Pusher at Ogba-Ijaiye. 13 years after being laid off work, he was still working to fend for himself and his family by pushing trucks on the streets of Lagos and then 35 years old Mrs Blessing Eze from Ebonyi state with 3 children who lives in the slums of Festac.

Through the help of hulks project, we are able to raise over half a million directly to Mr Gabriel to start a new business, while Mrs Blessing and her kids are on the path to having a better life. This is my legacy project and I hope to continue impacting society, with one story at a time.

Through this series, we have supported and changed the lives of families in Lagos, the most recent beneficiary is Mr Gabriel, a 71 Truck Pusher at Ogba-Ijaiye. 13 years after being laid off work, he was still working to fend for himself and his family by pushing trucks on the streets of Lagos and then 35 years old Mrs Blessing Eze from Ebonyi state with 3 children who lives in the slums of Festac.

Through the help of hulks project, we are able to raise over half a million directly to Mr Gabriel to start a new business, while Mrs Blessing and her kids are on the path to having a better life. This is my legacy project and I hope to continue impacting society, with one story at a time.

How do you source for the people you feature on the series and what qualifies each person?

There are really no criteria per say, with Mr. Gabriel, I just saw this old man looking very frail pushing a heavy truck, I was so moved with compassion that I just couldn’t let him go. I approached him, introduced myself and luckily, he was very open with me and after a few meetings, he gave us the permission to tell his story and since then we have raised over half a million directly to him. But with Mrs. Blessing, I met her through Mama Money, an NGO specialised in helping women. She gave her consent and went ahead to tell her story.

What were the challenges you faced along the line while trying to bring this project to fruition?

Funny enough, the challenges are pretty the same with every filmmaker in Lagos from the area boys who claim to be the owner of Lagos and will demand that you pay them before you can shoot a scene on the streets and in some cases, accessing the locations where these people live can be very difficult.

What exactly do you intend to achieve with this project?

Changed lives. It’s really that simple. Help as many people as possible. The ripple effect of poverty trickles down to generations. It’s beyond what to eat and wear. These people have kids that they can’t feed, educate or care for. A malnourished child already lacks the nutritious components to develop both mentality and physically. This child may not be able to retain anything he or she is taught in school because of poor diet. This is a person that will end up without skills and be unemployable. This person if not managed will become a liability and a nightmare to society. So, it’s not enough to look away, we all have to get involved in whatever little way we can.

How do you intend to convince people to believe in this project of yours?

I think the success stories are there for everyone to see. With Mr. Gabriel it was over half a million and his life has been changed forever. We will not only show you their tough moments but there will be a follow up, there will be counseling and guidance. We will have a before and after documentary story where everyone can see the progress.

What are the works you have done before the Hulks Project and what makes this particular project different from what you have done in the past?

I worked with several organisations, both medium and multinationals in several capacities and both as an event manager or film director. Some of my works can be found on www.mhframe.com but with hulks it’s very personal to me and in line with my life’s purpose.

What words of encouragement do you have for those struggling with life out there?

It feels awkward giving advice seeing that every one of us is struggling with one thing or the other at different levels. But if I must, my word of encouragement will be to hang in there; you couldn’t be breathing if GOD was done with you. Life itself is an indication of a future, so as long as you’re alive, help will come.

As the producer for Hulks Projects, what is your future projection for this journey?

Well, the bigger picture is to have reached about 1000 people within the next 10 years, we hope to create a center where these people can be empowered with relevant skills to be able to provide and care for themselves.

Where can people watch this video and how can they reach you for possible partnership and collaboration?

You can watch the videos on hulk stories on youtube and @hulksstories on instagram facebook and twitter. You can contact us on hulkstories@gmail.com or message me on marthins@mhframe.com or marthinsharrison on instagram and iammarthins on twitter.