‘Collision Course is Personal to Me’ Says James Amuta

Vanessa Obioha

Filmmaker and writer James Amuta is elated at the nomination of ‘Collision Course’, the Bolanle Austen-Peters yet-to-release film which he wrote and produced, at the 2021 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). The film earned four nominations which include Achievement in Screenplay; Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Kelechi Udegbe); Best Young/Promising Actor (Oluwabamike Olawunmi-Adenibuyan, aka Bambam), and Best Nigerian Film.

“This is a film we did out of passion. We just wanted to tell the story and for it to be nominated at AMAA for Best Screenplay and Best Nigerian Film, this is good. It is huge.”

Set against the backdrop of the End SARS protests, Collision Course explores the seedy underbelly of rogue law enforcement agents when they collide with a frustrated young man.

For Amuta, who wrote the script in 2008, watching the film for the first time at a screening brought tears to his eyes.

“The first time I saw the private screening, I wept. It’s a personal story for me. It was something that actually happened to me because I experienced it. For the first time, it became real that night, I could have ended up shot or killed like the character.”

The award-winning filmmaker continued: “AMAA is big so this nomination is very big to me. I made films for Africa and this is the continent validating me as a good writer. I’m proud.”

Collision Course stars Nollywood veteran actors Bimbo Manuel, Norbert Young, as well as Chioma Akpotha, Daniel Etim-Effiong, Ade Laoye among others. The film which will close the Africa International Film Festival 2021 will premiere in February 2022.