From Independent Nollywood to World Cinema

Segun Ade-Martins

Damilola Orimogunje, a writer-director and filmmaker extraordinaire, talks about his past, present, and future. Orimogunje has been through an amazing journey that will one day lead him to the Academy Awards. He knows this like anybody is aware of their own mortality; for him, it is inevitable.

He is known for telling hard-hitting human stories in his films, the “soft white underbelly”  stories. From his debut short, Famili, to his feature debut, For Maria, Ebun Pataki, Orimogunje portrays the themes of tragedy, pain, and loss in all his films.

Particularly For Maria, Ebun Pataki tells the story of a new mother who goes through postpartum depression. The mise en scène of the film has a world cinema approach, but the characters and their traits are extremely Nigerian. Orimogunje says, “It’s like something you could watch on Africa Magic.” He means this in terms of the content of the film. Only the slickness of the film will make it look out of place. 

How did he get here? How did this all start for Orimogunje? His journey has not always been easy, but he became a filmmaker because of his love for storytelling. Quiet films with slow-burning plots also serve as his muses, such as Persona by Ingmar Bergman and In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar Wai, among others.

For Orimogunje, good films are neither art-house nor commercial projects but entertainment with substance. His response to the view of him as an art-house filmmaker is interesting. As he states, his approach to fictional drama is journalistic, with a view toward digging for the truth of things; therefore, his films have a naturalistic disposition. His main characters feel like people you could meet in real life who may make unfortunate decisions.

In measuring his success thus far, Orimogunje says authenticity in using his artistic voice is what has guided him through. He has come to realise that his affinity for depicting bone-crushing sorrow comes from his experience observing other people’s crises during his childhood. He has turned his understanding of these experiences into enthralling, deep emotional journeys that have attracted international acclaim.

Why does he depict anguish on film? For Orimogunje, he is being authentic in his expression, where his process is influenced by a journalistic approach to the difficult subjects. Documenting these difficult subjects is much-needed exposure for these themes. He says, “You can never go wrong if you are making film from the depth of your soul.” He insists that his work should serve the public.

This approach to filmmaking brings up the problems he has faced in the industry. He feels there is a one-dimensional way of producing films in Nollywood. Although he will admit that this process can produce good films, he feels that Nollywood needs more diversity in the process of filmmaking. This will not only make better films but also more films with variety that can transcend time and culture. 

In February, Orimogunje’s co-produced film, All the Colours in the World Are Between Black and White, written and directed by Babatunde Apalowo, premiered at this year’s Berlinale. Orimogunje says that each show was sold out and got lots of buzz from the attendees. It goes to show that success is not always where you expect to find it.

Orimogunje gets excited talking about his next project. Currently, he is developing a Clifford Orji limited series. As one might remember, Clifford Orji was accused of cannibalism. In his research, Orimogunje has found twists in the man’s story that were underreported or misrepresented in the press at the time that he intends to shed light on. 

With every project, Orimogunje gets closer to the peak of his filmmaking ability. Apart from the Clifford Orji story, look out for what may become the cornerstone of his career, Dear Ajayi, a story of a struggling artist looking for a breakthrough in her dreary life. 

He has attended a few screenwriting labs that are helping to sharpen the script to be the best blueprint for the film, and on top of that, he is the recipient of the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, which will guide him with audience strategies, distribution, production, and marketing. 

In all, it would be a new stratosphere for the work of a homegrown Nigerian filmmaker, something that we are only accustomed to seeing from Nigerians in the diaspora.   

•Ade-Martins writes from Abuja