Following a popular review of the epic TV series, Shaka Ilembe, Teambooktu decided to seek out one of its directors, Adze Ugah- a Nigerian-born multiple award-winning film director based in South Africa- for a chat which he graciously obliged.
Adze began his sojourn into film at the National Film Institute, Jos, Plateau State-Northern Nigeria, graduating with a distinction. With almost 30 years’ experience in the sector, Adze has directed a fair share of well-known movies- both South African and Nigerian (Mrs. Right Guy, 10 Days in Sun City, Slay etc). So with a wealth of experience, the chat promised to be a very interesting one.
Hello Adze, thanks for accepting our invitation. Having known you for quite a while now and knowing how long you have been in the film industry; I believe you have valuable experience and advice that can be beneficial to many film directors and enthusiasts. Could you give us a brief rundown of your experience in the field? How you started and where you are now?
Thank you for having me. Okay, I’ll try to keep it brief. Uh, okay. So I mean as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a film-maker. That’s actually a homage to the first lines in the movie Goodfellas (laughs). Yeah, um, but that’s largely because I have always been passionate about engaging and consuming stories, stories in narrative form- narrative motion picture form, of course. And because I was attracted by them I wanted to share those experiences. It felt like the right thing to do to pick a career that exemplified that passion- those attributes of mine. But that was not my first port of call as a career choice. I wanted to be an engineer. So at that time in the late 90s, early 2000s, there was no offering for film in Nigeria but when that changed, I made the switch to film.
So after my first foray in the sector which led me to pursue a post-graduate in South Africa in film school, I got my first job as an intern, training on one of the film sets here in Johannesburg and that set the ball rolling and the rest is history. Every step has been a learning process.
So after internship did you venture off on your own?
So the way the film institutions work here is you do the modules and the courses but by the time the course is over you should have one or two films to show- with your name on it, reflecting your area of specialization. My area of specialization was writing and directing. It’s basically about what you can show. So those are your calling cards. Nobody wants to see your certificate- it’s what you can do. So I packaged some of my films on VHS tapes and distributed them to several companies. That is how I got my first film job. They fancied working with someone who could tell stories. Because if you can’t tell your stories nobody will entrust you with telling their own story. So that was the starting point. I started working on other people’s stories and initiatives as well.
Eventually, I started working on my own projects again while directing those of others. Then fate happened and a company saw one of my scripts while I was holidaying in Nigeria and contacted me with interest to share it with me. They liked the story and wanted to produce it.
So what really announces you in the film industry is your own voice, your own words, your own experiences: your own signature. This is very important. So never really abandon that. Because one day, you know, the opportunity just might come knocking. The fact that you can tell your story well is usually an indicator that you tell someone else’s well.
How many movies have you directed?
I don’t know -maybe ten, twelve. I’m not sure. Out of these the ones I may really like may not be more than four.
Would you say you are more into movies or TV?
In Africa, the major source of employment in this industry is television. Almost everybody who is a major filmmaker that we know- Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese- all began their career on television. Due to the frequency of work on TV, like making a series, you quickly develop skills and know-how. Someone like Scorsese started with TV then moved into feature films and now is back to TV with series like Boardwalk Empire. So now the lines have crossed. Everybody is now looking for the best helmsmen- by that I mean directors- to tackle their project. So yes, I do get approached to handle films as well as TV projects. It could even be a documentary. So I don’t call myself a director these days- I call myself a filmmaker. I think among the next tier of titles to describe us should be storytellers because it is that acumen you bring into the project. The ability to tell a story that will capture the audience.
I know you’ve gotten some awards along the way. Could you name a few?
I can’t remember them all now. I know there’s a SAFTA ( South African Film & Television Awards) and some internationally -there’s one from Berlin. Outstanding Achievement in Directing. Some in TV and some in documentaries. I haven’t gotten one for film yet.
As regards film writing and directing, I bet it is much easier to direct your own stories than to direct someone else’s vision?
Weirdly enough it’s much easier doing other people’s work. Doing yours is trickier. Because who is the sounding board on your project? Who are you measuring your output against? If it’s someone else’s (it’s easier because) most producers have an idea or vision of what they want to be done and you elevate their work, put a spin on it. That’s why you were brought in to direct it. After all, it’s ultimately your name that will be there on the title. But you know, up until recently, TV has been a producer’s medium. The producers got the credit in television while in film the directors got the credit. But things are changing these days. The lines are getting blurry. However, that has been the major difference between TV and film.
Being a Nigerian living in SA, how do you see the South African film industry in comparison to the global industry and also the Nigerian film industry?
That question deserves three volumes of books for a proper response. South Africa is truly exceptional in terms of its output in motion picture- be it animation, live action, you name it. Its system is seriously structured and its infrastructure is in place. If you have a good story, it’s not impossible to put together resources to make it.
They have government support that keeps the film and TV industry afloat with systems like we see in the West. Scriptwriters, cover readers, marketing and distribution agents- who only specialize in selling films to platforms like Showmax and Netflix… So many specializations in the value chain that you didn’t even know about in film school. So I can make a film and go to sleep and it’s someone else’s job to take it and hustle, hustle, hustle till it gets a market. Whilst in Nigeria we have a long way to go in making the industry robust from a service provider’s point of view. But what Nigeria has going for her is sheer volume and immensity of content and ideas. And people who can make the most of a harsh situation to make a film- in almost impossible circumstances. And those films tend to do well, they tend to come out okay.
I think when Nigeria gets to finetune its value chain, it will start seeing its films breaking international box office records and getting awards in major international film festivals. I think that time is coming. South African films have already won Oscars…awards in Cannes… Toronto. They’ve already made their mark internationally. Nigeria is yet to do that. And you sometimes wonder how (this is so). Because when it comes to writing, I think Nigeria ranks top in Africa. But that’s for novels and prose. As for screenplays or script writing- they still have a long way to go. But once we get that and directing right then nothing will stop Nigeria from making that mark.
Do you think that low marketing and promotion is part of reasons why African films are not as globally popular as Western ones?
I think it’s more of quality of content than low marketing. If the content is good enough they will gravitate to it naturally. Take Afrobeat and Amapiano music for example. Their global appeal now is not due to marketing. It is because they are that good that you want to listen to them regardless of your race, colour or gender. You want to enjoy it with your friends. African films need to get to that level of originality and creativity to demand attention. It needs to be deserving, not just for sentimental reasons.
Is there any other African country that catches your eye in the film industry?
The Egyptians are doing very well. The Moroccans too. In fact, they make better films than sub-Saharan Africa to be honest but you wouldn’t know because there are not many campaigns to market their films. Their storylines are strong. Wonderful topical stories. Kenya is on the radar too. Uganda also has a great niche in film called Wakaliwood– which is not well-known in many parts. It’s cheesy but fun to watch. It’s just a matter of time for Africa- we just need to improve on our value chain.
What do you consider your signature in film-making?
I’m very family-oriented. You know, I work with what I’m armed with. And I was blessed with family and friends around me who have impacted my world-view. But modern society has a disconnect with family now and this itself forms a story. It’s about the everyday guy, the everyday girl and the people in their orbit. Their interpersonal relationships. That’s my strength, I believe. Take Marvel (MCU) for example. When you watch it you think you’re watching a superhero movie but no, you’re watching a movie about men with exceptional abilities but with a dysfunctional relationship with their dads- Thor, Iron-Man, Black Panther. And every director that was brought in had that strength and that was what they delivered. Most of them that were brought had no previous experience in the superhero genre -but look at their previous works: interpersonal relationships and dynamics. Ryan Coogler is a good example of that with Black Panther. And it’s an ongoing American issue so that’s why it resonated.
Illuminating. As you’ve brought up Marvel movies, what do you think about Martin Scorsese’s statement that Marvel is not real cinema and is more of an amusement park?
When you’re making a film, the first thing you’re asked is what is the Universal story? What is the premise of the film? What is the underlying thread? Everything else is like candy wrapping- wallpaper. So stories are stories. That is why we have genres. Genres are just the wrapping but the real story is underneath. For example, it could be about courage wrapped in the genre of horror or war. So you could be tickled or put off by the wrapping and miss the substance. Scorsese knows this. He knows it’s just a personal opinion. And that’s the beauty about film. There is no empirical view that is true.
Okay, so there’s this issue some have with Nollywood and that’s stage-acting in a movie. In certain films, the acting is just so melodramatic. Whereas one would understand this in a stage-play where every subtle expression needs to be accentuated for the distant audience, it’s rather absurd on film where we have the benefit of close-ups. Is this the fault of the director?
You’ve hit the nail on the head. It is a directing issue and that needs to be improved. Being a director doesn’t mean you’re just directing a scene. You see, the unit of measurement in film is a shot. So it’s really about a combination of shots and getting the right balance of that combination across the narrative and in every scene and sequence. That’s where the real directing comes in.
That’s why I said in the beginning let’s jettison this moniker ‘director’ because it means nothing. It’s storytelling that’s the real art we’re missing. When the story starts, how do you calibrate it to deliver certain emotional beats to the audience so that there is a rise and fall, ebb and flow, shades of black and white. So that at the end of the movie, you feel like you just embarked on a journey and you’re not the same person you were when you started it. Something inside you has shifted. Might be a thought, point of view, or perspective- whatever. So you come out with a certain satisfaction – like finishing a good meal.
However, once you notice something in the food, maybe you identify one part as against the whole being exceptional or one part as too much or too little then you know there is a problem. Same thing applies to film. Nothing is supposed to stick out. And it’s the director’s job to determine the quantities of every ingredient in the film, from the shot to the performance of the actors, music, sound, the gradings, the colours, the tempo… That job starts before shooting and after shooting. It’s never when shooting. It’s a very meticulous process that involves a lot of contemplation, interaction and engagement to get it right. But it also has to do with your taste. If you have that ability to deliver it will show and if you don’t it will show too. Hollywood has spent decades finetuning this. We have a lot of work to do in this regard but we are getting there.
Any advice for upcoming directors?
Do your homework. Whatever the case may be. Learn the various shades of every emotion. Don’t stick to the notion that only one thing can be true. No. Ten things can be true at the same time. Your job is to select one truth and then connect it to other truths to provide an experience. Look at other people’s works. That’s the best way to learn: imitation. Narrative is all about imitation. That’s the thing about the performing arts. Watch other people’s work.
Read. Really, really read. Don’t intellectualize too much. Once you understand the tropes then dance without watching your feet. Have fun, throw yourself into the story and make it happen. Learn about yourself- your weaknesses and strengths as a storyteller. If the work is rich, it’s a reflection of your emotional and intellectual richness and if it’s poor- same applies.
Learn to interact and gain experiences if not you can’t tell them well. You need to be able to know how it feels in each character’s shoes and let the audience feel it too. Research. The devil is in the details. Research so you are almost all-knowing on the subject matter. If you can reference experiences it will convey your stories more credibly. To be able to walk in the shoes of the characters on your set. If you have no clue of the world you are trying to recreate, it will tank so badly. So research, gain related experiences.
And to Nollywood?
We need to be more introspective and self-critical in our Nigerian films. We tend to shy away from that. Superficiality is a problem. Even when we’re making a movie on a deep, burning topic, like kidnapping and banditry for example, the story is too ‘on the surface’. You understand? Like there’s a reluctance to delve deeper and show things as they really are. There needs to be a lot more fearless authenticity and truth.
We need the value chain. We need people in Nigeria who see film as commodity to peddle and hustle. You know, one person can’t keep all the profits. There should be specialization. Everyone in the film industry can’t be an actor, director or camera-man. There are so many other areas that need to be professionalized.
There’s a saying- never follow your passion, follow your talent. And if you do, the passion will show.
Let’s not misplace ourselves in the industry like we see in many other sectors like banking. Then there are problems. I’m not throwing shades please (laughs). I mean this industry’s structure is not regulated by government- it’s developed organically so that whatever part you fit into, you fit in. Don’t insist you want to be a director or actor if that is not where your talent lies. You could be an excellent film salesman or cover reader. Take a chance and don’t be afraid to fail.
Thanks a lot for the wise words and for taking time off your busy schedule. You’re probably meant to be on a location now.
Matter of fact, we’re already shooting the second season of Shaka Ilembe.
Lovely, could you tell our Webcitizens a bit about the first season? For those yet to watch it.
Well, it’s about the life of Shaka Zulu and it has 12 episodes. I think I directed 3 or 4 episodes. So the series is basically a narrative and, like I said earlier, a narrative must reflect a point of view- not necessarily follow strict canon, and this one is no exception- though well-researched. It’s available on Showmax.
We’d love to do a special interview with you and any member of the Shaka crew, if possible?
Sure, I’ll see what I can do to make it happen.
Great! Thanks for your time once again!
