Popular Nigerian filmmaker John Njamah has expressed his displeasure over the casting criteria in Nollywood, saying acting should be done based on the actor’s talents and not on beauty or social media followership.
In an exclusive interview with Pulse Nigeria, the filmmaker shared a thought-provoking perspective on the current state and future of filmmaking in Nollywood.
As an actor, he is popular for his role as Rabiu in the TV soap opera, Fuji House of Commotion. He has also starred in television shows like Tinsel, Living In Lagos, Solitaire, Casino, Emerald, Tide, and My Flatmates.
He said: “What is fuelling me is beyond passion. There’s that knack and need to grow with every month, whatever year.
“There’s that need to do something different. This industry of ours is for you to do whatever you want to do and not join the bandwagon. So for me, it’s the originality in me and the need to do something right that is fuelling me Basically, it’s the ever-creative venture in me”.
Njamah also noted during the interview how African stories are evolving, adding that there are positive and negative changes that have happened over the years.
“There’s a positive aspect and there’s a negative aspect. There’s a technical input. We’re telling our stories better technically. We’re telling better and bigger stories.
“The negative is that we are beginning to lose our originality. We are beginning to join the bandwagon to tell what is peculiar to other people and not to us. We are beginning to lose a bit of our identity cos there’s no longer us,” he said.
Speaking on the mode of casting in the industry, Njamah pointed out the difference between the industry during his time and the current clime, especially with casting.
“Fuji House was a one-camera shoot with hungry and passionate people. Now we have people who cast people who are beautiful and with Barbie bodies and followership and not necessarily for your talents. Some of us try to be that original because that’s where better stories are told. You want to tell stories with passionate people.
“Whether you like it or not, it’s a long shot but it’s possible. You want to give the actors that are worthy of the job and not the ones that are based on Instagram followers.
“We borrow from society and give back to the society by way of entertainment and pedagogical values.”
“Professionalism is lacking. Respect for those in charge, humility and the like is lacking today.
“The industry lacks checks and balances. Every Tom, Dck and Harry can wake up and call themselves a producer and just get on board and be doing stuff without being checked and of course, the guild system is not working so they can’t check.
“There are no criteria for who should become a producer. The system is also not working. Let’s just be mindful as producers, directors and actors,” he added.
