By ADERONKE ADEYERI

Some are born great. Some have greatness thrust upon them, while some acquire greatness by dint of hard work and resilience. Prospect Mlemchukwu falls into the third category. He represents every aspect of film making; a script writer, editor, cinematographer, producer programmer, and director.

Prospect has always been driven by one vision, that of exploiting multiple creativity and maximizing his diversity of talents for the good of all. His soon-to-be-released film, “Chronicles of Blizzard,” has been nominated in ten categories and hugged two awards in the just concluded NAFCA award in Los Angeles, USA. Though based in Los Angeles, USA, his passion and love for the African culture has brought him back home to produce a movie rooted in the African culture. Excerpts:

How long have you been in the business of making films?

Prospect Mlechukwu

I have been in the film industry for more than twenty years. My first film was Tokunbo which I released into the USA theaters in 1999 by Sony Pictures. This film bagged two awards like the best drama award and the black film award for that year. After this film, I met with some prominent Nigerians who advised me to come back to my root and promote the industry. I followed the advice and came to Nigeria to establish a studio in Enugu where I trained people in film making, how to use the camera and other aspects of film making and that was how it started.

Please, talk about your soon-to-be released movie, “Chronicles of Blizzard”
It’s a movie that after watching it, you will see reasons to be closer to God though I don’t intend preaching religion. The film is about women empowerment. The story talks about the culture of a certain community in the Eastern part of the country where a woman has to dance semi nude (topless) in the market at her first period. I felt this isn’t right, a woman should be able to define her own way of life and not imprisoned by a barbaric culture. The film has much to offer which I can’t talk about. Also, I want to point out “Chronicles of Blizzard” is the concluding part of my film “Pestilence”.

Do you really think such things still exist?
Yes, it does exist. Some ladies could be at the market as we speak. I intentionally do not want to mention the village.

Were you able to get ladies to act such scene in the film?
Yes, I was able to get students of a tertiary institution to go semi nude.

How much did you part with to get them to do it?
They didn’t do it because of money but their love for the womenfolk. They felt such culture is crazy and were willing to be part of the campaign against it. Of course, every one was paid.

How do we classify this film?
It is an epic film.

Could you please talk about the cast?
The cast is wonderful. People like Mike Ezuronye, Gentle Jack, Yemi Blaq, John Dumelo, Charles Awurum, Ben Emeh, Frankicense Eche Ben, Chinwetalu Agu, Ebele Okafor and a host of others.

After spending a meaningful time of your life in LA, USA, what’s your mission in Nigeria?
We can’t beat Hollywood to their game but we have something to offer them. I want to sell African stories to them. We need to promote our culture, it has always been about them but I want to reverse that.

Where did you shoot the film?
We shot some parts of the film at LA, some in Nigeria and also in Ghana. I spent like $100,000 in making the film and I had to pull all the actors to USA for the premiere. That also cost like $36, 000. It took us almost a month to shoot the film.

Being an indigenous film, what’s the acceptance like in USA?
Sincerely, it was incredible. It’s even beat my imagination.

When do you intend to bring this film to Nigeria?
My intention is to open doors for Africans who make films abroad. Americans have always penetrated into our film markets but it is high time we also take charge of their market. Chronicles of Blizzard was nominated in 10 categories and won two awards in the US. I am skeptical about the Nigerian film market. I was ripped off some times ago by one marketer at Onitsha. After negotiating, he took my film and sold thousands of copies. When I went back to his shop to collect my money, I met somebody else who made me to understand that he owned the shop. He took me to the guy’s shop but I didn’t get a dime. When I released Tokunbo in 1999, I was also robbed by an actor. The actor promised to get a marketer.He released my film and made millions of naira but I did not get a kobo. However, I want to believe this will make a difference. I intend to premiere the film by December and afterward release the film into the market.

How do you intend to achieve that?
I will be taking my film to the cinemas. I hope it works anyway because I have been lucky in the US.

Please tell us more about the award?
It won the best indigenous film and best costume in,Nollywood & African Film Critics’ Awards, known as NAFCA award. One beautiful thing about NAFCA award was that all the judges were Americans and professional film makers.

How did you feel receiving such awards?
I felt lucky to have such awards judging by other films that was nominated.

What are your experiences working with Nigerian actors?
We have great talents in Nigeria but many of them lack professionalism. Some of them forget that what makes you a celebrity is when you are good on the job. Some of them are pompous. Entertainment is about showbiz, meaning the show comes before business and not the other way. Money means a lot to some of them rather than their profession. They need to set their priorities right. I will turn the offer down if you have a script that is below my standard or of less quality project. That is one of the things that makes one a professional and not the love for money.

How many films have you produced so far?
I have done so many projects like Beyond the verdict, Moment, Pestilence etc.

Do you consider this the most challenging?
Yes it is, considering that I did the animation, sound, special effect and also directed the film myself. It was quite challenging.

Why film making?
I studied cinematography and started working with some local televisions. Along the line, I got some recommendations and that was how it started.