Re: Champions of Our Time, The Figurine and Nigeria’s Rebranding Project (II)
- Details
- Category: My thoughts exactly
- Written by Chidi Nwokeabia
- Hits: 1223
This week, I conclude the correspondence between writer/producer Chidi Nwokeabia and myself, in response to my two-part article on Champions of Our Time, which won the second prize for the Best “TV/Video” Category at FESPACO. Here, Chidi Nwokeabia reflects on the inspiration behind the making of Champions of Our Time.
– Carmen
Dear Carmen,
I have been out of town and just came in yesterday to see your mail. I must first note that I am humbled by your reply and acceptance that your review of Champions of Our Time was premature. I must also add that I was very elated to read that you have helped to create a positive image for Nollywood. That is the only way a nascent industry like ours can grow. I have shouted it to the rooftops in different fora that if our government baby-sits the Nollywood industry half the way it does other industries like the oil and gas, banking, and even “our nascent democracy”, there will be an unprecedented boom in Nollywood within a few years.
I will also like to add that I am totally receptive to criticism and I have without prejudice to the critics accepted all criticisms whether done in good or bad faith. I wrote Champions of Our Time as far back as 2004. In 2006 it won the 3rd prize at the Pan-Africa International Scriptwriting Competition. Yet some critics have wrongly imputed that I copied a certain American film, Akeelah and the Bee which was released sometime in 2007. Others have said it was a government project written and funded by the Lagos State Government. The fact is that it is partly a true story. In 1998 while still in paid employment I had by chance met a young girl of about 12 years sitting on a wheelchair somewhere in Palmgroove area of Lagos. She had stood on one side of the road for 30 minutes waiting for whoever will be magnanimous enough to help her cross to the other side of the express road to her school. She was preparing for her examination and the noise in her neighbourhood was not conducive for serious studies. Her brother, who used to carry her on his back to school, said he was tired.
Nobody was prepared to risk helping her to the other side. Her case was made worse by the fact that the pedestrian bridge could not accommodate her rickety wheelchair. I watched for about 10 minutes from the window of a client I had visited and decided to give a helping hand, although the busy vehicular traffic made it very dangerous. On enquiry she told me that all she wanted was for somebody to assist her cross the busy expressway. It took the help of a policewoman to stop fast moving vehicles so she could cross over. Out of curiosity I asked her how she was going to go back to her house. She gave me an innocent smile of a 12-year-old girl and said, “I really do not know”. Three hours later I was back in her school where I met her seriously studying her books yet not sure of how to get back home. She told me her story. She had passed with distinction to a Federal Government Secondary School at the age of 11 but was refused registration on account of her physical condition. She had vowed to apply to the same school again and was prepared to go on hunger strike if she was refused admission the second time.
I took her home and promised to visit again but never did. I was posted to Warri and never came back to Lagos until 2001. In 2003, I had a flat tyre at the same spot where I met the girl for the first time. While they were fixing the car, I remembered her and vowed to write a story some day about the young girl whose name I had forgotten.
Champions is not the best film ever made. For me there are a lot of flaws, and if I knew then what I know now, those flaws would have been corrected. Moreover, having sent proposals to close to ten banks, several corporate bodies, foundations, NGOs’ and fifteen state governments soliciting for sponsorship, we wanted to start the project and finish in record time in order to impress the Lagos State Government that provided the funds. Since we were out to impress, some things were left either undone or not done well.
Our proposal was to shoot in 3 months but the government approved 1month.
When we won at FESPACO, the celebration was not because it was our first time of winning. I had said in our press release that it was a prize for Nollywood, a prize for Nigeria and not for our company. I am not a fan of FESPACO. In terms of organizational skills and competence, they rank zero. The prize came to us as a surprise. They had promised through email to send my invitation only to back out at the last minute. We therefore did not send a clean copy of Champions to them and they were forced to use the preview copy and the French version that came much later. Therefore when my attention was drawn to your piece, I felt it was done in bad light, especially when you admitted you had not seen the complete movie. Once again thank you for your mail.
Chidi Nwokeabia, producer/screen writer
Articles
Re: Champions of Our Time, The Figurine and Nigeria’s Rebranding Project (II)
Category: My thoughts exactly Written by Chidi Nwokeabia Hits: 1223
This week, I conclude the correspondence between writer/producer Chidi Nwokeabia and myself, in response to my two-part article on Champions of Our Time, which won the second prize for the Best “TV/Video” Category at FESPACO. Here, Chidi Nwokeabia reflects on the inspiration behind the making of Champions of Our Time.
– Carmen
Dear Carmen,
I have been out of town and just came in yesterday to see your mail. I must first note that I am humbled by your reply and acceptance that your review of Champions of Our Time was premature. I must also add that I was very elated to read that you have helped to create a positive image for Nollywood. That is the only way a nascent industry like ours can grow. I have shouted it to the rooftops in different fora that if our government baby-sits the Nollywood industry half the way it does other industries like the oil and gas, banking, and even “our nascent democracy”, there will be an unprecedented boom in Nollywood within a few years.
I will also like to add that I am totally receptive to criticism and I have without prejudice to the critics accepted all criticisms whether done in good or bad faith. I wrote Champions of Our Time as far back as 2004. In 2006 it won the 3rd prize at the Pan-Africa International Scriptwriting Competition. Yet some critics have wrongly imputed that I copied a certain American film, Akeelah and the Bee which was released sometime in 2007. Others have said it was a government project written and funded by the Lagos State Government. The fact is that it is partly a true story. In 1998 while still in paid employment I had by chance met a young girl of about 12 years sitting on a wheelchair somewhere in Palmgroove area of Lagos. She had stood on one side of the road for 30 minutes waiting for whoever will be magnanimous enough to help her cross to the other side of the express road to her school. She was preparing for her examination and the noise in her neighbourhood was not conducive for serious studies. Her brother, who used to carry her on his back to school, said he was tired.
Nobody was prepared to risk helping her to the other side. Her case was made worse by the fact that the pedestrian bridge could not accommodate her rickety wheelchair. I watched for about 10 minutes from the window of a client I had visited and decided to give a helping hand, although the busy vehicular traffic made it very dangerous. On enquiry she told me that all she wanted was for somebody to assist her cross the busy expressway. It took the help of a policewoman to stop fast moving vehicles so she could cross over. Out of curiosity I asked her how she was going to go back to her house. She gave me an innocent smile of a 12-year-old girl and said, “I really do not know”. Three hours later I was back in her school where I met her seriously studying her books yet not sure of how to get back home. She told me her story. She had passed with distinction to a Federal Government Secondary School at the age of 11 but was refused registration on account of her physical condition. She had vowed to apply to the same school again and was prepared to go on hunger strike if she was refused admission the second time.
I took her home and promised to visit again but never did. I was posted to Warri and never came back to Lagos until 2001. In 2003, I had a flat tyre at the same spot where I met the girl for the first time. While they were fixing the car, I remembered her and vowed to write a story some day about the young girl whose name I had forgotten.
Champions is not the best film ever made. For me there are a lot of flaws, and if I knew then what I know now, those flaws would have been corrected. Moreover, having sent proposals to close to ten banks, several corporate bodies, foundations, NGOs’ and fifteen state governments soliciting for sponsorship, we wanted to start the project and finish in record time in order to impress the Lagos State Government that provided the funds. Since we were out to impress, some things were left either undone or not done well.
Our proposal was to shoot in 3 months but the government approved 1month.
When we won at FESPACO, the celebration was not because it was our first time of winning. I had said in our press release that it was a prize for Nollywood, a prize for Nigeria and not for our company. I am not a fan of FESPACO. In terms of organizational skills and competence, they rank zero. The prize came to us as a surprise. They had promised through email to send my invitation only to back out at the last minute. We therefore did not send a clean copy of Champions to them and they were forced to use the preview copy and the French version that came much later. Therefore when my attention was drawn to your piece, I felt it was done in bad light, especially when you admitted you had not seen the complete movie. Once again thank you for your mail.
Chidi Nwokeabia, producer/screen writer