Nigeria Content Online

Nigeria’s film
industry is enjoying a good moment, going by the number of
international collaborations and world class movie premieres it has
witnessed lately. Film and music producer, Lonzo Nzekwe, joins the
growing number of producers tapping into the vibrant movie sector with
his ‘Anchor Baby’.

Though set in the
United States, the movie was shot in Brampton and Hamilton, Canada,
where Nzekwe is based; and features an international cast including
Nigeria’s Omoni Oboli and Ghanaian born Sam Sarpong.

The movie explores
issues of migration in the US and other developed countries as typified
by a Nigerian couple living in the US. He shares his story with NEXT.

I hear you are a self-taught filmmaker

I started buying
books and watching a lot of DVDs on making movies. That’s how I learned
how to direct and produce films. As an editor, it allowed me to see the
final film in my head prior to shooting it. After my training and
studying on my own, I wrote, directed and produced my first feature
film, ‘Anchor Baby’. I am currently shopping it for distribution. You
will be amazed at the wealth of information one can get from watching
those. I read a lot of books on how to make independent films and also
bought the 2 Day Film School DVD by Dov Simmens. I studied those
religiously until I felt I was ready. I am a very creative person, so I
guess it helped in the process.

I watched a lot of
films; both the good and bad ones just to know what to do and what not
to do. I also watch the “making of films” which is always at the end of
most original movie DVDs.

What prompted the decision to leave Nigeria for Canada?

I left Nigeria
when I was about 22 years old and back then I was a basketball player,
playing for the Imo State basketball team on the national level. Back
then, the only thing I wanted to do was to obtain a university
scholarship in the US and go play college basketball. I wanted to make
it to the NBA by all means. I got a few schools interested in me but
for some reason, things weren’t falling into the right places. I got
frustrated and moved out of Nigeria. I lived in the UK and US prior to
moving to Canada. I guess I went to Canada because of the great
opportunities there. Recently, I started developing a very strong
passion for making movies and that’s how ‘Anchor Baby’ started.

IJE, which
premiered recently, touched on migration issues, so does your movie,
‘Anchor Baby’. Is this borne out of personal experience?

No ,it’s not a
personal story and it’s not based on any particular anyone’s
experience. The things which happened to the characters the movie is
totally insane so I will be shocked to find anyone who passed through
the same experience.

‘Anchor Baby’ is a
term used mostly for babies born by illegal immigrants and other non-
citizens in the United State. The movie is a highly emotional story of
a Nigerian illegal immigrant couple on a daring journey to achieve the
American Dream for their unborn child. A lot of times, people forget
that these illegal immigrants are humans who want the same good things
in life, just like everyone else. This movie, I know helps put a human
face to the migrants’ struggle and what they go through as well as the
drastic steps they take to achieve their set goals .

It also paints a
vivid picture of the kids, who are the actual victims under these
circumstances. Hopefully, it will raise discussions to address the main
reasons why a person will leave his or her home country and then go
through that struggle.

Why did you cast Omoni Oboli as the lead actress?

When I wrote the
script, I wanted someone who could transform the script and bring it to
life. I hired a professional casting director to audition all the
actors I used in the movie. I sat through all the auditions and
handpicked every character in the movie. When I watched a few of
Omoni’s movies, I was convinced that she possessed the ability to
transform the script. I also carried out a brief background check on
her and spoke to her extensively on the phone to find out more about
her. That was when I decided she was the one. Though, a few of my
production crew were against me flying her all the way from Nigeria but
I told them that there was something I saw in her which they did not.
Afterwards, I realised they were waiting to see what she was going to
bring to the table. So, from the first day Omoni got on the set, I took
her aside and told her that ‘Anchor Baby’ was her movie. Right away,
she took over the show and set a standard on the set which every other
actor had to follow. That decision was one the best decision I made in
the earlier stages of production.

Is this a big budget movie?

Well, depending on
the standard you are looking at it from; it is a low budget film if you
compare it to the American standard. I say that because even one
million dollars is considered a low budget film in North America. But
as a Nollywood film, it is a very huge budget film. I cannot even give
you a figure because we are still in post production and promoting the
movie as we speak. All these are expenses that are going to be
calculated into the budget. Financing the movie was a major challenge
because I do not have any track record to show any financier, so I had
to use personal funds and also got some help from close family members.
Another big challenge was bringing the two lead acts (Omoni Oboli and
Sam Sarpong) from Nigeria and the USA to Canada for the movie. Due to
delays in travel arrangements, Omoni and Sam came in just a few days
before we started principal photography.

Do you think Anchor Baby will be a success in Nigeria?

Oh, for sure. I
know a lot of Nigerians will easily connect to the story. I mean how
many Nigerians come to the US to have their babies? Almost everyone has
a friend or relative who was born in the US or Europe. These babies are
what the US term as ‘Anchor Babies’. Most Nigerian parents regardless
of their economic background will like to see their child succeed by
providing a better opportunity for the child [from birth]; and that’s
exactly what I tried to portray in the movie. Though sometimes, the
struggle might not be the right thing to do and could be detrimental to
everyone involved.

I have a great
passion in making films and I want to win than the next man. I come
from a sports background and I’m very competitive. That alone has
gotten me this far in the game. I had almost 40 actors with speaking
roles and about 60 extras in this movie. I had Caucasian, Hispanic,
Asian and African characters playing major roles in the movie. That
alone attracts people of other nationalities to ‘Anchor Baby’ right
away. As a matter of fact, if I was a Hispanic writer and director,
Omoni and Sam’s characters would have been Hispanic characters and the
story would not change.

Piracy is a big issue here in Nigeria, how do you intend to manage that?

That is a tough
one because it is a major problem all over the world. The government
should set up a strong body to tackle the problem. We should also
support the cinema culture which is making a big comeback in Nollywood.
That way, the producer can recoup most of his money and be able to make
another film. My intention is to release ‘Anchor Baby’ in the theatres
in Nigeria before [going] into DVD.I do not think the problem can be
completely eradicated, but I believe it can be controlled to a certain
level. That is the more reason why Nigerians, and Africans as a whole,
should support the cinema industry. If a producer can screen a movie in
the theatre prior to the DVD release, chances are that he will recoup
some, before going for DVD release.

‘Anchor Baby’ premieres in Nigerian Cinemas on December 10.