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Mahmood Ali-Balogun
has embraced celluloid at a time when other filmmakers are giving it a
wide berth. His latest feature, Tango With Me, is shot on celluloid.
But was this necessary?

“As a filmmaker and
somebody who studied film, it is always one’s dream to shoot on the
best format. More so, there has been much noise about Nigeria where
it’s only video that we work on,” he says in his Surulere, Lagos office.

“This movie
attempts to correct that impression, in the sense that we started
shooting movies in this country on celluloid and we will continue to
shoot on celluloid though the digital format has come to stay. For us
film buffs, we believe that it’s the best format; it avails you wider
horizon in terms of exposure and acceptance. Once people know that you
shot on 35mm, they tend to respect that gesture. They believe you can’t
be investing so much money if you don’t have something worthwhile to
tell people. It’s to express myself in the format that I believe will
give best expression to my movie.”

Ali-Balogun’s
choice is also a personal statement. “There has been so much talk about
the quality of what we churn out in Nollywood – that we don’t shoot on
any other format. They are also saying we lack the discipline to work
on celluloid and I try to say within Nollywood we have that discipline.
We have that skill, we have that capacity, we have what it will take to
work on 35mm.”

Tough going

Shooting on
celluloid is far from easy and Ali-Balogun speaks from experience as he
admits, “It’s a format where you need a lot of discipline. Yes, it was
tough but if you know your onions, you can overcome these challenges.
We had problems, especially because people have not worked on that
format for a long time, and I used a mix of Nigerian crew and a few
people who came from Hollywood. It was tough, but we were able to
surmount most of the challenges. I knew what I was doing so I was
prepared for it and had the answers ready.”

Having the answers
ready, however, didn’t stop him spending about five years on the
project. He conceived the project in 2005, finalised the script in 2007
but waited until 2009 to start principal photography while he sourced
for funds and grappled with other pre-production issues.

Post production,
which had its own hitches, took place in his studio in Lagos, South
Africa, Dubai and Bulgaria. After working on the sound in South Africa,
he took the production to Bulgaria. “Getting there, I realised we had
difficulties with the sound so I commissioned the sound [to be] redone
in Sofia. I came back to Lagos again, did some more work before I took
the materials back to Bulgaria, before I got the final print about
three weeks ago.”

He went to much
trouble for the movie, but Ali-Balogun doesn’t see this as any big
deal. “That’s how it’s done,” he says. “It’s just that we don’t have
some of the support system here locally, so I had to go to these places
for a cheaper alternative. That’s why I went to Eastern Europe. I went
to Dubai on the recommendation of Kodak Motion Picture Film that
partnered with me. They advised that I work in those places; that it
won’t cost me as much as it would if I went to South Africa, England or
the US.” He also talks about how he bankrolled the production. “Funding
was essentially my funds, with support of few friends. This was not
necessarily in terms of cash but support in kind – using their homes
and other facilities. Eventually, I got the support of MTN, but it was
after I had finished shooting.”

A filmmaker who
decides to shoot on 35mm must have contemplated if the required
expertise is available in Nigeria before making his choice. Did
Ali-Balogun feel there was enough expertise in Nigeria to do what he
needed?

“I will say yes and
no. In terms of expertise, we have some old hands in Nigeria who had
worked on film before but technology has changed a great deal. A lot of
them don’t even have an understanding of the kind of film stock
available. There are improved film stocks that people are not used to.
It’s not that we don’t have the people but people with [up-to-date]
experience were lacking, so I had to bring in the camera crew from LA
and the camera itself. I used a Harry 535 brought from The Camera House
in Los Angeles and a three-man crew came with it. The other support
crew was from Nigeria. Most of the grip equipment is from Jungle Film
Works and some from Cinecraft. That’s why I said I got the support in
kind.”

Known and upcoming

Tango With Me
features big names including Genevieve Nnaji, Joke Silva, Tina Mba and
Ahmed Yerima, all of whom the producer is happy to have in the cast.
“That’s why I went for them anyway. I knew they would be able to
interpret the roles effectively and in that light, bring out the vision
I have. I did the casting myself and I wanted a mix of known and
unknown [actors],” he says. Though some would consider the casting of
newcomer, Joseph Benjamin, opposite Genevieve a risk, Ali-Balogun
doesn’t see it that way. “I felt that what I needed from the actor was
potential. I saw the potential in him and I was able to groom him to do
exactly what I wanted. To a large extent he was able to interpret the
role the way I wanted. One of the reasons why I went for him was the
fact that we must begin to build new stars. There is nothing wrong in
using the same faces all over but part of my contribution is to help
raise new people that can become the stars of tomorrow. That’s why I
had a mix of people known and who are upcoming.”

Projecting Lagos

Ali-Balogun also
explains why Lagos is prominently depicted in the movie. “It’s a
deliberate projection of my country, particularly Lagos because movie
is a tool we can use to project ourselves. A lot of transformation is
going on in Nigeria, in Lagos where I live, and one could not but
appreciate and support the federal and state governments in
transforming the nation. There are still issues that we need to solve
but there are certain aspects that are working. Why don’t we extol
those aspects rather than show negatives all the time? It is not
propaganda material, it’s a creative thing; but in the process. I
infused some of the good things happening. It’s my own way of using
film to project Nigeria and Lagos.”

Lead actress Genevieve Nnaji, plays a ballet teacher in Tango With Me but is ballet that popular in Nigeria?

“The ballet dance
is used as a metaphor. Tango is a dance that involves two people and
marriage or any relationship involves two or more people. The title in
that regard is a metaphor for marriage,” says Ali-Balogun.

Appreciative producer

Tango With Me had
six nominations at this year’s Africa Movie Academy Awards but didn’t
win in any of the categories. How does the director feel about it?

“Anyone nominated
for anything, particularly awards, is as good as winning. The
nomination is good for the film in the sense that it shows that it is
above average, it shows that it could have won but the films that won
just have some slight edge over it. In a situation where there were
over 360 entries and you are in the last five, that’s great. Anybody
could have won but I’m sure individual preferences would come in
because I’ve been on juries at film festivals and individual
preferences would come. I appreciate the nomination and I’m sure maybe
next time we will win something. It’s a great honour to have been
nominated at all. That you are nominated does not mean you must win,
the nomination shows that one has done a good job,” says Ali-Balogun.
He adds that he is currently working on ensuring that the movie is well
distributed; and that he gets a good return on his investment.

Tango With Me premieres today at the Silverbird Galleria, Lagos, at 6pm.