Ex-beauty queen, actress, scriptwriter and producer, Grace Edwin-Okon, who studied English at Delta State University (DELSU), has been making inroads into the Nigerian film industry. In this interview with Assistant Life Editor, TERH AGBEDEH, she talks about her journey into entertainment and her latest project.
How did you come by My Creek Town Adventure?
I wrote it. It was based on an article written by Enumah Philip. She used to be with THISDAY (newspaper) and interestingly, two of my films are based on newspaper articles. I like to read columns; to me, that is reality. I get inspiration to write film. So she sent me the article and I wrote the script. In fact, she was crazy about the film and we decided to film it. We started filming in December (2014). Gideon Okeke is the lead actor and we used actual scenes at the Calabar Carnival pageant. The lady who was the queen of the pageant is featured in the film. We filmed the pageant while it was going on. We wove the story around the crowning. Then we filmed the carnival itself and all the tourism sites.
Cross River State is beautiful, from the waterfalls to the monoliths. When we got to Obudu, we met one of the oldest men in Africa; he claims to be about 120 years. He claims to be very old and we went to the actual Creek Town, another beautiful place where we saw one of the oldest churches in these parts. We wrote all of that into the film; it is a huge tourism film.
How long did the shoot take?
A whole year, but there is also a second part filmed in Jamaica. There are historical and tourist ties between Nigeria and Jamaica that a lot of people do not know about. Apart from the Slave Trade, a lot of the Jamaicans behave like some of us here; they have practices that are Nigerian as far as I’m concerned and there is a school called Calabar Boys High School in Jamaica. This school has been existing from way back. The cultures are very similar, so we just wanted to showcase and highlight the similarities.
Have you made a personal movie?
I am working on four movies. I started shooting since 2012. When people see snippets of what I have done, they call me to do other jobs. So most of the productions are commissioned in the sense that I was hired as the producer to film them, but the one that is actually my film is called Heavy Beauty that I filmed in 2012. This year, I wrote the same story as a play and I have published it as a book. It is presently on Amazon.com and getting good reviews. I want to launch the book and the film together because when we shot the film, a lot of things had to be taken out. But I want people to get the full picture which is why I published it as a book. Interestingly, it also has a short film version which we have been taking to schools for teenagers to watch.
What is the relationship between The Deadwood and My Creek Town Adventure?
I came to Calabar for something entirely different; so Mrs. Enumah Philip said she would like me to read an article her father wrote. Her father, Dr. Gilbert Chigbo, also writes newspaper articles. He wrote the article some time ago and they had a true life experience in their family, so she just showed me all and I read. I was in her house, I didn’t sleep; I worked overnight. By morning, I had a script for her. I had never done it in my life, but I could not stop writing. So we filmed The Deadwood. It has won a lot of awards; recently it won Best Documentary at AMVCA (Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award).
Though she is not from here, she believes Calabar is the tourist hub of Nigeria and that the film will go far. That is why she sent me the original article about Calabar, and when I read it, I started to work on it, though it took me a longer time. I sent it to her around 5pm the day I finished and she called me back by 7pm to say she could not drop it until she finished reading it.
Who funded the production of Creek Town Adventure?
She did.
Did you quit acting?
I am actually still an actress, but the thing is that I like challenges; I like to push myself mentally, not physically because I have small muscles. I started out at Delta State University (DELSU) in 1998 where I was the campus queen. I was the second runner-up in the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) in 1999. After, modelling came up.
I did quite a bit of modelling, but I just thought I could do more. Then I stumbled in into acting. Zeb Ejiro gave me my first shot. I accompanied someone who went for casting for a role. They needed someone to read with her, so they gave me the script. When I read with her, he said, you know they had already cast people, but he gave me the role. It was a lead role.
After acting in Candle Light, Doctor’s Quarters and a lot of other films for a couple of years, somehow I was always attracted to the things behind the scene. Then I got a script that did not impress me and it was like, why don’t I do my own? Though I did not know anything about scriptwriting, I was willing to learn. So I got in touch with scriptwriters, did my research and came up with my script. It is a big budget film and I have not shot it because I could not raise fund. That is another problem with me; I love to do things that are outside the box and it gets me into trouble. So I could not film it. Then I saw women like Joke Silva, Emem Isong and the late Amaka Igwe produce films, and I was inspired. People like Zeb Ejiro and Jimi Odumosu have been supportive. Uncle Jimi read my first script and said: Grace, this is good; you will do well as a filmmaker. I was really encouraged.
How did you learn film production?
I learnt on the job – at the feet of masters like Zeb Ejiro and Jimi Odumosu, and at workshops by BBC and Ford Foundation. But I do hope to go to film school because I love to learn. I have gone to a business school called Waterman’s Academy because I discovered that after all my crazy passion is not just a show; it is business. I have to learn how to make money. It was an eye-opener.
What are your plans for distribution?
I have been hanging out with the distributors. It’s deliberate because I hope to work with the best; someone who sells my film and I will make my money back.
Does acting form part of your future plans?
I would act; it’s my first love. But I am also exploring new frontiers. I am going into animation. I have done documentary, short film and feature, but now it is animation. I want to do something different. I want to do animated series for children and full length feature animations. I already have my own character, Funsie, from my niece’s name. Her name is Funsinoluwa. I learnt how to produce animation for two years from a PR (public relations) and animation studio in Lagos. That’s one of the reasons I disappeared from the scene.