Matthew Simpa, a filmmaker by profession, has been around for a while; in fact, he was one among the experimental filmmakers who pioneered the basics of what is today collectively referred to as Nollywood. Having been on a hiatus, he is back with a new film, Outside the Box. In this interview with Assistant Life Editor, TERH AGBEDEH, he talks about, among other things, his new film.
You have completed work on your current project?
Of course.
Have you also done post-production?
Of course; when I say completed, it means everything has been done. And of course copies have been submitted to some media where I want the film to be shown because I realised that in Nigeria if you go the way of DVD, the Alaba (International Market) guys will deal with you. So I am not even planning that, and I can’t show it at the theatres because I didn’t have that at the back of my mind when I was shooting. So it is already completed and I have already taken a copy to MNet and IrokoTV. Those are the platforms I want to use: TV and then online.
Are they going to pay you enough to cover the production cost?
I think they will pay me enough to carry on and do another project. That is about the best I am expecting. Everyone knows the way it is in this country. Kunle Afolayan came and shot a high budget movie (October 1); before he could even bring it out himself, the pirates are already unto it. The same thing happened to AY for his 30 Days in Atlanta.
But there are those who would say that AY’s case is because they went to press to say how much they made from the movie?
The thing is, there is a business side to filmmaking; if a guy makes over N130 million gross, the question is how much is his own. The thing is gross, not net.
But should they shout about how much they have made?
That is usually the case everywhere. Don’t forget that filmmakers need to appeal to investors, too. If investors know that a film can actually gross that much, they may be interested in investing.
If you keep quiet about your film, even if it makes N500 million, but have your books and take that to an investor, you are likely to still get your money.
The thing is, there is a tradition in every profession. For example, as a journalist, you have your own traditions, you have the way you go about publicising yourself. Anywhere in the world, hyping is the word for films. In Hollywood, they always publicise these things. If you go online to IMDB (International Movie Data Base), you will see that they will list out all these things. So, it shouldn’t be a problem; but it is only because of our mentality in Nigeria, they feel that once somebody has made that much, he must have made a lot of money. But, out of this money, he has to take care of publicity; the theatres will take their own cut and then the filmmaker still has a lot of other things to take care of like tax. By the time he settles all these things, he may not even come home with up to 50 per cent of that money. So how has he made a lot of money?
Apart from the platforms you are taking your film to, there is also Netflix and Nigerian films are now showing on major airlines.
Unfortunately, I have not really explored that area. Don’t forget that I am just trying to get my feet. I am using this film as a kind of vehicle that will re-launch me. So as soon as this one comes out and I am able to make some money, I would now sit down and plan properly for the next project. So this one is just like a vehicle to re-launch me. It is a comeback project. It is not that I have been completely out of the scene, but this is like the first time I would do something on my own in a long time.
But you have been teaching up-and-coming filmmakers?
Right now, I am a lecturer at Graig-Philips College of Film Technology, and I head the Editing Department. So I have students I mentor and teach. It gives me joy, too.
Where is the school located?
It is at Shonibare Estate, Maryland, Lagos.
Informed from what you have seen in your students, would you say that there is a future for the industry?
I would say there is a future. When we look at the industry, we look at potentials and that remains dormant until they are tapped. The guy who did my photography, of course, he did not pass through me. His name is Nuhu Dalyop, and he is from Plateau State. He went to PEFTI (Pencil Film and Television Institute). He has been taking his movies abroad and making a lot of waves here and there. An encouraging thing for anyone coming into the industry, and when you consider people like that and consider that the potential is still there, there is a future. We only need to have some framework. In fact, immediately APC (All Progressives Congress) won the election, I had to think of what to say to them. And I am still gathering my thoughts. One of the things I felt I should tell them is that they should not give money to Nollywood. What they need to do is just create the enabling environment. I was so impressed when I went online one day and I saw something on Nigerian Entertainment Times and somebody wrote an article on that. What we need is just the enabling environment.
How do we create the enabling environment? One, put laws in place that will check piracy.
People would say that there are laws in place to check piracy?
The laws are inadequate. If you look through an American movie, for example, you will see the penalty prescribed for piracy. In Nigeria, the penalty is ridiculous.
You were listing what the new administration should do for Nollywood.
Yes, one, creating the enabling environment and, of course, trying to protect the industry. The late Dora Akunyili did something like that, and when she did, it created a boom for at least the television side. Of course, that would impact on the movie side, too. She made sure that Nigerian television stations were only showing Nigerian content during peak periods. If we can have something like that again and then make sure that our movie theatres show more of Nigerian content, I think that will help us, too. So that at least we can begin to make money from within our society.
Most times you put on the television, they are showing your films and most times these stations don’t pay for such films. Is that good?
It is still part of it. The thing is this; now because of desperation to just have something out there, people throw these films at them. And because the law is not there to even protect intellectual property – if, for example, there is a law that says, okay, this is what should be given to somebody who has an intellectual property, you can now hide under that law and get whatever you want. But to the best of my knowledge, I am not aware of any law that stipulates that if a TV station shows content, this is what is to be expected.
The same TV stations that ask producers to pay for airtime?
In fact, you must pay for a quarter or even two before they even accept your content. So it is unfair when I have my own content, bring it to you and you don’t pay for it. That is why I still commend MNet; they are about the highest paying platform in the country. If other platforms in Nigeria pay close to what they pay, it will be good. It is not easy. When you have toiled to do something and somebody now shows it for free – for example, this my project, which is self-funded; now I have suffered to do it and somebody says I should bring it to him to show free-of-charge – it is unfair.
What is the main theme of Outside the Box?
The main theme is family. But if you look at it critically, you discover that it transcends family. I am even beginning to see a kind of parallel between the Nigerian state, the politicians and then people coming in, the progressives that are planning to institute change. The idea is about a man who seems to have bad luck; everywhere he turns, he has problems. He gets a job and because he cannot compromise, he is sacked. The wife is initially supportive, but when he decides not to look for a job any longer, to do something on his own, the wife becomes weary since she has become the breadwinner of the family. This sets off a lot of reactions until the woman decides to support her husband at which point they begin to make progress.
