- Omoni Oboli shared the difficulties she experienced at the beginning of her filmmaking journey, from giving out her scripts at no monetary cost to attempting to direct her films.
- She also stressed that she felt apprehensive at the beginning of her directing journey.
Nollywood filmmaker Omoni Oboli has shared her experiences and struggles in the early stages of her career.
In an interview with Radionow 95.3 FM, Omoni Oboli discussed how she initially traded her scripts for acting roles, only to realize that the final product often differed from her vision.
Omoni Oboli stated that realizing that led her to consider directing her own films, despite initial apprehensions.
She acknowledged feeling uncertain but found the courage to pursue her dreams, recognizing that formal education could enhance her skills.
According to her, she had to enroll in a short course at the New York Film Academy and began understudying directors on set.
She said:
“I was trading my scripts, I’d say you know what, just take it, don’t pay me. Just give me a role in the film. So, I started to do that. But then I’ll watch the film and I realised, Okay it’s not quite what I had in my head when I was writing cos I see what I’m writing, I write in pictures. I see what I’m writing, so when I’m watching the movie it’s so different. Not to say that it wasn’t good because no two directors will direct the same script in the same way. So I said to myself, if my stories are going to have my DNA, then I’m going to have to direct them myself”
“And it was a scary thought, really who do you think you are to come and direct a film? Like who are you again? You know it was so scary, but then I said to myself, Warri no dey carry lass na. Wwetin dem get wey I no get? I was like, I’ll do this thing. So I started understudying directors, like I’m acting on set but I’m watching the director closely. And I said you know what? Maybe I need some formal education on this. So I went to the New York Film Academy for a short course”.