I made A Movie That Connects With Me – Izu Ojukwu Director Of 76 Film

Since making its world debut at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the film, “76” has not only redefined the place of Nollywood in the international film market, but also, it has set the pace for the emergence of a new film culture in Africa. Izu-Ojukwu The director, Izu Ojukwu, believes that ‘76’ is more than a film about events that heralded and succeeded the military coup d’état which led to the assassination of General Murtala Ramat Muhammed. For him, as a product of research and documentation,the film represents the true African story. According to him, “It’s a story told from a dual point of view – from the soldier’s patriotic perspective accused of being involved in the 1976 military coup and assassination of General Murtala Muhammed, and from that of the officer’s wife.” The popular director also makes it clear that the film pays homage to the strength of soldiers’ wives, “As far as I’m concerned, the wives are the real soldiers,…they are the ones who suffer from whatever decisions their husbands make, whether on the battlefield or off it.” Izu Ojukwu, who was not yet four years old at the time of the coup recalls that he lived in a house owned by Dimka’s family in Jos, where he was raised as a child. In a chat with HVP, Izu Ojukwu confessed that he has a relationship with the story. “The movie is a very personal story to me. It is a story of our honour and integrity. It signified that men must be able to accept the consequences of the decisions they make. I tried to make the story as light as possible. I tried to make it as literally pure a possible. I didn’t want the scenes of assassination and execution of the coup plotters celebrated and that’s why I put the pictures in black and white to reduce the tension. I tried telling the story in a way that is appealing to everyone and not celebrating the negative side of national life,” he narrated. With about 200 cast and crew members on set, the film was shot in the ancient city of Ibadan. The cast were all trained for 21 days with instructors from the Nigerian Defence Academy. The crew were on location for 91 days. “Our objective was to show audiences, amongst other things, what the wives of officers had to go through. Military coups are our legacy. In some ways, we are still trying to recover from this. Everyone sees and hears the perspective of the officers. But the woman’s story stays silent. We wanted to highlight the strength and the vulnerabilities of the typical African woman and to do so through the eyes of officers’ wives. This is a film maker’s tiny contribution to raising their volume,” stated the Executive Producer, Adonijah Owiriwa. It took three years to plan the movie and it was filled with its unique challenges. While shooting the movie, the Nigerian Army delegation visited the cast and crew with assurances of their full support. For the first time in Nigerian history, a film shoot was allowed within the barracks – a first in cinematic history. Set during the era of military assassinations and political unrest in Nigeria, after production, the movie enjoyed the full approval and endorsement of the Nigerian Army and the Murtala Muhammed family. Starring Ramsey Nouah, Rita Dominic and Chidi Mokeme among others, the abortive coup also witnessed the assassination of key plotters, including its mastermind, BS Dimka. Interestingly, the film did not only close this year’s Africa International Film Fesival,AFRIFF, but also, it won four awards at the glamorous awards night including; Best Screenplay, Best Feature Film, Best Actor and Best Director, to set a new record for Nollywood and indeed, Africa at large.

Glamsquad

Glamsquad magazine is an independently operated online fashion, beauty, style, entertainment, and health blog. Its features are both inspirational and accessible, giving our followers a scoop on what's trending now in the fashion, beauty, style, and entertainment industry.

No Comments Yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.