Nollywood filmmaker John Njamah has raised important concerns about the casting process in the Nigerian film industry, emphasizing that actors should be chosen based on their skills rather than their looks or social media popularity. In an interview with Pulse Nigeria, he shared his insights on the current state of Nollywood and his hopes for its future.
John, who is known for his role as Rabiu in Fuji House of Commotion and has appeared in other popular shows like Tinsel, Living In Lagos, and My Flatmates, discussed his vision for Nollywoodâs growth. He stressed the importance of talent in casting decisions, hoping for a shift that prioritizes skill over superficial factors. Njamahâs dedication to the industry and his commitment to its improvement were central themes of the interview.
âWhat is fuelling me is beyond passion. Thereâs that knack and need to grow with every month, whatever year. Thereâs that need to.do something different. This industry of ours is for you to do whatever you want to do and not join the bandwagon. So for me, itâs the originality in me and the need to do something right that is fuelling me Basically, itâs the ever-creative venture in me,â he said.
Njamah talked about the changes in African stories, highlighting both the good and bad developments that have occurred over time.
âThereâs a positive aspect and thereâs a negative aspect. Thereâs a technical input. Weâre telling our stories better technically. Weâre telling better and bigger stories. The negative is that we are beginning to lose our originality. We are beginning to join the band wagon to tell what is peculiar to other people and not to us. We are beginning to lose a bit of our identity cos thereâs no longer us,â he said.
Njamah talked about the way casting works in the industry now compared to when he was active, noting the changes that have taken place.
âFuji House was a one-camera shoot with hungry and passionate people. Now we have people who cast people who are beautiful and with Barbie bodies and followership and not necessarily for your talents. Some of us try to be that original because thatâs where better stories are told. You want to tell stories with passionate people. Whether you like it or not, itâs a long shot but itâs possible. You want to give the actors that are worthy of the job and not the ones that are based on Instagram followers. We borrow from society and give back to the society by way of entertainment and pedagogical values.â
He stated that many filmmakers do not have good work ethics and emphasized that there is no effective way to oversee the performance of producers in the industry.
âProfessionalism is lacking. Respect for those in charge, humility and the like is lacking today. The industry lacks checks and balances. Every Tom, Dck and Harry can wake up and call themselves a producer and just get on board and be doing stuff without being checked and of course, the guild system is not working so they canât check. There are no criteria for who should become a producer. The system is also not working. Letâs just be mindful as producers, directors and actors,â he added.
He ended by saying that Nollywood is special and suggested creating a platform to promote and showcase our work, reducing reliance on foreign streaming services.
âThat thing that they donât like about us is what makes us, us. I am tired of people saying they donât want to come into the country for coproduction cos weâre that and that and why are we relying on the likes of the streamers? Why canât we do something that is for us by us so that they will come to us and ask for these things? We are solely depending on them to licence our movies, for survival. Speaking of coproduction, if you tell me you donât want to come into the country for any reason, Iâll tell you youâre wrong, cos there are amazing producers here that youâve seen their work. All you need to do is come to them and agree on modalities.â