Olufemi Onabajo on Seeking Refuge

1. Olufemi Onabajo on Seeking Refuge Olufemi Onabajo comes across as an extremely warm and cordial person who is at once knowledgeable and passionate about the work that he does. The filmmaker, who has been active since 2006, when he began performing and organizing stage productions for churches and charities in the UK and South Africa, has been living in the UK for close to 20 years. From his home in London and over a Google Meet call, the filmmaker speaks to us about his new movie, Seeking Refuge and what the Nollywood film industry is like in the UK. The Ijebu-native begins our conversation by describing his favourite Nigerian cuisine, Ikokore, and went further to describe how well-represented the Nigerian culinary culture is in London. But does that representation translate to our films, and what is it like to make Nollywood films in the UK compared to Nigeria? “

2. The difference is clear, the Nollywood industry in the UK is not there yet, but we are trying our best and pushing the boundaries. We have got good filmmakers like Obi Emelonye, who are making quality movies but it is certainly much easier to shoot in Nigeria. The support is more and the environment is more tolerable. The hurdles here, like permissions you need, means you are either unable to do something you want to immediately or at all.” “The process is quite tedious and expensive,” Onabajo says about making films in the UK, “you need to check the availability of your cast, secure locations, get permissions from local councils, and those things can be really difficult because you cannot guarantee if you’ll be allowed to shoot.” What he means is that it is not simply a matter of taking a camera and shooting, as it is in Nigeria. “Shooting a prison scene in the UK,” he cites an example, “could cost you as much as 5000 pounds!” Contact Us www.meroestream.com sales@meroestream.com +44 7554 032499