I don’t want to be remembered for my many fights — Obaseki

By Taiwo Okanlawon

Nigerian-British actor, John Boyega, has called on Nollywood filmmakers to raise their standards to compete globally.

At the AFRIFF panel session on Monday, the film star stressed that Nollywood needs to improve its filmmaking quality.

The 32-year-old actor, who had his international breakthrough in the ‘Star Wars’ sequel trilogy films, also cited the importance of international collaboration.

Boyega emphasized the need for workshops and learning opportunities to enhance the industry and called for the federal government’s support of Nollywood.

“Unfortunately, the filmmaking is not at the level it needs to be. Everybody has to be a student and collaborate at this point, we need to collaborate. To collaborate, both the international and Nigerian filmmakers need to be humble,” he said.

“We also need to raise the standards. I want to see a Nigerian franchise that can make a billion naira at the global box.

“I want us to be the main place at the mainstream but we do need to improve the quality of filmmaking here.

“This then leads to opportunities like workshops that provide opportunities for people to learn. We also need government’s support. The most important thing now is we need to change our mind. We need to raise the standards.”

Drawing inspiration from international films, Boyega referenced Marvel’s Avengers and Black Panther’s success.

“The new standard should be if I enjoy Avengers and Marvel, why not in Nigeria? Why can’t we have those kinds of movies here? We saw the way Black Panther went down in the global box,” he said.

“How much money they made imitating you but why can’t we do that for ourselves? I think it means getting off our high horses and everyone becoming a student.”

Boyega also advised directors and producers to adopt a more open-minded approach, embrace structural changes, conduct thorough research, and encourage constructive criticism.

“Also, Nollywood directors and producers have to open up their minds to a structural change. We need a structural change,” he added.

“If you think you have put a film together and you haven’t done research for the dialogue to be authentic, the extracurricular research outside of the role to see how the character will talk and walk.

“Trust me, you are not there yet and it is important for someone to tell you at this level that you are not there yet because how are you going to reach your full potential?

“… So we need to think about how we can collaborate to create change.”

Boyega, full name, John Adedayo B. Boyegayega, was born to Nigerian parents on 17 March 1992 in London. He twice visited Nigeria last year.

He started acting from primary school and rose to prominence in the UK over his role as Moses in the 2011 sci-fi comedy film Attack the Block.

He went on to play Finn in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its 2017 sequel Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Boyega’s other credits include historical drama film Detroit (2017), the science fiction film Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), four episodes of the television series 24: Live Another Day and the drama Imperial Dreams (2014). Boyega received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016.