What sparked this decision to take on the story of Amina, Warrior Queen of Zazzau?
I felt that I needed to step away from imitating the Western types of stories and tell what I perceived as a true African story. Amina is a true legend and with her story comes inspiration, as well as the idea of ‘I can do that too’ for our young women. The story of Queen Amina, in my opinion, if told well, will be a fantastic epic. The need to make this film came tied with the need to fix what is wrong with our film-making system in Nigeria. Though it serves the need of those in the industry currently, the films we make can hardly compete with others on the international scene. For an industry that is the third largest film producer in the world – second only to Bollywood and Hollywood – we need to start readdressing the quality of what we make. We lack continuity, attention to detail, dedication to the craft of acting (which can only be said for only a choice few. For the rest, as long as an actor is getting paid he/she doesn’t care what they act in).
My team and I decided making Amina was a step in the right direction. We will make a film that can hold its own when competing internationally and, if not, it will at least be a step in the right direction for our films. This isn’t saying, of course, that we make trash presently. I belong to the school of thought which believes that we can still up the ante with our film-making.
For such an important beacon of Hausa history, contradictory tales of her history imply that of a legendary myth. How much have you uncovered in the process of researching for this film project?
Honestly, we didn’t uncover much. We researched the Internet, history books and finally I went to Zaria to hear the real story. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to gather much there, either. What we found cumulatively was a great mix of myth and legends tied with some truth. But I was greatly comforted when I was shown her throne made of two rock slabs and her bed also crafted from raw rock. When I saw these I had goose bumps and thought to myself ‘she really did exist,’ even though some well-known historians and researchers have said she didn’t and have brought forth evidence to prove their theories.
What I saw in Zaria convinced me that she did exist in one form or another. Either way, she has managed to go down in history as a woman to be reckoned with. I was also taken to where the seat of her kingdom was, in Turunku, and not Zaria. While in Zaria, I heard stories of her – particularly her sword, which was quite similar to the Excalibur.
I also uncovered that she wasn’t a Muslim monarch and, most importantly, that most of what would have served as historical data for her time and rule was lost during the Sokoto jihad, where things that didn’t have an Islamic background where destroyed.
It is important to mention that after I had gone to Zaria on my reconnaisance mission, the emir was very gracious and kind enough to allow us shoot within his palace walls when we begin to shoot the film. This was a major sign that we had embarked on a purposeful project, the right project. We were convinced [that] it was the right project.
The story of Queen Amina is of both national and regional significance. Do you intend to produce this as a Nollywood or Kannywood film?
Formatte is a northern-based film company. I hate to label our films either Nollywood or Kannywood, but that is what we call them. I am from the north but the films I want to make will be Nigerian films; they will be neither Nolllywood nor Kannywood.
How has the process of producing this epic been for you; from writing the screen play to researching and shooting?
Well, I’ve had the idea since I was a teenager. But when I began to write the story, it was a dream I shared with my script and screen writer Emil Garuba, who patiently listened to me and read the chapters as I wrote and sent him the pages for feed-back. Garuba and I share a love for this story and his support was essential to finishing the story, before turning over the script to him.
He (Garuba) also helped me find my production crew – a team with which I have found common ground to relate to, especially as concerns our dreams to make Nigerian films in the right way. We have had cases of artistic differences and instances where members of my crew quit. I have had times when I wanted to hide under a rock after I realised that the film we wanted to make was actually bigger than all of us put together. We have had issues with finding locations, actors to suit our characters and all that. We have also had issues of financial fears from my part, because this film is being funded solo. But in truth, every time I felt the need to drop everything and run, my production manager Bem Pever and Garuba encourage me to ‘stick to it’ and push on, despite my fears.
I am currently shopping for a director, one who shares my vision for this film and will be there for all the other projects Formatte is interested in making.
What do you envision for Formatte as a production company and what projects are on your horizon?
This film about the great queen will be the first. After this we have two other epics which are, currently, at a developmental stage. Hopefully, when we are done with those, I would like Formatte to take on a few mainstream stories, but because I love fantasy as a genre – both in books and films – I will focus on that genre.
Content is vital for the sustainability of television as a business; how do you keep your company and its content relevant and attractive?
Well, we are currently developing some documentary and television drama series for a television channel. Formatte will make films, but this is an expensive industry and for one to have a passion like this, he/she has to have the finances to support it. That said, l am hoping that the majority of the proceeds from television will also help to fund Formatte’s film-making aspirations.
Kannywood makes films that cater to the preferences of the north, where the people love films with an Indian feel; romance, love-unrequited, strife, folk-tales, epics, etc, while Nollywood seems to make films that predominantly have a Western feel to them – and that seems to suit their viewing public. Although, I recently found out that a large amount of people from Western and Southern Nigeria like to watch Kannywood films. Formatte has, in development, a film which represents the best of Kannywood.
How has the day-to-day business of your family-owned television network, DiTV, influenced who you have become, most especially your interest in television and film-production?
I grew up in a media-inclined family, with both parents working. My mother was on television while my father was worked with a radio station. As a child, I remember my siblings and I covering up in veils and reading from newspapers imitating her. I didn’t immediately want to be in media. In fact, for a very long time, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to be in the future and, in my adult years, I found evolved into a ‘jack of all trades’. I started a lot of businesses – making hand-made souvenirs, events management, tailoring and running my own little charity. To date, once a year I run a take-out kitchen, The Ramadan Kitchen, which opens only during fasting periods.
After secondary school, my father put me to work in the marketing department of DiTV. I didn’t last long there, as I grew bored and left unannounced. The running of the television station didn’t impact on me that much. In fact, while my father was alive, only my older brother showed interest in it, but after we lost him and my older brother, I found myself finally seeing the passion they had for media and everything it represented. I remember the dedication which the station demanded from my father in the beginning. My greatest inspiration was when he smiled and proudly said to someone that it was his.
I have always loved writing, and I am a self-professed poet. Seeing both my father and brother’s love for this end of the industry gave me the fuel I needed to finally decide what I wanted to do. I no longer have a stake in DiTv Kaduna, but I have a legacy from my father of making one’s dreams come true.
Bollywood and Nollywood were once accorded indigenous preference and now both have become internationally acclaimed, especially with Nollywood actors and film producers being recognised amongst a wider international audience. How do you think Kannywood can improve and excel to such heights?
Kannywood is well on its way to reaching that level too. What you should understand is that the film makers in Kannywood are giving the viewing audience what they want to see and the first rule of entertainment, in my opinion, is giving your target audience what they want to see. Films in Kannywood are conservative in nature and that is because the north is conservative. Societal issues are addressed through use of comedy, suspense, romance and music. I admire the writers of the music used in Kannywood movies. The films are mapped out of older generation Indian films and I have had a chance to see some remakes of Bollywood films in Kannywood. If Hollywood can do it, why can’t we? We have ‘stars’ in Kannywood who are at the top of their game and it helps to sell the films like hot cakes. They may not be to the specification of everyone, but I dare say film-making in Kannywood has greatly improved and is on its way to even greater heights. As you know, collaborations between the Kannywood and Nollywood actors and film makers have become the norm.
It is what I intend for my films. I will use a mix of Nollywood and Kannywood talent to translate what Emil Garuba and I have written now and in the future. I hope that, one day, this invisible line that has been drawn to demarcate films made in the north, south or west will be erased for good and we will only have Nigerian movies. Our industry is a force to be reckoned with.
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