The Man Himself, Daniel Okoduwa aka Scrim
So proud to post my
newest interview featuring Daniel Okoduwa, a Nigerian born writer,
singer, actor, producer and a movie director. He spent most of his early years
in the ancient city of Benin, capital of Edo city located in the Southern part
of Nigeria.
The young Nigerian is
consistently making a name for himself, having lived in Australia for over 11
years; Daniel has collaborated with so many great names in the industry. In
2004 Daniel teamed up with director Matthew Scott to produce the first African
Australian film titled Death Is a Diamond, a film that tells of the pain
Africans were going through from conflict and blood diamond. In May, 2009, a movie
written and produced by Daniel Okoduwa, called ‘Love, Lost and Temptation’, was voted most watched Afro Australian movie of all time and was aired to
Due to a number of his
fantastic work, In 2009 Daniel Okoduwa was invited by the prestigious
Australian Centre for Photography to lecture and contribute his exceptional views
on Nigerian films and the context in which they are produced. His latest movie
Gossip Nation, has recorded huge success, according to him, this work was one
of his most challenging work so far. Gossip Nation was written by Daniel and
directed by the talented Mike Kang, featuring a great combination of Afro
Australian actors in the likes of Sofia Edosomwan, Edigue Omokaro and some big
names in the Nigerian movie industry in the likes of Ejike Asiegbu and Monalisa
Chinda.
Your movie Love, Lost and Temptation was rated most
watched Afro Australian movie in 2010 and was shown to an audience of all white
Australians, what was that experience like for you?
One on One with Stephanie caught up with the man behind
these great achievements to share his journey with us.
At what point did you know this was what you wanted to do?
Thank you Stephanie, hmmm that
is quit a tough one. As you might be aware I have been doing movies and music for
a while, I can’t expressly state when the love for movie started but as for
music, I have been singing since I could run lol, I have always loved singing
and performing.
How would you describe Daniel Okoduwa the artist and the
man?
Daniel Okoduwa the man is a deep thinker, if anything I
would love to relax more but I am too deep into many projects and visions that
I sometimes forget life has other beautiful things to offer. As a man, I am
beginning to train myself to start enjoying life, I sometimes forget my
birthday of all days until someone calls me to wish me a happy birthday and am
like oh it is my birthday, this is to tell you how busy I used to be but am
beginning to slow it down a bit and spend more time with family and friends. As
for the artist, Scrim, he is wild on stage, always thinking of the next move,
next project etc. Having the can do mentality; I strive to go places where
people are scared to go.
Who would you say your biggest influences are musically
and why?
Hmmm not too sure who my influences are but I do have acts
I have respect for, for instance Bob Marley, Phil Collins, Seal, Elton John,
Fela Koti, Majek Fashek, Pitbull, Whitney Houston, Tracy Chapman, Asa and I
tell you the list goes on but I will stop here for now.
How did you come up with Gossip Nation?
Like
every other community in Australia, the African community is not without problems;
gossip is one very big problem eating deep into the fabric of our community.
People don’t wait to question certain information they hear, to make it even
more interesting, people spice things up before transferring it to the next
listener, so I thought this will make a great movie. The movie displays how gossip
cannot only destroy a family but a community and a nation as a whole.
Has there been any setback and
how did you overcome them?
I
sometimes feel that the society is not yet ready for what we are doing, Australia is not yet really ready somehow,
this year what we have been doing is trying to build an industry, we are only
starting and that in itself is a setback. Sometimes I just wish the people who
came before us had already established the scene ready for us to cruise upon,
honestly, that would have made things a lot easier and nicer but we are the
ones building the stage for the upcoming generation. Setback like people
calling you a dreamer, you feel the increasing pressure that people are not yet
ready for what we are doing.
It
was a dream comes through for me, when I first started, things were so basic,
in fact my movies where so primary but I have grown over the years and Gossip
Nation is a testament to that. I am very proud and humbled to say I am the
winner of SPAA AWARDS 2012, this I feel is a huge success as am not just a filmmaker
but now recognize as an Australian filmmaker. I think this is not just my
victory alone but an African Victory here in Australia. I have recently been
approached by major Australian film distributors so as to have my work
distributed to consumers nationwide.
What advice would you give to young African Australians
trying to make it into the industry considering how successful you have become
in the past few years?
For
the young ones, they have to be ready to work hard and patience matters a lot
especially in the entertainment industry, believe in yourself, believe in what
you are doing and just keep at it and also be true to your art and stay humble.
check this out, more to come
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