Banji Adesanmi
If you follow the programme Sharing Life Issues on Inspirational FM, some of the true-life events shared on the programme are feeds from Inspaya TV production. Banji Adesanmi is the executive producer of Inspaya TV. He is also the President of Inspaya productions, the media arm of Banji Adesanmi Ministry. On 29th April, Adesanmi’s first movie, Strangers, will hit cinemas. He speaks on the inspiration behind the movie and his plan for the industry with Chinedu Ibeabuchi
You have been passionately involved in media broadcasting and now movie production. Tell us the motivation behind this?
This comes from my experience in life generally and also in human relationships. I have discovered that it is easier to counsel people and challenge life issues when you tell stories. When you give examples and testimonies, people grasp the theory behind a point or a discussion or a line of thinking faster and better. Jesus has a reason for using parables to explain what he says. Sometimes when people just hear a parable or story only, it resolves the issue. I’ve always known that. Even though a businessman for a while, I’ve also been a preacher since my teenage years while in school and I have discovered over the years as an itinerant evangelist that when you want people to grasp the point, just use a story or an example. That was what led to starting the Inspaya TV show in 2016. Inspaya then was a documentary where we record people’s inspirational stories and testimonies. People become “inspayalised” because when they watch, they just open their mouths like “Really, did that happen? Somebody went through that?” That is my passion. We paused due to covid and its attendant effect on support and funds. We were on three TV stations. We produced over a hundred and ten episodes; each one was for thirty minutes. By extension, movie production is just another way of doing what we were doing now to the mainstream where everybody can benefit and also be entertained! Looking forward to greater platforms in the future is the motivation behind it.
Tell us more about Inspaya TV ?
As I said, when we started the Inspaya programme on TV, we also decided to domicile all our stories on the website, so if anyone goes to Inspaya.tv, you would find all the stories that we have there. One of the off-shoot of that program too was that there was a time we partnered with Inspiration FM on their sharing life issues programme where people call in and we discuss life issues, particularly in the area of life, relationships, goal settings and we use some of the stories and examples from Inspaya.
Is Strangers your first movie?
Yes! This is my first solo movie as an executive producer and it means a lot to me because I believe this is a story that was well told, high-quality production, using the best cast that is available out there in the industry.
Why did you choose that storyline among other true-life events?
Like Bolaji Ogunmola puts it in one of her interviews, this story is authentic and everyone can relate to it! I chose this particular one as the first one out of the many that we are still going to do because it’s a story I love so much. It’s a story about perseverance that cuts across decades; and it’s a story that fits everybody, the whole family must come and watch the movie.
What are the take-home lessons from this movie?
Hope! We themed it, “Reach for the Stars”. It basically encourages you that it is never over! Teaches perseverance, and development of character and the story also says, it doesn’t matter where you are from, you can become anything even beyond what you desire to become. It also talks about the sovereignty and providence of God in that God can help anybody. It doesn’t matter the setbacks you have in life, or how difficult or how bad it is, there is always hope. You can reach for the stars!
What informs your choice of cast for the movie?
When we set out for this, I first made up my mind that if I am going to tell this story at all in a full-length movie, it has to be top-notch. The quality of production has to be very high, both in terms of cast, crew, and general production. Having Lateef Adedimeji was a no-brainer. He does what he does best; he interprets his roles very well. So he was a no-brainer as our main actor. For the lead female too, Bimbo Oshin was it! In fact, she injured herself while interpreting the role in one of the scenes where she fell down, out of expressing the zeal of a mother. The Yoruba call it “Itara” – the heart of a mother towards her son. She had a cut on her knee.
We had Bolaji Ogunmola. And the good thing about some of the cast is that this is their first cinema shoot, at least – as at the time we recorded. They are very proud of it. We also had Veterans like Chris Iheuwa. There was a part where we needed someone who also could speak a foreign language and he could speak French, and his wife in the movie was acted by an actress we brought in from Cameroon, Ndamo Damarise, who did an excellent job. I saw her act in a movie on Netflix and I saw the way she interpreted her role. So, I just told the Director – Biodun Stephens, that I believe that this actress could interpret this role well.
On the set, Ndamo was almost in every scene. We also had veterans like Taiwo Ibikunle, who did an excellent job too. We had Baba Peter, Fatomilola who came in from Ife and played the role of a herbalist in the movie; and we had Debby Felix, a very good actress; Others are Jide Kososko, Bimbo Akintola, Femi Adebayo, etc. We just wanted the best for the movie. Whether it was one day on set or for ten or twelve days on set, these people did an excellent job.
The location looks real. How did you go about this?
For the location, we went to a remote village in Oyo State. Even from Oyo town, we had to drive every morning and evening for almost an hour to get to the set – we just kept going into the bush, because we needed a stream or a river to interpret it. Anything to make sure we did an excellent job. I’m sure people will not be disappointed with what we did and of course, the director – Biodun Stephens – that woman na “winch”. She is very good, she would always retake the scene as many times as she wants – Perfection Personified! I am grateful to all of them.
After this, what’s next for you as a producer?
We’re going to do much more. I see Inspaya productions growing and I already know what our next project is likely to be. Or what our next two projects are going to be. I know if the script is good, if the passion is there, and if you get a good cast and production, it will really be acknowledged.
Accolades?
This particular movie coming to cinemas has already started winning awards – two Film Awards festivals had already selected it as part of their official selection. At one of the festivals that was concluded earlier in the month of April, Strangers already won the gold winners award for Directing. Another festival at the time of this interview has it as a semi-finalist in their festival. The one where it won The Gold Winners award, was at the International Independent Films Award in Los Angeles. The idea is – that it is not about churning quantity. It is about Quality. That is the way to go!
How do you see yourself in the movie business in the next five years?
I’m trusting God that the synergy will increase. We’d find more partnerships, particularly internationally! And we can also tell more stories that appeal to people internationally and in five years, we would have done a minimum of 3-4 more movies that would have won awards, and ultimately maybe that can even lead to other programmes, maybe online shows, radio shows or TV shows that just help people be who they can be.
How do you unwind?
Preaching, traveling! I love preaching. It’s just a passion. I love teaching, preaching, saying things, impacting people, counseling, and helping people with whatever it is they are facing in life. I just want to encourage everyone to watch this movie – Strangers! It’s going to be in cinemas in Nigeria on the 29th of April.
