Chiamaka Ugoo: Tackling Sex for Role, My Motivation for Filmmaking

Nollywood filmmaker Chiamaka Ugoo’s recent metamorphosis sparked curiosity about the motivation that prompted her to venture into the art of filmmaking, having hitherto made her name as an author, radio host, and women advocate. In this interview with MARY NNAH, she unveils the backdrop to her new vista of filmmaking, which is described as a rich tapestry of personal motivation and professional activism for social equity in support of the female gender

It is not every day you meet an author that becomes a filmmaker. Tell us about what motivated you to become a filmmaker.

Filmmaking is something I have always wanted to do for a long time. I wanted to be an actress. I was 18 years old the first time I went to a movie location. Even before and after then, someone would stop me and say, “I am a movie producer or I am a modeling agent, you have everything it takes to be a star.” At the end of the day, the person will start looking for another thing. That is when they would start demanding sex to give you roles in moves. And then they would tell you: “Oh, I have to sleep with you to make you a movie star so I know that you are my own.” They would start brainwashing you, telling you all sorts of rubbish. I see so many young girls these predators turned into a plaything. They messed them up. So I said, what I would do is whenever I have the time and the resources, I would help many young girls. A lot of young girls want to be movie stars but some randy men in the industry take advantage of them. So my major motivation for taking this path is to help the average young girl out there that has everything it takes to be a movie star. As long as I am here, those randy men will not have the opportunity to mess with any girl again. On the other hand, I want to make a name in the movie industry as one of the top producers in Nigeria and Africa.

What inspired your new movie and how does it fit into your advocacy for women?

The movie is titled, “Before I do”, and it is a love story with glamour.  As I said, I have always wanted to be a movie producer. So how does this fit into advocacy for young women? You have many young girls who want to be movie stars and there are some men taking advantage of them deceiving them with false promises of making them movie stars. At the end of the day, some of these male predators destroy the young girls’ lives. I want to put a stop to that. That is a sort of advocacy too. As long as any young girl is opportune to come around me, and if she is talented, I will hand her a role. I will feature her in my movie, without stress. Not all the men in the industry are bad; there are good ones and there are bad eggs among them just as you would find in any other industry. I want to stop some of these men feel they can mess with young women anyhow.

How long did you plan this production and what were the pains? 

I could have started this three years back but I was being careful. There are many bad elements, many biases, and many deceitful people; knowing who to trust is so hard―and no one is an island. You cannot, from the outside, jump into what you don’t know. You need someone in that field, someone that knows it well, to guide you through. Getting that person that knows it all was one of the toughest things for me. With so many deceitful people parading themselves in the industry, you might meet someone who would just waste your money, and before you even know it, millions would have gone down the drain. 

Film production, no doubt, is a new vista for you. What has been your learning curve so far?

I am still new in this field. And as they say, Rome was not built in a day. I must find people to learn from or people to guide me and put me through. It is after a few productions that one can boast of knowing something about everything, including how to get your cast. 

Presently, I am learning from the people that have been there way before me. Sometimes, I would feel frustrated, but I recognised that it is still too early to do things by myself. I need to learn very well, I need people to put me through, which is what I am doing. 

Going forward, how do you hope to use this medium in your future endeavours?

Being a filmmaker will give me leverage. It will enable me to reach a larger number of women. It will make my advocacy easier.

How are you going to ensure that this film gets to the target audience?

I believe I came up with a movie people will be interested in. I should, therefore, be creating a captivating movie trailer, because trailers are a good part of movie marketing. A very good trailer will captivate the audience and push them to watch the full movie. After identifying your target audience, you still need to hold them firmly with a captivating trailer. Part of my lesson from more experienced and legendary filmmakers is knowing what works for them and learning one or two things from them, such as how to get the movie screened and submit it to local film festivals to make my production great, too. 

Kindly share with us your long-term objectives as a filmmaker

One is to create blockbuster movies that will activate the audience. Two, to give talented young women the opportunity of being movie superstars; I am giving them that opportunity so that no man will ask them to come to the hotel room and have sex with them before giving them movie roles. Three, to be a renowned filmmaker, one of the top filmmakers around.

Now that you are a filmmaker, how are you going to manage your time and focus on your other interests?

I will, first of all, want to be known as a filmmaker and then an advocate of young women’s causes. Hence, filmmaking is number one for me and I don’t think it will, in any way, affect my advocacy. Both are interwoven.

What are the biggest issues facing womenfolk in Nigeria?

Number one should be gender-based violence. A lot of Nigerian women have, at a point in their lives, suffered physical or sexual violence. Young women are being raped and the perpetrators get away with it because most of the victims do not speak out because of shame and the stigma that comes with it in society.

Another big issue facing young women in Nigeria is access to basic things in life. When I started my outreach programme, going to schools, I found out that most of these young girls, and their parents couldn’t afford something as basic as sanitary pads. A lot of the girls call me to say “Please, aunty I cannot afford sanitary pads.” Their parents can’t afford them, either. Some of them even said they have been using rags, from old clothes in their houses. It hurts me to know that things like sanitary pads are still an issue in this age. And indeed, sanitary pads keep getting more expensive. The government should do something about this because it is a major problem for these young women especially those in the villages, or schooling in rural areas.

How would you advise teenage girls on how to avoid gender-based violence in the future?

My outreach programme includes visits to secondary schools to educate young girls. They need to, first of all, understand what gender-based violence is. So, number one, I am educating them on the dangers of gender-based violence, because the most important way to prevent it is through education and awareness. Number two, I am educating them on the need to speak out about any abuse in school, at home, in the workplace, with uncles, family members, or friends, and teaching them to speak out. Violence against women should never be tolerated. And to all these young girls who have experienced gender-based violence, my advice to them is that they shouldn’t be afraid to speak up. They shouldn’t let anyone get away with violence. They should have a mentor figure that they can always confide in when they feel a certain way. They should have people that they can always talk to.

What are you doing to mould young girls?

Talking to these girls and educating them about life’s mistakes and experiences, is my way of contributing to a better future for them. Every young woman needs to know that they deserve the opportunity to be loved and to be respected by a man. It is important to build this awareness into their brains because if you don’t and they get to a certain stage, it will be difficult to correct them. The major thing is to make them believe in themselves, and not tolerate any shabby treatment from any man or any human being at all. Once they have that self-confidence, they can do anything. They won’t let themselves be treated less than a human. In the future, they will know that “the treatment that this man is giving me is not normal.” That way they can stand on their feet and say no “this is bad and you don’t treat this way.”

When will your new movie be in the cinema or featured at film festivals?

It is my first movie production, so I have to test the waters first. So I shot this one for TV and online platforms.