Imoh Umoren is an award-winning director and a filmmaker extraordinaire. He is recognized as one of the new Nollywood pioneers who boasts of award-winning Indie films including his well-applauded film: “Children of Mud.”
Imoh has flexed his intellectual ability to the length of creating solid content for brands like MTN, MTV and Malta Guinness. He has been part of TV productions such as MTN Project Fame, Maltina Street Dance and others.
Speaking about his first television appearance, Umoren, 36, said he was so frightened that he swore he would never act again. But guess what? He eventually got a job as a junior producer before finally settling into producing and directing.
With the release of his latest project “Lagos : Sex, Life and Traffic,” a film made exclusively for M-Net, The Next Edition caught up with him to talk about making Indie movies and Nollywood.
TNE: How did you get into film making? And when did you decide to be an indie film maker?
I wanted to be a sitcom writer. I’m not gonna lie. Never wanted to be a film director but I found myself in it even though I’ve studied it extensively. I worked for an American Non-Governmental Organization, NGO, Common Ground Production and produced a series called “The Station” and that’s where I cut my teeth. I went on to direct my first pilot for a sitcom called “One For The Road…I’ll eventually make it in this life. I worked on a lot of big franchise reality shows after that so I think my Indie film making was me trying to buy back my soul, it started out as a rebellion. Imagine working on reality shows like Project Fame with hundreds of crew, equipments, everything going smoothly so I made my first feature Lemon Green in Jos and it was critically acclaimed so that begun my journey.
TNE: Indie films are usually low budget productions, do you think that affects the overall products or because it’s not a big name production it allows for more creative expression for film makers?
Asides from low production, Indie is also a style. From the writing, directing style, locations, how it is released and promoted. I deliberately make my films a certain way to be more personal and soulful and, yes, I really love the creative freedom it affords me because I’m not trying to conform to any laid down rule from a big “studio” perspective. But you see, I also shoot a lot of big budget production like ‘Oghenekome’ which was massive and my period piece is also going to be massive.
TNE: You have worked on big shows like MTN XtraConnect Game show, Malta Guinness Street Dance and others. What is the difference between working on big productions like that and making films?
The fact that you have everything you need makes it easier. On massive reality shows, you are directing multiple cameras 8 to 12 so for every time I can see everything happening and you pick and choose your story in real time. My films are primarily single cameras of premeditated stories and the difficulty is mountain levels. Also, the mediums of release are hugely different. With films, I have to convince you to watch yet another film, with TV it’s a continuous stream mostly especially after the first season. If you’re a fan of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” you’ll naturally be looking forward to the new season and will take little or no convincing. Budgets also are hugely different. Those reality shows cost upwards to one billion naira to produce and that can buy you all sorts of security, expertise and publicity.
TNE: ‘Hard Times’ won you your first AMVCA for Best New Media in 2015, how did you come about that idea? And what made you think it would be well received if at all?
I had always wanted to make a black and white silent film. By the way, “Hard Times” is Nollywood’s first silent film. I had been filming commercials and all sorts of “big studio” productions that year so when I came off it I wanted to make something different so I wrote “Hard Times”. I remember when I was filming it a friend of mine told me Nigerians weren’t going to appreciate it but it’s been one of my most successful films of late. The truth is Nigerians are very sophisticated and it is insulting to assume they only watch those dumbed down Mexican soap opera-inspired shows and films.
READ ALSO: Award Winning Filmmaker X-rays Lagosians in New Film, ‘Lagos: Sex, Lies and Traffic’
TNE: Your movie “Children of Mud,” which is a great movie by the way, got four nominations at the AMVCA 2018 and also got positive reactions at the American Black Film Festival in the United States of America. Do you think this has to do with the storyline? Was the story something close to heart or personal?
It was very personal for me because I come from the region where this has been a big issue and it’s endemic in the whole country, kids thrown out of their homes, molested by parents and guardians, Almajiris up North, the homeless kids down South and so I decided to make it. I am glad it got the reception it did. It was a creative list having a feature film driven by kids in those roles for 90 minutes but it came out beautifully. I think the reception for the film was based purely on how exceptional the performance and the story was.
TNE: You recently released the trailer for your new film “Lagos : Sex, Life and Traffic,” can you tell us about it? What should we be expecting?
“Lagos: Sex, Lies and Traffic,” was an idea I developed 6 or 7 years ago and it was purely on observing people in this city. What really motivates them and I realized that what we didn’t really have were independent thinkers. We have millions of people going to and fro -aimlessly being stuck in a cycle and I broke down what were the things that kept them in the loop of a seeming existence and they were Sex, Lies and Traffic. People look forward to sex as a reward for well…being alive and we have lies from President, Preachers and Ponzi schemes, three things Nigerians ‘pray to’ and spend most of our adult lives in traffic. So what you will see in the film is a potpourri of different characters from different backgrounds, the island-mainland dichotomy, the haves and haves not and how their lives intertwine. It is primarily a story about a Lagos state gubernatorial candidate who got his mistress pregnant and would do anything to preserve his image…but there’s so much more to that simplistic description. There’s a subtext to every dialogue, action and location.
TNE: What is your opinion on Nollywood? Where it is now and what it could be?
Nollywood is growing in leaps and bounds and you can see it from our new releases. I mean the mediocrity gang still has a lot of films in circulation but their demise is edging closer as viewers are more demanding these days and insist on quality storytelling.
TNE: What would you improve in Nollywood if you could?
I just had the same discussion with my friend Yomi Ososanya who wrote on Ajoche and writes an article about films in one of the dailies and Aaron Ugede who was a Post-Production Executive on Mnet. Writers!!!! We do not have good writers in Nollywood. We focus too much on shots, cameras, the peripherals but we do not have very good writers. The few brilliant writers are so bogged down with TV work they barely have time for films. I don’t blame them, TV pays so much money. We need to organize a seminar and training programmes for writers.
TNE: You are quite active on Twitter. Have you ever regretted something you said there? Maybe in response to someone?
If I regret I immediately apologize for it. I love using Twitter because of its microblogging. I can write in short bursts without the commitment of making it a full article. Also, connecting with my fanbase (read as cousins) who are my fanbase is very important to me.
TNE: You also talk a lot about your family especially your son. How do you handle late night sets and being a family man?
Oh, I used to take my son with me to work. He’s quite popular amongst my film people but now he’s overseas with his mum even though he video calls me everyday. Honestly, I was desperate for a child. Growing up as an orphan I had to deal with intense loneliness and not really having a sense of belonging as I had to live with different relatives and so when I grew up I desperately wanted to start a family. That didn’t really work out but I got a beautiful child out of it and he totally adores me as I do him. We video call each other all day long and even when I’m filming he insists I help him with his reading so when we are swinging sets I sneak out and video call him.
TNE: Which filmmakers do you look up to – Abroad and in Nollywood?
All Wes Anderson films in Hollywood, All Walter Taylaur films in Nollywood
TNE: What projects do you have in the pipeline?
I just finished principal photography for “The Coffin Salesman” and I am releasing “Dear Bayo” in a couple of weeks. This year, I’m on my Chico Ejiro, so I’ll be churning out more films before the year ends.
