Jack never imagined that his experience creating stage plays as a student at the University of Calabar would catapult him into the world of Nollywood. Staying true to his ideals, he soon caught the attention of industry professionals and was offered an internship at Film One in Lagos. Despite lacking financial resources or connections in Lagos, Jack seized the opportunity, making the grueling daily commute from Ajah, where he lived, to Victoria Island in his early days.
His talent and determination began to bear fruit when his second screenplay, Adire, premiered on Netflix, featuring the acclaimed actress Kehinde Bankole. Although he wasn’t the director and lacked full creative control, Jack remained deeply involved throughout the production of what he affectionately called “his baby.” His perseverance paid off when he was given the chance to co-direct his latest creation, Farmers Bride alongside Adebayo Tijani, a collaborator of his choosing.
Culture Custodian spoke with this rising talent to discuss his career, his latest film, and the driving forces behind his success.
Can you talk to me about how you got into screenwriting, directing, and acting all at once?
I studied Theater and Media at the University of Calabar. And in my final year, I just realized that I was more interested in directing. I directed A Raisin in the Sun and shocked the entire school by doing it really well, which was like this African American play by Lorraine Hansberry. Then I did August Wilson’s Fences. I think what drew me to those plays were how universal the themes were and how black people had strong conversations.
So in coming to Lagos to intern for Film One, I looked for every opportunity to tell them that I was more than an intern. I wrote a short film for Johnny Drill when he was promoting his album, Before I Wake, called Liza. Then after that, I wrote the story for Battle on Buka Street, the film with Funke Akindele. The idea for Adire hit me and I kind of just really liked it because I thought it could be this suburban-type film. Acting has always been something that I loved, but I practiced a lot of it through directing. So in directing for theater, one of the things that I would do was to act out a lot of the sequences for the actors.
Would you say that any particular film has influenced your work?
Oh, definitely. Over the years, the works of Izu OJukwu have really inspired me. Like, I remember his films a lot, Sitanda, White Waters, and The Child. When Half of a Yellow Sun came, I did not care what anybody thought, whether the film was better than the book or the book or better than the film. All I saw was how beautiful this film was and how powerful the actors were.
How did you feel when Netflix acquired rights for Adiré?
I felt validated because one of the major fears a lot of people have had with me is he’s so artsy, he speaks in a certain way, and he most likely won’t be able to connect to grassroots Nigerians. But I’m a Bayelsan, I grew up in very small places. I didn’t I didn’t grow up with money or opportunities. If I had the opportunity, I would have been directing my own films for a very long time.
Farmer’s Bride is your third major screenplay. How has your approach to storytelling evolved since Adire and A Battle of Buka Street?
I’m very much more certain of what I want to say. Also, I am better at giving myself space to think and breathe. I don’t want to write every script, I don’t want to write everybody’s story. The pressure of wanting to be picked has drastically reduced. I’m allowing my mind to do a lot of the work and not allowing anxiety and unnecessary pressure to fill up. And also another thing is I’m learning to trust my own voice more because like with writing. I’m also much more comfortable in my creative process.
Your films often explore social issues. What specific societal concerns does Farmer’s Bride address, and why did you feel compelled to tackle them?
Honestly, people would see the film and have their own opinions because it’s just that type of film. But for me, especially for Gbubemi and I because we share the same point of view for our characters, I think the film really addresses society and womanhood. Fumi’s character, for instance, was a woman that just wanted to be left alone, yet society pressured her into a marriage that she didn’t want. And I’m sure when people watch the film, the same society would point fingers at her. It’s important to just let people be and make the decisions that they want. I think Farmer’s Bride shows a very different reaction that a person would take when they are pushed to the wall by society or by the people around them.
I didn’t particularly feel compelled because my process is never that forced. I rarely ever set out to want to address a social issue. Even for Adire, it wasn’t intentional. All of those issues subconsciously live with me because there are some things I really don’t like. Sometimes stories write themselves.
What factors influenced your casting decision, Farmer’s Bride boasts the likes of Tobi Bakre, Gbugbemi Ejeye, and Femi Branch?
So I chose the major characters. I’ve never worked with Gbugbemi Ejeye before. I’ve never met her, but I’m a dark skin advocate. I grew up loving Genevieve Nnaji, she’s literally like my favorite Nollywood personality. I knew that I wanted this girl that I’ve never met to play Funmi. I thought she looked very beautiful, but at the same time, she looked dangerous. I wanted a very melanin-type black girl to own this role because I felt like it was the type of film that was designed for that type of girl. Then I just knew Tobi Bakre would work, I saw him in Gangs of Lagos. I worked with Femi Branch in Adire, and I’m actually a fan.
Did you face any challenges in portraying the rural settings and agricultural themes in Farmer’s Bride, if yes, what were they?
I had to climb a mountain literally to make a call on set, a lot of network issues. Also, I’m not Yoruba. Yeah. So I constantly needed someone to interpret for me. I didn’t mind though, I was seeing a world that looked very picturesque and beautiful, who cares if I understood the language or not? At this moment, I’m blessed to even get a film that allows me to travel and allows us to be in the real world instead of just shooting in Lagos.
Your characters often resonate deeply with your Nigerian audience. How do you craft such authentic personalities, and which character in Farmer’s Bride was the most challenging to develop?
Oh, that’s such a good question. You ask such good questions. So one thing that I do is I’m very true to myself when I write. I always feel like when I look outward for character inspirations, I’m often not very truthful because I don’t know the person’s full story. So what I do is I try to look into myself because I feel like I’m a complex person and people wouldn’t know me. I have a ton of people who I’ve been friends with for so many years and they completely adore me and I have people who swear that I’m the worst thing on earth. I will not shrink myself just because I want people to like me. So it’s the same thing that I do when I write. I tap into every aspect of myself. I tap from the sweetness of my heart, but I also tap from the darkness that I know exists there.
Fumi was the most challenging because I wasn’t sure how to do justice to a complex beautiful woman. Her character is perfect to me, including her flaws. And I think because I approached the character with respect and not judgment.
Adire, Battle on Buka Street, and now Farmer’s Bride all have strong female protagonists. Is this deliberate and if so, why?
I don’t know if it’s deliberate. I learned many years ago to tell the stories that break my heart. We pitch many stories, and some are male-led, some are female-led, depending on where my mind is. I’ve just been blessed to have the female-led stories resonating with producers and executive producers and them wanting to invest. I also think that it’s because I have a lot of respect for women.
Your films often blend humor with serious themes. How do you strike this balance in Farmer’s Bride, and why is this approach important to you?
It’s not usually intentional because the worst type of humor is when you’re trying to get people to laugh, but I also believe that Nigerians are very funny people, even when we don’t want to be funny. It’s just the way we are. I can be very serious, but at the same time, I’m like the life of the party. I can also be very funny. And it’s also how I see myself that somehow just unintentionally shines through like the pages.
Looking at your body of work so far, what overarching message do you hope to achieve through your films, and how does Farmer’s Bride contribute to this goal?
I want to show Nigerians, Africans, black people in the most beautiful light. I’m not talking about sugarcoating what we go through. I want to show our daily lives, and how it feels like to be Nigerian, but in a way that is elevated and almost aligned and powerful. I think a film will live forever if it is designed from a place of power and strength. There’s beauty in poverty, there’s beauty in our wealth, there’s beauty in the parts of us that we create, but there’s also beauty in Makoko. I want to constantly elevate those experiences and I want them to shine in a way that can compete globally and can resonate with people all over the world. I think that’s how I approach it and I think Farmer’s Bride does that heavily.
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