My Life In Nollywood: John Chizoba Vincent

Every week, The Culture Custodian grants you an all-access backstage pass into the lives of Nollywood rock stars. You get to learn about their fascinating backgrounds, the behind-the-scenes stories, and more. This episode features independent filmmaker, cinematographer and screenwriter, John Chizoba Vincent.

John Chizoba Vincent’s first love was music. As a child growing up in a local community in Aba, Abia state in the 90s and early 2000s, he was drawn to books containing music lyrics which he often bought and studied. He was also fascinated with Nollywood movies. Soon, he began writing his own lyrics and scripts, hoping to make a living from selling to movie producers and marketers in his locality. Outside Aba, places like Enugu, Onitsha and Idumota were also notable marketing and distribution spots around the country for the booming 2000s’ home video era of Nollywood.

Vincent relocated to Lagos where he gave himself totally to cinematography and filmmaking. In-between his learning adventures, he had unsuccessful attempts getting into Del York Film Academy and Federal Radio Safety Corporation (FRCN). But he got to learn from Ben Jossy Olofu in whose studio he worked, and had success shooting music videos with him and Iyke Lawrence. Afterwards, he decided to take charge of his own destiny as an indie filmmaker, establishing an identity through his brand, The Philm Republic. He has worked in different capacities on production sets, from cinematographer to producer, director, scriptwriter and production manager, championing his own ideas and vision while also collaborating like-minded people. Most of his works are found across different YouTube channels, including JKO Kingdoms, Uche Nancy TV, Ego Michael Movies, and his own channel The Philm Republic. He shot and wrote the scripts for YouTube-based films such as Love In The Strangest Place, To Love A Street Girl , Love Birds, Pride and Seduction, Differences, Married To An Influencer, When Life Happens, Love and Respect, and Shadows of Lies.

This conversation with John Chizoba Vincent has been edited for clarity.

You used to shoot music videos. What made you choose filmmaking as a career?

I started with writing music, and used to go to a market in Aba to buy books containing music lyrics and study them. Soon, around 2003 or 2004, I began to write scripts even though I wasn’t sure of the format. I was drawn to places like Pound Road, Aba, which was a popular location for marketing and distribution of home videos. One day, I visited the office of Andy Best Productions, located on St. Michaels Road, hoping to sell a script I had written. On getting there, I asked to see the manager but the receptionist referred me to their main office in Lagos. While I was leaving the place, I ran into a neighbor of mine who reported me to my mum. My mum, being overprotective and afraid that I could get kidnapped, took away and destroyed my script while I was asleep. That was my first encounter with writing.

Are there other memories from your formative years that remind you of your passion for film?

I grew up in an environment where we didn’t have access to television so, as children, we would peep through a neighbor’s window to watch home video movies like Igodo, Egg of Life, Karishika, and so on. Often, the neighbor would chase us away for making noise and disturbing their peace.

I rented out home videos at some point, and became interested in understanding how films worked.

Did you receive any formal training in cinematography and screenwriting?

Yes. I had my first experience with a camera at a Bible Church in Idimu, Lagos. I was interested in learning how to handle the camera properly and paid a certain man in my area who taught me for a while before he disappeared. In 2015, I attended Helen Paul Theatre and Film Academy at Ogba where I settled for acting instead of cinematography because I couldn’t meet up with the payment for the latter. I remember the likes of Prof. Tunji Shotimirin and Lateef Adedimeji being part of our tutors. But I was not satisfied. After I spoke with someone, he introduced me to a music producer Ben Jossy Olofu who taught me everything about video editing and cinematography. I met Iyke Lawrence, a friend of Ben Jossy and a music video director, who often visited the studio, got along with him and we worked together.

What is your educational background like?

I am a graduate of Mass Communications from Lagos State Polytechnic. I graduated in 2014.

You have a brand and YouTube channel, The Philm Republic. Can you talk about your vision for the brand?

My vision for my brand is to make it one of the top production houses in Africa. “Philm” is created from “film” while “Republic” reflects dynamism. The aim is for you to be able to get marketing and distribution, production and post-production teams from the same company. It’s similar to what Anthill Studios, FilmOne and others have. Any filmmaker can bring their ideas to us and hire our team to work on their project.

You have also written scripts for other filmmakers. Can you talk about them? 

There are many of them. They include Love Birds, Oga Amos, Pride and Seduction, Love and Scandal, To Love A Street Girl, Love In The Strangest Place, and Married To An Influencer.

What are your biggest moments or achievements as a filmmaker?

I can’t think of any right now. I have had some inspiring moments, such as a production set in which I observed people argue for two hours about the ending of my script. I have also received compliments from an experienced and well-learned actor and screenwriter. In 2017, while I worked as a production assistant, Titi Temple asked me to kneel down and then he prayed for me for at least twenty minutes. I am still a work in progress.

Finance is often considered a major challenge for independent filmmakers. What other challenges have you faced and how did you manage them?

One of the problems is getting serious people to work with. Often, you have someone who has been constantly disturbing you about wanting to act or work on set. But after reaching an agreement with the person, he disappoints and fails to show up during filming. When this happens, money spent on getting equipment, no matter how little, is wasted. I have had at least two experiences involving popular actors who showed up late on set and behind schedule, and we had to squeeze ourselves to work extra hours and pay additional cost for the place we used. Another problem is location. Often, you are harassed by area boys that demand to be settled before you shoot outside. That’s why less movies are being shot outside these days, while YouTube-based filmmakers use similar houses as location.

What specific techniques or approaches do you use to visually tell a story through cinematography?

It’s more about what the story entails. As a cinematographer, you should know how to tell a story based on the kind of script written. Once the cinematographer understands the story scene by scene, he can decide on his approach, which may involve the use of a storyboard.

Do you have any role models or mentors?

No, I don’t have role models and mentors. I follow everyone just to learn from their styles. Last year, I paid attention to Collins Okoh, the writer of A Tribe Called Judah. Earlier this year, I was following Joy Isi Bewaji, writer of A Weekend To Forget, and studying her style. Then, I moved on to American filmmaker Steven Conrad who created the screenplay for The Pursuit of Happyness.

What dream project would you like to execute?

I want to create a film village located somewhere in Eastern Nigeria, particularly in my hometown in Aba. The dream is to make films and tell stories that are rooted in Igbo culture. I would like to team up with the Ohafia people and other cultural groups, and tell stories of our masquerade festivals and the caste system.

Is there any new development you would love to see in Nollywood?

It will be a welcome development for more tech guys to invest in filmmaking in Nigeria—similar to how The Black Book has tech guys as executive producers. The good thing about these tech guys is that they are not always all in for the profit.

What is your advice for independent filmmakers like yourself?

They have to be consistent with their craft and always find ways to make things work. But consistency is not enough. Filmmakers must also upgrade themselves through constant education, acquisition of certificates and following up with trends in the industry.