Why Someone Can't Film Something Like 'A Quiet Place' in Nigeria - Kalu Ikeagwu

The Nigerian movie industry has come a long way, but still, even in 2024, doing a movie production in Nigeria comes with its own unique set of challenges. It is not easy at all to do film production in Nigeria, something that a lot of movie watchers don't understand or take into consideration when heavily criticizing Nollywood movies.

During a new interview on Wake Up Nigeria, Nollywood actor Kalu Ikeagwu spoke about why shooting movies that need silence, something like A Quiet Place, for example, would be very hard to shoot in somewhere like Lagos. He opened up about that, as well as other issues that filmmakers face when trying to create work here in Nigeria. Here's what Kalu Ikeagwu had to say.

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Speaking about why some filmmakers feel very frustrated by the criticisms of people who don't know the struggles it takes to make movies in Nigeria, Nollywood actor Kalu Ikeagwu started by saying:

KALU IKEAGWU: Yes, we do have some sensitive directors and stuff like that, but sometimes their frustration can come from the fact that this is one of the toughest industries. As with every other business in Nigeria, it does not get any support from the government in any way. None whatsoever. The grants used to trickle down but the last time was during the Jonathan regime. These ones have no interest whatsoever, have not even taken into cognition the impact it can have on foreign investments in the country. So because of this and the many challenges, I mean you're shooting—this one [the movie "Suspicion"] for example, I'm even shocked the director achieved what he did because the challenges we faced were unsurmountable.

Then, speaking about why shooting a film that requires silence, like A Quiet Place, would be hard in somewhere like Lagos, Kalu Ikeagwu said:

KALU IKEAGWU: You have to deal with generator noises which in somewhere like Lagos, imagine shooting a place where it has to be absolutely quiet [like "A Quiet Place"], you can't do that. It's unsurmountable. You don't have private studios where you can shoot. You have the beggars shaking their cans, you can't tell them not to do their work. Or okadas, or generators, or the sirens that go off when NEPA brings light. Stuff like that. You have all these things and many other things. You have the touts who stop you from shooting if you come to some place.

What do you think about what the renowned actor had to say?

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