‘QUOTE; ". I discovered that the Actor’ Guild
of Nigeria, under the present leadership, has become an extension of the office
of campaign and strategies of the presidency. I discovered that Ibinabo
Fiberesima is being sponsored directly from the presidency. I discovered that
most of my colleagues, the stars, have sold themselves to the “Ibinabo
ticket” because of her introducing them to the presidency to get one
appointment or the other or one money or the other. Same thing with the
militant, Ateke Tom, for crying out loud, the AGN is meant to be a professional
body of actors that is not partisan. For me, it is a complete disgrace that
actors would be going to line themselves up to beg for money from Mr. Ateke Tom
and politicians’’
Clarion
Chukwura, a multiple award winner and an ICON in the Nigeria movie industry,
shares her years of experience in an exclusive interview with FLIES magazine.
F.M: Background
C.C: My name is Clarion Chukwura. I
am from Ugbozoma village, Onitsha inland town, Anambra North. I was born at the
Lagos State university teaching hospital (LUTH), Idi-araba, Lagos. I basically
grew up in Lagos. Had my nursery and primary education in Lagos but then
attended my high school in my home town. That school was an “A”
list school in South-eastern Nigeria; it’s called Queens of our Rosary College,
Onitsha. Thereafter, I came back to the West and started acting in the
university community of the University of Ibadan. I passed through the likes of
Prof. Bode Showande, Prof. Bayo Oduneye and I moved on to study Acting &
Speech at the then University of Ife, now Obfemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife. I became a star
when I was at the university because I was an undergraduate when I starred in
my first film called Money Power. The director was Dr. Ola Balogun. From there
to starring in the first production of Fred Agbaigbe’s
The King Must Dance Naked. Also, I
starred as a sub-lead in Lola Fani-Kayode’s
Mirror in the Sun, which was Nigeria first network soap opera. The soap
opera made me a house hold name from 1984-1986.
F.M: Parental support
C.C:
I lost my father
when I was 11 years-and-one-week old. My teenage hood was spent with my mum, so
the challenges of my start-up as an actress fell on my mother and her
understanding of what I was doing. Whatever you are doing, as long as it exists
within an academic community, it was okay for her. Some of the television
dramas I did in the early years with late Sam Loco, Akin Lewis and Felix Omoni,
were the ones that raised eyebrows for my mother because her friends, customers
and clients in her business were asking, “what is your daughter doing? Is she part
of those people?” One of the tele movies, Boomerang, a two-man play which I did with Sam Loco Efe,
was a very sassy one. My mum insisted I dropped acting to study Law until the
last minute when I was going to the University, we had a big confrontation. I
told her I didn’t want to do Law because I had back
grounded myself in the last four years and this (acting) is what I want to do.
My mother tried her best to be understanding and the fact that I was under the
tutelage of Prof. Wole Soyinka, which she had high respect for, made a whole
lot of difference and Prof. Bayo Oduneye, who she had a lot of respect for. These
are people she held to high esteem in the academy community. And of course,
Prof. Bayo did have a long talk with my mum that, as a highly talented actor,
she should give my talent a chance. I went through that but I also have a very
understanding mother, thanks to those who spoke to her and thanks to the fact
that by the time I was three years old in the training and my first year in the
university; I had become a star through my first movie. By 1984, five years
into the whole process, I became a household name with Mirror in the Sun. the early years had their challenges but they
were wonderful.
F.M: Movies acted so far
C.C: I have
stageography, videography and telegraphy. On the videography, I have Glamour Girls 2, Abuja Connection, Gold
Digger, Mad Dog, True Love, Cry River, etc.
I have over a hundred titles to my name but just to give you some of my
movie in the last one year, they are: The
Hustler 1 & 2, Street of Canna, Land of Canna, etc. I am talking of
movies that are now selling. There is Apaye,
the one that won me the Africa Best Actress Award 2014. I am going for the
premiere of The Last Supper in New
York on the 30th of August, 2014. There is “where does beauty go?” which will be premiered at the end
of the year at the Silverbird cinemas, etc.
F.M: How did you feel when you won the AMAA Award, 2014?
C.C: One thing about the AMAA award I won is that,
I was nominated in the first AMAA award 10 years ago but I was in the UK. In
fact, the day I arrived in Nigeria was the day the first AMAA awards was
holding, that was in 2005. People felt that I deserve to have won it before
now. I am particularly happy that I won the 10th anniversary of AMAA
Award Best Actress. For me, this is the year that the award became
institutionalized as a major class “A” award to be reckoned with in Africa on
the level of Golden Globe award in America. I felt highly rewarded that Apaye I worked hard on, moving
completely out of my comfort zone and determined to give the very best to that
character because it’s a biopic and I needed to do justice to
that woman, Apaye, won me the award.
F.M: Challenges
C.C: The
challenges in the movie industry are that people see you as the role you play.
Our society is yet to grow in psyche. The level of understanding that this is
just an act and the fact that somebody played a role so well does not mean that
is who that person is. It just makes the person an actor in every sense of the
word. And the fact that, that person is able to do that, justifies your time
that you take out to watch the movie because that person draws you in to a
totally different person from him or herself.
Judgement and misunderstanding by the society are part of the challenges
you have to face to psyche yourself not to be weighed down by how the society
sees you.
Secondly,
the industry itself is plaqued by mistakes that the government is making, that
are drawing the industry backwards. You have licenses being given to T.V
stations, cable networks, which show these movies, haven paid next to nothing.
There should be a circle of royalties going to the lead and sub-lead actor at least,
after a specific number of times of showing. For example, if you show the movie
about three times maximum, then you have to pay royalty for subsequent ones
because what you paid initially for purchase has been exhausted by the times
you have shown it.
Another
challenge is that we do not have a good structure for the Actors’
Guild of Nigeria. We do not have a structure of informed professionals. The
industry has remained static in terms of remuneration, how much you are paid;
therefore you have actors running after politicians, militants to attend one
event or the other, so that they can be given what is called “thank
you for coming”. So, you have the
challenge that is crystal clear that you are in a third world-acting industry,
where the understanding of people about the business is highly limited and
people are content with what they have. Those are the greatest challenges.
F.M: We got feelers that you are running for the president of AGN 2014,
how true is this?
C.C: Yes, I did look at the whole situation and I
thought that at this stage of my career, having all the information that I
have, knowing all that I know, I can help move this industry forward to the
next level especially for the actors. But when I began consultation, what I
discovered was so demoralizing, discouraging and so shameful that I no longer
want any part of it. I discovered that the Actor’ Guild of Nigeria, under the present
leadership, has become an extension of the office of campaign and strategies of
the presidency. I discovered that Ibinabo Fiberesima is being sponsored
directly from the presidency. I discovered that most of my colleagues, the
stars, have sold themselves to the “Ibinabo ticket” because of
her introducing them to the presidency to get one appointment or the other or
one money or the other. Same thing with the militant, Ateke Tom, for crying out
loud, the AGN is meant to be a professional body of actors that is not
partisan. For me, it is a complete disgrace that actors would be going to line
themselves up to beg for money from Mr. Ateke Tom and politicians. To me, the
desperation for materialism by any means, from wherever, without focusing on
the act itself as the means, made me step aside. It is obvious that these
people do not have the ability to understand what I am about to do, what I
think we should be doing and where I think we ought to be.
F.M: Advice for the up and coming actors.
C.C: For the upcoming actors and actresses, my
advice to them is the acting industry in Nigeria (NOLLYWOOD) as a whole, in the
next four to five years, in spite of the rubbish going on right now, is going
to the next level. And that next level would render AGN, as its being run now,
completely irrelevant. Another advice to the upcoming actors is to attach
themselves to the production companies that are coming up as part of the future
of Nollywood. Do not attach yourself to these god mothers in the acting
industry who take younger actresses on runs to governor, presidential aides,
etc because someday, the wheat would be separated from the shaft and it will be
about talents, skills and acts. It will not be about the car or apartment you
got from the runs you went on.
F.M: words of note for FLIES Magazine
C.C: I am happy
that FLIES Magazine is part of the future of entertainment industry in
Nigeria. We have Nigerians, who live in
Canada, USA and UK, who are coming back home in stages to move the industry to
the next level. I see FLIES Magazine as
part of that movement. I have only words of encouragement and gratitude for
being part of those who have taken the bull by the horns to move this industry
to the next level.
F.M: thank you so much
C.C: you are
welcome
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