I Found Myself Crying A lot---Uru Eke Speaks On Producing Her First Movie
Just four years after her first movie hit the big screen, Uru Eke is now a movie producer! She made her acting debut in Last Flight To Abuja and has since gone on to star in other movies.
Her first feature film ‘Remember Me’ will be released in the cinemas this month. The film which centers around accountability, transparency and corruption was produced by Uru Eke and directed by Izu Ojukwu.
In this interview with TheBriefNg.com , Uru Eke gives us some tidbits about her debut as a movie producer.
Tell us about your upcoming movie, 'Remember Me'.
It's a film about citizen engagement and accountability, it also chronicles the life of a young girl who sees people in the supernatural.
How did the idea for the script come about?
I wanted to produce a film that had a lot of depth and in order to do that, I wrote this story. The original story is quite dark but the script writer changed quite a few things and here we are today.
Where was the movie shot?
It was shot mostly in the Chevron area of Lekki, Ijebu-ode and Akudo.
What were the challenges you faced while producing your first movie?
We shot in December and it's a time when offices are shutting down and people are home with family or out of town, so location was a bit of problem with affected scheduling tremendously. Plus my production manager brought an assistant that might as well have been nonexistent. It was painful, because I had to step in to manage the production a lot of the times coupled with producing and acting.
Was there anytime you doubted your ability or almost gave up on this project?
Absolutely!! the experience was painful, I was having panic attacks in the middle of the night, I couldn't sleep and was constantly worried. Naturally I'm a worrier and bit of a perfectionist so when things don't go according to plan it sets me off on a frenzy. It'll show on my face, in my behavior and I will constantly talk about it. I'm not a crier but while filming I found myself crying a lot.
It must have been quite financially intensive to shoot this film. Where did you raise funds from?
The film was funded by the Ford Foundation. That wasn't easy to get either but I'm ever so grateful they took a chance on me.
What do you really hope to achieve from this production? Money, fame or .....?
First of all the message in the film is the fight against corruption and that everyone of us individually have a duty to make a difference. It also just happened that corruption is the message the current Government dispensation is channeling. I wrote the story two years ago way before this government came into power, so it's somewhat of a coincidence that this is their mandate. Secondly, I wanted move up in my career.