Kemi Oshiyemi-Cole is an author, playwright and an entrepreneur. She is also the project coordinator of Project MIMI, a youth empowerment initiative. In this interview with Olawale Olaniyan, she talks about her book, Inextricable Entangled, which is being adapted into a movie. Excerpts:
YOUR book, Inextricably Entangled is about to be adapted into a movie, how do you feel about this?
My books are not just books that entertain. Every one of my books talks about a prevalent issue in the society and passes across a strong message or messages to the people, irrespective of orientation, tribe, religion, political affiliation or background. For this reason, I’m very particular about this message or messages reaching as many people as possible. It’s also not a hidden fact that most Nigerians don’t have a reading culture, especially the new generation. Most Nigerians would rather watch than read, so it has become imperative for me to adapt my book, Inextricably Entangled, into a movie, which is a medium that has a far-reaching possibility and enables me to achieve my vision of impacting as many lives as possible.
Are you the one doing the project or a movie maker?
Producing a good movie is never a one-man thing. It takes the team work of a dedicated and committed people to achieve this – the writer, the producer who, by the way, is Ambassador Yemi Farounbi. We all know epoch-making works of Ambassador Yemi Farounbi. The director is the brilliant and ever energetic Kunle Busari. His nickname is ‘Energy,’ so you can appreciate what I’m talking about; the script writer, the crew and the cast, all worked to create this great movie.
Will this be a one-off project, or you are planning to do more adaptations?
I’m a prolific writer with so many stories to tell and so many messages to pass across. This, definitely, is not a one-off thing. It is the beginning of using this platform to correct a number of ills in the society. It is the beginning of using this platform to impact lives positively. It is the beginning of using this platform to set a standard for our gradually-degenerating-story-telling prowess of our movie makers. A time it was when we were always looking forward to watching certain movies at particular times. I remember the days of Arelu, Yanponyanrin and Agbeleku, all produced by Amb. Yemi Farounbi; Owo Blow, produced by Niyi Wuraola and directed by Tade Ogidan still resonates with me even now. I watch movies like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Tsotsi and I feel proud of this industry. But then, most of the movies being churned out now are a far-cry from how stories should be told. I’m hoping that getting into the movie industry and setting a standard of how stories should be told repeatedly would do something towards correcting this sad trend. That is why this can’t be a one-off thing. We are doing it over and over again and I can tell you that we have more than enough materials for this.
After the completion of the adaptation of Inextricably Entangled, what are you planning next?
Like I stated earlier, I’m a carer of people – children, youths, women, the aged, the widow, my congregation, family, friends, people in and outside my sphere of contact and influence. For this reason, I’m always needing money to make my vision come to fruition. One thing that is undeniable is that the movie industry has become a huge investment platform to take care of things I’m most passionate about – making positive change in the society through my stories, taking care of people, creating jobs and businesses for people and giving the investors in my projects an opportunity to make good returns on their investments; so my next aspiration is to take advantage of the opportunities presented by this platform, the movie industry, to make real my vision. That’s my aspiration.
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