One of the wave-making female music directors, Kemi Adetiba has made a name for herself with award- winning music videos for various popular artistes. In this interview with JOAN OMIONAWELE, the filmmaker shares her experiences rising through fame, her personal life and other issues. Excerpts:
Coming from a background of a father who was a media professional, what was growing up like?
It was pretty interesting. It was filled with a lot of activities happening many times in the studio, we were on set for television commercials and radio programmes all the time. In fact, I had a very creative childhood because I was exposed to the media a lot. Not just with my dad, but with my mum too.
What were your childhood dreams?
I actually wanted to sing, I used to get involved in a lot of competitions, but I never had the confidence. I am actually a very shy person. Then at some point, I switched to wanting to be a music producer because I still didn’t have the confidence to want to get in the eye of the public, but I still never mustered the confidence to appear on stage.
So do you see yourself performing in front of the camera instead of behind the scenes as a director?
No..I’m always joking about who would like to make me appear in their album, I was discussing with Niyola some time ago, and she said I had to be in her new album, and I was like no, but if I had to be on someone’s album, it had to be something like a comedy skit of me just having fun.
While growing up, did you envisage that your brand will become this big as regards music video directing?
When I was little, I did not know what I was going to be. Though I felt I would be someone in the entertainment industry, someone that people will reckon with, but I had no idea what I would be or in what capacity it would be.
Why did you dump law?
I never dumped law, I just never started it. I only studied law, and before I finished studying Law, I was already on the radio for a few years. Law was more like a safety nest, but Law is an amazing advantage to me because every day, I work with contracts, I wouldn’t have been able to handle some of them if not for the prior knowledge I gained from studying Law.
At what point did you decide to become a filmmaker?
I never really decided I wanted to be a filmmaker. Even before I got my first radio gig, someone said to me: “you speak very well, come, let’s have a conversation on radio.. Then when I switched to TV presenting on MNET, everyone kept calling me, saying I should go for it, then night before the audition, I got to see the advert on radio and my mother also encouraged me to go for it, she even had the driver take me there the next day and I ended up getting the job
Film directing just came like that, I would say God had a hand in it and chose this career for me even before I chose it by myself.
What are the challenges of being a female Filmmaker?
I try to believe that the challenges being faced by a female filmmaker should be the same as that of a male filmmaker, I never give it a thought that as female, I should face worse challenges because there are so many young ladies out there who would read this, I don’t want any young girl to feel she can’t make it in this industry because of her gender. There might be challenges, but I’m here and I’m doing well, that means anyone can do it. I don’t think it’s a male industry, I think it’s a male dominated industry because there are not many females in it, so we need more females to come in. The challenges would come whether one is a male donkey or a horse.
What has been your most memorable experience on the job?
It has to be the reception I get from people whenever I get something done. It’s amazing when even people in your industry are fans of your work, and not just people. When everyday people ratify one’s work, it’s humbling for me, it’s better than any award or honorarium. It means people actually believe in one’s artistry
Last year, you spoke about ladies bullying their fellow ladies who are single, was it a personal experience?
I did not think it was bullying. I think somebody posted a comment saying that I was beautiful and some lady just jumped into the conversation and said ‘she is not married still’ I think that was a very callous statement to make, people just feel as a woman, if you are not married, no matter how successful you are, your efforts are useless. So it means everything I do doesn’t count unless I get married. Everyone should be left to do what they want to do. But it shouldn’t mean that the late nights, early mornings, working since I was 19, moving from radio to television, to behind the camera and wanting to succeed, and all that means absolutely nothing unless I’m married. That’s a big problem that I have and I won’t tolerate it because I know my worth and people always make it seem like I don’t want to get married. But I won’t rush into it because everybody is doing it. Of course, I want to get married but at the right time and to the right person.
You also have to understand that the industry I’m in is very precarious, it’s not something that anyone can just manage, you have to mind what you do because you are in the public eye. I can’t even post something on my instagram without anybody or bloggers on your trail. I’m a very private person, it’s not everybody that can tolerate what I do, I love what I do, so one has to be careful with whom one settles down with. I have a very loud personality and love loud colours, so the person I settle down with has to be very considerate.
Is it true that you charge over N2million for your videos
It’s actually more than that.
How do you pamper yourself since your job is tasking?
It’s pretty intense. I’m also lucky to do things that I love to do, so I listen to music a lot, I love spending time with close friends and family that I trust. From time, to time I invite people over to my house for some drinks. I cook and eat a lot. I’m pretty easy and I love to surround myself with a handful of people whom I actually love and trust.
Have you at any point felt like giving up?
Yes of course. Sometimes people spread untrue stories about me. But there are people out there who go through worse things, so if a lady can get up in the morning despite all the hard times, put on a make- up and go out there to release an album, what excuse do I have? The greatest people have had things thrown at them, from Martin Luther King, to Oprah Winfrey or even Wole Soyinka. I am not the strongest person all the time, though I try to be tough. I have a very amazing family who encourages me to get up, shake it off and get going. So when times are tough, I shake it off and get going.
There are many times one feels like giving up, but the point is never to give up. I am grateful to be doing what I’m doing, because my passion keeps me going, a lot of people in the entertainment industry, put in a lot of hard work and it’s sad when one does so much work and no one notices it, so I’m very grateful to not just be in the industry but also to be making a living from something that I love, and to the people who believe in my craft, as well as the great pressmen out there who take their time to write authentic stories and not go about posting rubbish.
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