I studied Drama at the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and majored in Directing.
Then advertising happened. Thirty-something years and still counting, hundreds of TVC productions, countless scripts written for other directors to bring to life. The director in me watched patiently from the wings.
One of remarkable things about life is that full circle has a way of finding you.
When I told the first set of people that I was directing a short film, the response was polite. Supportive, even. But I could see just a flicker of doubt in their eyes. I smiled, said nothing, and got to work.
Squeezing in the time to develop the script, storyboard, cast, and do location recce while running an agency was not easy. Nothing about this process has been easy. But the hardest part, and I say this with full self-awareness, has been my own insatiability in the post production room. I have a problem. I keep seeing things I want to fix. My editor has the patience of a saint.
The good news: we are almost done with the Final Cut.
Ramat is a short film. It is personal, it is Nigerian, and it is built from a memory I have carried for nearly fifty years. It will be coming to a screen near you very soon.
None of this happens without the people who believed in the vision when it was still just a story I carried in my chest. To my producer, the remarkable Oluwabukola Makinde of Zero Degrees. To Nora Awolowo, Director of Photography, whose eye brought this world to life. To Seun Akinseloyin, who kept the project on its feet as supervisor. To Josh Borrill, our colorist, whose hands are giving Ramat its final visual soul. And to the many other brilliant people who gave their time, talent, and belief to this film. Thank you all.
Watch this space.
**Babaeko is a trained thespian, advertising and creative industry entrepreneur
