By Christy Anyanwu
Her alluring dress sense caught the fancy of everyone at an A-list event held in Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, recently.
Getting closer to her, it was soon evident that she was a movie director in Nollywood. There and then, Betsy Ikeme spoke about her sojourn in the entertainment world, the nature of movie-making in Nigeria, her projects and lots more.
Tell us about yourself and your pursuits, by way of an introduction?
My name is Betsy Ikeme. I am a film producer and a director. I would say a Nollywood film producer and a film director. I’ve been doing other kinds of businesses as well. I work as a sales and education manager in the UK, partially.
How long have you been in the industry?
I actually started my journey as an actress a few years ago. So, I’ve been in the industry for a while now. But then I stepped out, went back to film school, and then I came back as a director, and that’s about three years now.
You went to film school, where?
In London, yes. I went to the London Film Academy.
Why did you come back to Nigeria after your time at the London Film Academy?
Of course, you bring the knowledge back home because that was the intention. To go learn and come back to make better films and represent Nollywood properly.
So far, I think I stopped acting about seven, eight years ago. It was something I started really very early, and then I dropped out of it, and I’m back in a different department now.
Tell us more about this different area and the passion you have for this department?
Yes, this is the exciting part. I feel like my passion has always been film-making, and then even when I started as an actress, I always felt that when I get to 40 I was going to change my career path and become a film director. So, right from the outset, when I came into the industry, I have been learning, you know, just making sure I learn in every production. I started learning film-making itself and not just being an actress because it’s really where my heart is and where my passion lies, and at a point, if I am to be honest with myself, I think I felt at a point that the acting thing wasn’t giving me as much happiness as I wanted. So I sat down and asked myself, what do you really want? And I realized I was spending so much time on something that was supposed to be, I would say, a pathway to another place. So, I had to say, okay, what’s holding me now? And I went back and I realized I needed to be ready to be this thing that’s on my hand, to be a director. I’ve had enough training and all that, but I still felt like, let me not just jump in there. Let me do it properly. So, I went back to school.
people stay back after their studies abroad, why did you come back to Nigeria?
They’re Japa people. It’s not easy when you go out there to come back as well, to be honest, even though it takes you years to settle.
You know, cultural differences and all that. And then you’re planning to come back? To be honest, it felt a little bit crazy when I wanted to come back. But, like I said, I knew what I wanted to do. I was set on coming back, even when I was leaving Nigeria. I was just going to get more education and come back.
How do you see the movie industry in Nigeria, Nollywood?
Oh, it keeps evolving. It’s amazing. I think it is becoming more super-exciting for us. Certainly, it is different, when you started acting in those days, when we didn’t have platforms like today or access to the kind of streaming platforms that we have now. So, it’s exciting. We still have our challenges though. We still have things that we need to step up. You know, we need to reduce the gatekeeping. But it’s exciting. Once you’re a creative, Nollywood is a place where you can find yourself.You can find people that are like you. Yeah, it’s exciting.
I like your dress sense. Is it because of this award? What’s your kind of dressing on a good day?
This is my kind of dressing on a good day. I don’t like to look too corporate.
And neither do I like to look too sexy. So, I try to incorporate. I call it proper dressing.
Tell us a bit about growing up; where did you grow up?
I grew up a little bit in places scattered all over. I was born in Kaduna State. At some point, my family moved to Lagos. And then from Lagos, we moved to Warri. And then we got into university and I could make personal choices. I started coming back to Lagos. I’ve been living in Lagos since then and just going to other places. But Lagos has been my base. There were a lot of challenges. And, you know, like I said, whenever you move to a new place, you have to adapt and all that. So I believe, as a kid, there were a lot of things that were very confusing for me. But I’ve always been an imaginative person. So, you know, Lagos has always fuelled the fantasies that I had. When I got into the university, I started visiting Lagos with friends and all that.
And, gradually, by the time I was graduating, I found I was moving to Lagos. And I think that’s when I got into the movie industry. And it’s just been from one thing to another.
How did your family feel about your choice of career? What did you read in school?
.I did library and information science. And, of course, my mum, I think now that I’m a director, she’s trying to understand it better. But as an actor, she just couldn’t understand how to support it. And when the stardom was not coming as early as you boasted, because, you know, you’re coming into the industry and you’re like, Oh, I’m going to become a star. Once I get this lead role, I’m going to be a star. Then you get lead roles, but you don’t become a star with that lead role. And, you know, the experience is disappointing at the end, like, what’s she doing? She doesn’t know what she’s doing, and all that. So there was no approval from her. My mum just let me do what I felt I wanted to do. It wasn’t because she supported it or believed in it or anything like that. She let me do it. I’ve been doing it. But today? I think now she’s proud. I think, even me being a director now, she begins to understand things from a different place. And I think she appreciates actors and respects directors more than she did when she didn’t understand what the job was.
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