Chuka (l) and three members of the cast of The Fetus
After winning two African Oscars in the US, Nigerian movie producer and director, John Chuka, moves closer to achieving his dream for Nollywood, writes CHUX OHAI
Nigerian filmmaker based in the United States, John Chuka, finally approaches the climax of his dream
to initiate sweeping changes in the movie industry. Chuka’s entry in the 2013 Nollywood and African Film Critics Awards, The Fetus, wins in the Best Short Film/Trailer and the Best Original Score/Soundtrack categories at the 2013 Nollywood and African Film Critics Awards that was held recently in Washington DC, USA.
The feature film, which happens to be his final thesis film at the prestigious New York Film Academy, was initially nominated in four categories of the awards, also known as the African Oscars. They are the Best Short Film/Trailer, Best Original Score/Soundtrack, Best Visual Effects, and Best Makeup categories.
“I am proud to inform you that I returned to Los Angeles with two of the awards at the event: the Best Short Film/Trailer and Best Original Score/Soundtrack. This is a huge validation in the film industry in which my future lies. The New York Film Academy made it possible and I’m very grateful,” Chuka said, in an online message to our correspondent after receiving the twin laurels.
The Fetus explores the plight of thousands of undocumented immigrants in the US, especially teenage girls trapped in a web spun by immigration laws, religious dogmas, abortion laws, and unwanted pregnancies. The movie addresses three main social issues prevalent in many cultures/countries around the world, including Nigeria.
The film tells the moving story of Catalina, a religious and undocumented teenage immigrant, who works in a plant nursery in Arizona, but relocates to California after she suffers sexual abuse and becomes pregnant.
Eventually, she finds a job in a sweatshop. But she is entwined in a grim struggle with immigration laws, religious dogma, abortion laws and the fetus in her womb.
For the producer, who left the shores of Nigeria in 1993 in search of the proverbial greener pastures, the path to success had been strewn with thorns and frustration. In telling the story of less privileged immigrants in the US, he had drawn from his personal experience in that country.
“My personal experience as an immigrant and my observation of other immigrants in Europe and North America informed the premise and theme of the film. The script was 33 pages long. I was on set for 10 days, shooting about three pages a day with a three-ton equipment package and a 25-man cast and crew.
“I raised the money that I used in funding the production from my most immediate Nigerian community in the United States. I could never be grateful enough to these great patriots that stepped up to the plate to support and complement my efforts toward finding a voice for the downtrodden and almost forgotten voiceless immigrants of the world,” he said, in the message.
The dreadlocked filmmaker is full of praises for the cast and crew of The Fetus, especially Jessica Garza, who performed the award winning theme song for the film, ‘America the true Dream’.
Also, he attributes his success at the awards event partly to the training that he received at the New York Film Academy as a graduate student.
“I could say with confidence that the two years I spent at the academy were the most valuable time I ever spent in a learning environment. I went to the academy in search of a product and I found it. And not only did I find a product, I found a product that is readily marketable at anytime and anywhere in the world.
“What I consider most important about The fetus is that it cuts across a wide range of topical and social issues and delves deep into the effects on ordinary people, especially undocumented immigrants, that have no voices of their own.
“Being an immigrant that went through all kinds of trouble to get to where I am today, I’m hoping that somebody will watch the film someday and decide to do things a little bit differently regarding how immigrants are treated around the world,” he says.
Now that Chuka has scaled the first hurdle, he looks forward to the future and his immediate plan to “revolutionise” the Nigerian film industry.
“I am working hard to float an outfit that will generate and develop African story ideas into screenplays, transform the screenplays into films, and ultimately distribute the films worldwide,” he says.
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