Veteran Nollywood actress Keji Yusuf has recounted how she made a significant financial loss on her first self-produced movie, describing the experience as a painful introduction to the business of filmmaking.
Yusuf, who shared the experience while reflecting on her journey in the industry, said the challenges began at the point of distribution -- a long-standing issue for many independent filmmakers.
"I didn't make money with my first produced movie," she said. "Back then, there were lots of challenges in movie distribution, so someone advised me to become an independent marketer. I agreed because I felt that selling the film myself would be better."
According to her, just when she had taken steps to market the film independently, the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board introduced a new regulation that disrupted her plans.
"I had dubbed 10,000 copies of the movie and also printed posters and flyers. Then suddenly, they said the Censors Board had come up with another rule which at that time wasn't favorable to me," she explained.
In search of a solution, a fellow actress introduced her to a marketer based in Alakuko, Lagos. Yusuf said they reached an agreement including her request to first sell the foreign rights of the film before mass distribution began.
However, she later discovered that the marketer had gone ahead to release the movie without her consent and even altered the ownership credits.
"One day, while watching TV at home, I heard the soundtrack of my movie in an advert," she said. "This marketer had changed the cover photo, designed another jacket, and even made himself the executive producer. He used my picture very small behind some other actors -- on a film I funded completely and had finished before giving him to the market."
Yusuf said the situation was eventually brought to the attention of a senior colleague who intervened and insisted that the marketer remit proceeds from the movie sales.
"In the end, I made only N500,000 from the movie, and I spent over N2.5 million to produce it," she revealed.