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Delmwa Deshi-Kura: In the spotlight

I seek to build a name that is synonymous with excellence and on-schedule delivery of high impact TV and content that sells Nigeria to the World in a positive light.

Delmwa--Deshi-Kura

Delmwa Deshi-Kura is an award-winning TV/Film writer, producer and director. She is the creative director for Discovery Communications in Nigeria, and chief executive officer of DelMedia Productions, a Lagos-based TV and Film Production House. In this interview with Guardian Woman, she discusses her career and how being a woman has positively impacted her creativity.

What motivated you to become an entrepreneur especially in an entertainment industry reputed for favouring mostly men?
I come from a long line of female entrepreneurs. My grand mum ran a successful business till her death. My Mum built a successful real estate business from scratch. All these happened before my eyes as a child growing up. It pretty much defined my path towards early Independence and wanting to build my own business, whether or not I ended up with a day job. I’ve never stopped to think that there were things I couldn’t achieve simply because I was a woman.

You have enjoyed a measure of success in your career, how easy or difficult was it for you to achieve this?
I like to think of success as a journey, not necessarily a goal one ever truly really attains, as there is always going to be room for growth.
As regards the process being easy or difficult, I’ll say you win some and loose some. Sometimes you spend a lot of time and resources chasing one thing, it doesn’t come through, then you lay in bed chilling and one phone call and one meeting brings you a multiple of what you’ve been chasing, and at no cost. Still, there is something to be said for investing time and resources in mastering one’s craft, because I have come to find that the common denominator that rules in both cases is “preparedness”. And we know to be truly prepared for any of life’s endeavors requires sacrifice, and that is never easy. I’ll say my Journey has been a healthy mix of both.

Delmwa--Deshi-Kura1Of what impacts is your childhood/background on this?
Growing up in Jos definitely stirred me towards the creative industry. To Grow up in Jos is to be at the very heart of a very vibrant melting pot of creativity. I also got early practice from the age of 7 as my Dad worked with Plateau Television Corporation, so spending time with my Dad at work and watching the Producers and technical team do their thing, definitely exposed me to the option early in life, and I fell in love with a TV and Film long before I got to the point where I needed to know what I wanted for my future.

What are the immediate benefits of your experiences with foreign media companies that you have worked with?
At the top of this list is definitely a global outlook to content creation and design. So when I make content, the question isn’t whether it’ll be accepted locally, but also if it can have a market outside the shores of this country. This line of thinking automatically raises the bar on what standards we find acceptable as a company.
I’ll have to say systems design also. Creating processes that enable you achieve more with less. The discipline, and almost obsessive attention to details is a definite one as well.

Does being a woman add extra impetus to succeed? If not, what are the motivations behind your activities?
Honestly when I step into a space, I don’t consider myself a business woman, just an entrepreneur. I think my drive to succeed is more genetics than society’s influence. I grew up in a circle of driven men and women who are high flyers. Maybe it’s a bug I caught early, but I honestly believe that drive is innate and set in your DNA.

You were once awarded The Goldmansachs Scholarship for Young Women in Business. Are there specific projects you are doing or planned for future that are decidedly beneficial to women?
Getting recognized by Goldmansachs is an honor I still feel blessed to have enjoyed, and since working with Discovery Communications over the past 3 years I have stirred our documentaries towards addressing social issues with bearings to Women’s rights, girls’ educational, and the likes.  I currently sit on the board of I grow, which is a organization that works tirelessly to empower woman in subsistent agriculture, by creating a supply chain that ensures they sell their products at the best rates possible and minimize losses by not having perishables go bad for lack of adequate means of preservation.I also mentor a select group of young women looking to build careers in TV & FILM.

It is believed that women in the North (in most cases) where you come from have less freedom to emerge from the shadows of men, do you have in mind to produce movie(s) that will speak to this issue?
These issues exist, but times are changing and you don’t have to strain your neck find Northern women striving and breaking new grounds in their chosen fields across the country. Growing up in our household education was a norm, and that mindset is more prevalent today, than ever before in Northern Nigeria.

A major career milestone for me will be to retell stories of some of the strong Northern women I grew up reading about. HEROINES like Queen Amina, Gambo Sawaba,  Kamdak and the likes.

Does being a woman shape the focuses of your production?
I used to insist it didn’t. But now  I’ve come to agree it does. I find that I treat each Production like a living breathing baby, and being a Mumy, that’s not easy when I have my real to deal with. Even in the characters I create, my women are always strong characters

How do you want to be known as a person?
I seek to build a name that is synonymous with excellence and on-schedule delivery of high impact TV and content  that sells Nigeria to the World in a positive light.

Future plans after ‘Duplicity’
All things been equal the future definitely holds a few more seasons of Duplicity. But my current project is a psychological thriller, feature length, it is currently in pre-production and goes into production in a couple of Months. Again, it stars a stellar cast with a few surprises. The narrative will seek to make audiences to face certain tough questions about the human condition.
Best Regards,

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