John Oguntuase is an acclaimed Nigerian filmmaker, actor, author, and the CEO of 2nd Touch Production and Just PR. With nearly two decades of experience, John specialises in faith-based filmmaking that inspires and transforms audiences. His work has been recognised with over 20 national and international awards, celebrating his inspirational creativity and storytelling impact. In this interview, he talks about his latest film, Lagos to Gomorrah, which was released February 14, St Valentine’s Day. He talks about his other films such as PRAEY, Enoch, Ayaba, and Under Lock, challenges, and other issues, DAVID EMOKPAE writes.

You an actor, director, producer and writer, which of these came first?

He smiles. He asks again, which of these came first?

“Of course, I’ve been doing acting since I was very little. We did our first film in 1998. So, I was so young. I was like a child at that time. I fell in love with acting, theatre, writing and all of that. After which, I started to do stage plays in secondary schools in Ikorodu, and then in church,” he says glowingly.

“Basically, we do faith-based productions. And then, after which, I went to the Lagos State University (LASU), where I studied English and Literature.”

He moved to Mount Zion Film Institute, Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he discovered that he really wanted to do this in a faith-based angle. “Of course, for societal corrections and you know, I just like to lift people’s faith, for redemption and for a revival; and basically for saving souls,” he quips.

He was in the university when he wrote his first book titled, the ‘Bottled Butterfly’. “So, I’ll say it is intertwined, because in church then, I was directing, I was writing, and I was acting. But, later I discovered that if I really want to tell a good story, I cannot be in front of the camera and also be behind the camera. I had to stay for a while behind the camera, and then study the directing well. And so I decided to focus more on directing. Now, I still act, but I still focus more than directing. Yes. For in this film, Lagos to Gomorrah, I directed it, and I acted in I,” he retorts.

The script was written by Ayinde Olayinka. The film was released February 14, Valentine’s Day, this year. At least for now, it has been the movie that people have really accepted more and if you go to the comments, and people’s reactions, they’re saying ‘it’s very relatable.’ “So, it’s funny, but it’s full of lessons.

Lagos to Gomorrah was shot in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states. But a major part of it was shot in Lagos. So the idea was to shoot the ‘bustle and bustle’. “So we went to proper park to shoot, how we can see the yellow buses, people selling, people buying things and then, and we explored that including beautiful places to Lagos. The roads – Lekki Bridge and all of that,” he explains.

Lagos to Gomorrah is a story of being lost in an environment. In a place like Lagos, where everything is noisy, everything seems to be in a hurry, in a rush. So, when people come to Lagos and they say, “Oh, why I’m in Lagos, I need to be responsible, I need to serve God, I need to do this or that.” But, when they get to Lagos, they experience traffic jam, the ‘bustle and bustle’, and they forget their faith; they forget their commitments, even to their family and even to themselves. It is the story of a man, Raphael, a young religious man, who moves to Lagos in search of greener pastures.”

The city’s ‘bustle and bustle’ almost shake the faith he holds so dearly. As he navigates the streets of Lagos, he was confused and it was getting cold by the day. Everyday hustle, losing money, losing your purses away, he get into traffic, sleep, wake up in the middle of the night, go, get to work, early in the morning, return in the middle of the night. “I just tried to x-ray the Lagos life, but in a faith-based perspective.”

Lagos to Gomorrah is not trying to say anything bad about Lagos. It is saying that there are ways you can survive in Lagos without getting into crime, corruption or anything immoral. The idea is not to paint Lagos bad. It’s to tell you that Lagos is a good and promising place, but of course, Lagos is not for the fainthearted, not for the lazy.

“The title is just to create curiosity. People would begin to wonder, is there a road that leads to Gomorrah from Lagos State? In this world you need to get titles that attract people.

I think this is the first time in any faith-based films with allusion to Lagos,” Oguntuase reveals.

Back to Lagos to Gomorrah, what would you want audience to take away home after watching it?

“What people have home taking already, from what I have seen, is that, number one, you can plan yourself. When you get a new environment, learn the ways. You need a mentor, you need some to direct you, explain things to you. Whether you are in a new business or, you’re going to a new environment, you’re going for work… In fact, a lot of contacted for me from Egypt, UK, Germany, and told me that ‘this movie isn’t about Lagos alone, it’s about wherever you are, don’t lose yourself into it. So, what they’re taking home is that, you know, you can still plan yourself.”

After ‘Lagos to Gomorrah’, what next?
‘Lagos to Gomorrah’ will probably go into series later.

“I believe that because we are Christians, our life does not end in the four walls of the church. If you say you have a light, you should show the light to the world; show the light to the darkness and then be able to give them eyes to see. So, whatever movie I make, I try to explore social issues. For example, in PRAEY, I explore the themes of faith, redemption, and spiritual struggles of believers, home, the part government has to play in providing quality healthcare.”

You directed it?

“Yes, I did it,” he said.

And you played the lead character?

“Yes, I played the lead character – Raphael.

How were you able to do it?

“I’ve directed and produced, quite a number of films, about 50 of them, which include short films. But this is the first time since I began making films professionally, that I played the lead role. Before now, I just play a few roles or I don’t play at all. But this one, I looked at the character, Raphael. I know the stress he was going to go through, and, of course, it’s a comedy film. And I know that I have the trait for comedy. So, I decided to play the role. But I put a lot of structure in place; I have Assistant Director (AD) 1, 2, and 3. I had a lot of people on ground. And I’ve done a lot of structuring on ground that can help me to play the role and still have access to my back end and it will not really stress me. But, of course, it was stressful.”

Many of my films have won awards. His first major movie that got him award is a short film, titled, Love Your Neighbour. It got two awards in “Rema” Film Festival”, Texas, US, for “Best Actor” and “Overall Best Short Film”. His film, PRAEY, got 14 nominations and won seven awards in Gospel Filmmakers Award (GFN) in Nigeria. His film, ‘Mum Said So’, won awards in South Africa.