Filmmaker underscores importance of movies in raising empathy

A Nigerian filmmaker based in UK, Adeyinka Adetoyi, has underscored the importance of film as a major tool in raising awareness and empathy.

Adetoyi noted that if films were carefully and judiciously utilised, it could change the world.

“We are in an era where few people read books; few people listen to news on radios, or watch news on television. What about films? The figures are still encouraging compared to news and reading culture. Almost everyone watches films. You might say I am being biased, but I am not. It is what it is,” he said.

Adetoyi who hails from Ila-Orangun in Osun State Nigeria, while highlighting the process of filmmaking said the filmmaking space is a magical ecosystem, and every experience is unique.

“While it can be very unpredictable, it gives you a reason to be alive and digging,” he added.

Speaking on his switch into filmmaking, the LAUTECH graduate of Pure and Applied Physics said: “From a little chap admiring movie characters, intrigued by their art and the magical spin behind the production of films, I have now become an element of that making, the most fascinating part I switch roles.

“I simply wake up every day to give it my best shot while flowing with the tide of life. To be honest, smashing a life goal is not an easy task, especially as a Nigerian child with limited resources.

“Today, I could be on set as an actor or part of the general setup crew, tomorrow, I could be buried in post-production activities, from editing video scenes or dressing sounds for the best outputs to spending days fixing VFX aspects of the production.”

On the low earning of filmmaking as a starter, the filmmaker stated that filmmaking, especially as a starter in a saturated yet under-appreciative space like Nigeria.