Gidi Blues… Odugbemi’s Lagos love story on big screen

The Federal palace Hotel & Casino, Victoria Island, Lagos, was the place to be last weekend, as renowned filmmaker Femi Odugbemi premiered his much-anticipated movie, Gidi Blues. Held in partnership with Africa Magic, the classy evening, which brought together cast and crew of the movie, celebrities and stakeholders in the motion picture industry, started with a special red carpet reception and cocktail, before guests were ushered in to see the movie on the big screen.

Aside from cast of the movie, notable among guests at the screening are Olu Jacobs and wife Joke Silva, Banky W, Patrick Doyle, Meg Otanwa, Yeni Kuti, Tunde Kelani, Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, Olisa Adibua, Toyin Akinosho, Jahman Anikulapo, Awam Amkpa, Banky W and others, who were privileged to be among the first set of Nigerians to see the movie.

Shot in iconic places in Lagos such as Idumota and Makoko, with special focus on the popular Makoko floating school, Gidi Blues centers on Akin IGideon Okeke), an indulged playboy from an affluent family, who accidentally meets an interesting beauty in an unpredictable place. Nkem is a beautiful, confident but unusual young lady who devotes herself to her work as community volunteer in the belly of the city’s worst slum.

Their encounter drags Akin into a whirlwind experience that unravels his world.

Produced and directed by Femi Odugbemi, the movie stars Gideon Okeke, Hauwa Allahbura, Lepacious Bose, Daniel Lloyd, Nancy Isime, Bukky Wright, Tina Mba, Segun Obadare-Akpata, Toyin Oshinaike, William Ekpo, with cameo appearances by Banky W, Aduke and Jahman Anikulapo.

Speaking on the movie, Odugbemi said. “Gidi Blues touches on a few things that I think are issues young people in Nigeria today are dealing with. One is work ethic; the idea that I can be rich without working hard, it’s a fallacy. It’s fuelling the next generation that’s not going to be helpful in building the country. Success comes before work only in a dictionary; if you are going to be successful, if you are going o make it, you have to work hard.

Through the movie, the former ITPAN President intends to spark discussion among young people on the essence of life and living.

“It’s very critical for young people to ask the question, ‘What’s the meaning of my life?’ Is it money? Is it red carpet? Is it just buying things? What right do I have to complain about Nigeria if I’m not contributing something to building Nigeria? And the first place to start is to build me, to stop sleeping on couches and looking for 419 ways, to actually work. The work ethics is something our fathers had; they handed it down, somewhere it has disappeared,” he said.

However, Gidi Blues is a true Lagos love story and also captured life in the Mega City.

“For me, it’s still a Lagos love story because, each of these characters are profiles of the many different kinds of people that we have in Lagos. Lagos is a mini Nigeria because it’s the place where all of us are allowed to express ourselves, to seek for prosperity. We make many friends in Lagos who are not our tribe. Lagos is that place where what you can do is quite attached to what you can be. So, for me, it’s a celebration of who all of us are,” Odugbemi noted.

On the choice of cast for the movie, the award-winning filmmaker said, “Well, at times, I work with the people I’m inspired by. Like I always say, you can’t be a filmmaker unless you watch films. I’m always interested in young and vibrant and I’m always interested in creating the kind of environment on location where the young and older actors are able to fuse; I think there’s a lot that the younger actors can learn from the older actors and I think there’s this thing about energy that the younger actors can give to the older actors.”

He continued: “It’s a mix of people that I find to be suitable for the role. Most people that know me know that I do not really cast for popularity; I don’t cast people because they are going to sell a film because, often times, they are not suitable for the character and the role. For me, what was important is to be able to genuinely tell a story that the audience buys and to tell a story where each of the characters fits what they are supposed to be.”

For sure, there’s an aspect of documentary in the movie.

“When I read the script, I thought it was really interesting for its aesthetics but challenging; the challenge for was, ‘how do you bring out Lagos? How do you create a fictional film that in a lot of ways is visually documenting the spirit and energy of a city as unique as Lagos. So, I wanted to bring not only my storytelling capacity, but also my documentary capacity. Documentary is critical to how we also shape our history; there’s a way in which the future is entirely dependent on our understanding of the past.,” the co-founder of iREP said.