Hate from The Altar goes to Minnesota
Hate from The Altar
After the success recorded in Maryland, USA, inspirational movie by award-winning Nigerian-American Filmmaker, Temitope Adebiyi, Hate From The Altar, is set for the big screen in Minnesota, USA.
Co-produced by Ayodeji Adekoya and Oluwakemi Obafemi, the movie parades actors such as Ayodeji Adekoya, Kike Ayodeji, Paul Tolbert, Tokie Oduneye, Omotolani Kazeem, Olalekan Adeiga, Danny Simeon.
Shot in November and December 2022, in Maryland, U.S., the movie tells the story of a young girl, Jael, whose emergence as the new choir leader of a church sparks controversy amongst the choir members and within the pastorate.
This choice is met with stiff resistance from the assistant choir leader and some pastors on the ground that she is a fornicator. The continuous move by the pastors to effect this removal leads to a deeper secret being revealed.
Premiered in Maryland USA, the movie is set for another screening in Minnesota, USA, on March 31, 2023.
Speaking with The Guardian, Adebiyi who is the artistic director for the movie said the project draws its subject matter from lack of love, which is evident in churches these days.
“I have been in the church for a long time, and over the years, I have noticed one thing missing amongst believers, and that is love; the principal teaching of Jesus Christ while on earth. And sadly, people are not talking about it anymore. So, I feel the need at this critical time to tell a story to open our eyes to this missing link.
“The motive of the movie is not to point fingers, but rather to make Christians come to the realisation of how love is important in keeping God’s commandments. If you love your brother, you will not sleep with his wife, if you love your brother, you will not be pushing for his downfall, if you love your brother, you will not steal from him.”
On the challenges faced while filming, he said: “The major challenge faced during filming was getting enough crew member. For independent filmmakers in the US, it is always a challenge getting professional crew members because of the costs. Additionally, we filmed around, November/December, which is the peak of winter season, so it was difficult filming some of those exterior night scenes in the movie. One night, the weather was so cold and I couldn’t move anymore. I couldn’t bear it and I had to leave my camera and ran to my car to turn on the heater and stayed there for a while.”
On the difference between filming in the US and Nigeria, he said: “I produced my first feature film in Nigeria titled Boluwatife (The will of God) in 2014.
The major difference has always been the issues of crewmembers, grips and extras; it is easy to have extras and grips in Nigeria. There are people that will literally come to your set and stay all day, assisting and waiting to have an opportunity to be extras without expecting anything in return. But the same cannot be said of the US, where the system is designed to keep you working. So, it is hard to just have people coming to your film set without any direct involvement or getting anything in return
On the budget, he said: “Compare to what people spend to produce a feature film, this is actually compact. I was able to cut cost, because I was the Director of photography and also doubled as the editor.”
