Bolu Essien Show Creator for Becoming Abi Discusses Her Filmmaking Process

Bolu Essien is an actor, writer, director, and show creator. She acted in a few movies in 2010-2012, went on a brief hiatus, and returned to acting in 2021. Bolu did a short film titled: Things That Broke Us. The short film centered on the challenges of a young couple. It is currently airing on DSTV-Africa‘s biggest cable network.

Afterward, I directed and produced a documentary titled Scars of Honor. It was aimed at destigmatizing women who opt for cesarean section as a form of childbirth. I am putting an end to the misconception of these women being regarded as weak. My latest work is Becoming Abi, a workplace series. It is inspired by and loosely based on my life experiences whilst working in one of Nigeria’s leading advertising agencies.

On this project, I worked as a creator, writer, co-director, and producer. with my production company Evolving Light Studios. I also play the titular character Abi. Becoming will be released on Netflix globally on October 28, 2022.

Watch Official Trailer for BECOMING ABI coming to Netflix October 28th

---

indieactivity: How would you describe your work as a Creator/Writer? 
Bolu Essien (BE): I feel very honored to be an Actor who is also a creator/Writer. I treat this with the utmost respect because I am creating non-existing, yet very relatable worlds such that it feels so normal, and people can see characters whom they know or personalities they can relate to. For me I see stories everywhere and my mind is constantly creating, and I intentionally pen them down.

I am very keen on creating work that speaks to everyday life and everyday people who look like me. I want to touch on topics that matter. What does it mean to love? How do you maintain a friendship in the face of challenges, what does it mean to forgive, and how does one heal? My intension is to shine a light on human struggles, realities, aspirations, and everything in between. I am constantly researching and writing. I am fully embracing my capacity.

How did you get into Creating/Writing?
Bolu Essien (BE): As far as I can remember, I know I have always wanted to act but when it comes to writing, I didn’t have so much interest up until 2012 when I was graduating and I remember at that time, I was constantly praying to God to help me discover my purpose and I found that it was a calling for me to create and creating for me starts from conceiving and writing. It starts with an idea and then it goes on from there. I find that when I think of a story, my mind never stops working on it and I get myself to sit to write the things that my mind and heart is seeing.

---

How do you choose a project to work on?
Bolu Essien (BE): We have a slate as a company that includes films, tv series, documentaries, animation, and Game shows so we look at our slate and decide what we want to work on based on a myriad of factors including:

Research: Our team has a background in marketing and brand development and one of the key successes in that industry is research, you need to know what is saturating the market and make a decision if you want to completely avoid that theme or stay close to it and simply put a spin to yours.

Market/Our Readiness: There are scripts I have written, and I fully know we are not ready to execute, or better put, we will rather wait for a Co-Production opportunity to open up for us to create such work due to its intricacies and depth.

Creativity: There is something we say as a team, “if it’s not creative, we are not doing it” and we seek to abide by this as much as we can. We want people to see our projects or anything we are associated with and go… yea that’s Evolving Light Studios, because we always deliver exceptional projects and always have a profound message to communicate because we are all about telling stories of impact creatively.

---

What uniqueness can female writers/directors bring to film/tv/cinema?
Bolu Essien (BE): Firstly, I’d say “Humanity”. I believe women are very in tune with their feelings and emotions and that is something I believe we can bring to the table. I am not afraid to say how I feel, and this is what I want to continue to demonstrate in my work. When you watch an Evolving Light Studios project, we want you to feel Happy, Sad, Angry, Joy, Pain, or whatever emotion we intended to stir.

Secondly, I’d say “Detailing”. Women tend to ‘mother’ their projects, at least that is how I work, and that is exactly how I have approached Becoming Abi. Before we commenced production, I had created a deck that gave extensive insights on the intended look and feel of the show, the tone, the characters, and so on because I had watched it severally in my mind’s eye so, every department had to come correct from writing to character development, costume, production design, technical cinematography, editing, sound design, and the whole 9 yards – the vision was clear and it translated into what the world will get to see from Oct 28.

Do you often take courses to increase your craft as an Actor and Writer?
Bolu Essien (BE): Learning never stops. As an actor, I take acting classes at Identity School of Acting, UK (IDSA) to hone my skills and continually evolve. These classes help me to grow and understand what it means to BE a CHARACTER, differentiate between what is and what isn’t in the script, and how to use that in the development of my craft. For Books, I am currently reading “Respect for Acting” by Uta Hagen – not rushing it though (laughs), so that the words can get to me. In all, I believe acting is an art and I plan to continue nurturing it as such.

---

In terms of writing and directing, I am constantly watching films, documentaries, and TV Series while devouring videos on Studio binder, and Film Courage. I make a habit of watching every interview of actors, writers, and directors that I admire their work; I find that one way or the other, I can connect to their process, their journey, or their creativity.

When I am not watching, I am reading articles on filmmaking and attending masterclasses.

What books do you read?
Bolu Essien (BE): Currently reading Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen.

Why would you choose an actor, writer, producer, or collaborator? What do you look for? 
BE: Understanding the Vision is key for me – If I am bringing you on board it is because I believe you have something to offer but do you understand the vision of this particular project? Every film can be interpreted in a thousand and one ways but do you get the ‘How’ for this project?

Quality of your past work from a storytelling point of view – Scale is good but not everyone has the opportunity to tell stories with so much money especially when they are young or just starting so I am looking at what you do with what you had. I did a short film with a very limited budget but it’s airing on cable because you can’t deny that it’s a good story well told.

---

Hunger to tell stories – I yearn to tell relatable stories so I am always on the lookout to see if the person wants to do the same or if he/she is simply out for the money. Money is good, but the story and the art always come first for me and I look to collaborate with people who see and appreciate the art as well.

When you are offered a project, what things do you put in place to deliver a good job? 
BE: Since I started my production company in 2021, I haven’t worked on a project that isn’t mine as it relates to writing or directing but if the opportunity comes, I will first evaluate the vision of the project and try to understand what the producers intend to achieve; if it is something that I connect with, then I will do the needful and get onboard by researching, preparing and acting, writing or even directing the living out of the project (smiles).

Briefly explain your latest work
BE: I have always believed that there was an opportunity to tell stories as a Nigerian but with universal topics that anyone can relate to but I didn’t fully see characters in the workplace being explored fully in Nigeria and for a market that has over a 104 million of its population as youths; there was never a better time to tell this story so I decided to write and share my story/experiences while working in an Ad agency and showing all the challenges that come with growing through the Corporate Ladder but in a fun and quirky way – this was what birthed Becoming Abi.

---

It explores finding love in the workplace, building friendships, dealing with difficult bosses, the reality of working and growing as an adult in Nigeria and so much more. Behind the making of this series is a fantastic set of Actors, Collaborators and Crew that have worked tirelessly across the different production stages to bring my vision to life in the most remarkable manner.

Explain key challenges on your last film?
BE: Hmm, Funding was our biggest challenge. I have taken a hiatus for over 9 years so putting together a project of this magnitude caused some people to doubt my capacity. Truth is, while their concerns were valid, the skepticism was not correct. I have worked in the marketing industry for over 8 years and one of the key elements that I handled during that time was content production for different global brands across industries – so I bring that professionalism, capacity, experience, and creativity into filmmaking. To bring Becoming Abi to life, we had to self-finance the project with support from a few brands and friends.

Pre-production was good so it helped with the smooth running of the production, but we had to cut off a lot of scenes we didn’t shoot because we had a certain amount of days to shoot but of course, I knew each scene as the back of my palm so I could cut off scenes, link the existing scenes without losing the plot of each episode. I remember when my AD would walk up to me and ask for more cuts down (Laughs) and I would tell him, sorry Teefash, we have to do this one but I am quite pleased with the output.

What ‘thing/situation’ helps you during production?
BE: My team for Becoming Abi is composed of people I trust to handle production hassles. They have corporate experience so proactiveness and agility over perfection are things we live by hence I trusted them to handle issues during production which they did perfectly. There were a few times when certain issues needed my attention and my approach was ‘Don’t panic, we can find a viable solution and we always did. Also, I believe in prayers, and I often ask God for guidance daily-that way, I can navigate through challenges easily.

Explain a creative choice you took on the set of a recent production?
BE: Did a number of these but one I can quickly mention is collapsing scenes. As I mentioned earlier, time, schedule, and funds were not in sync (Laughs) so I had to collapse scenes without losing the plot. So scenes where a character was meant to give another character some information the next day in another location, we simply changed the costumes the actors were wearing and used the same location so that we can maximize the setup done by the Cinematography and Production Design team.

How can filmmakers finance their projects?
BE: These are all routes we took to finance Becoming Abi.
a: Self-financing
b. Investment from friends and family
c. Brand sponsorships

What do you want from an actor during a production?
BE: Putting on my Producer hat to respond to this because it is what I also demand from myself; that thing is Commitment. I plan to be committed to any role I take on whether or not it is produced by Evolving Light Studios. Ask questions about the story, quiz the characters, and let’s tell a beautiful story.

What do you think a female writer can do to get into the film industry?
BE: Write the stories you want to see and if you can, put your money where your mouth is. Produce it or get a producer even if it is a short film. Create irrespective of the scale, this will help to show what you are capable of.

Who is your favorite director and why?
BE: I don’t have one, but I will mention a few from my non-exhaustive list in no particular order (laughs). Taika Watiti & Wes Anderson – I love their attention to detail, especially on production design. I am deeply in love with Gina Prince-Bythewood and the beauty she did in The Woman King.

As an actor, I desire to work with a director that sees me the actor as clay and can work with me or any other actor to achieve character depth as needed in each project. I cried watching it because that is what films are meant to make you do. Make you feel something. I love Barry Jerkins and how he explores humanity in his works too. Too many to mention (smiles)

What advice would you give male/female writers around the world?
BE: Tell and write the stories you want to see.

---

Tell us what you think of the interview with Becoming Abi Show Runner Bolu Essien. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook or Twitter.

Follow Bolu Essien on Social Media
Website
IMDb
Twitter
Instagram