He had already signed on for a limited series to kick off principal photography in October 2023 when his phone chimed. It was an Instagram DM from a rando telling him she worked for the FT as a producer and had been trying to reach him.
“I like to take on projects that I have the mindset to contribute to. If I cannot give it my 200% focus because there’s something in the way, I’d rather not take it,” he told Pulse Nigeria recently.
“Who is this?” he thought before declining the offer. At the time he was to come on the project as director of photography, not director. So the producer asked him to “seriously reconsider the offer.” He did and joined the project. The filmmaker, Juliet Riddell, who is now Head of New Format at the FT was to direct. Then, her Nigerian visa request wasn’t granted. So he became director on his first project working across shores. “All of a sudden, I found myself at the front of the line, doing like a lot,” he said.
