September 30, 2019

Quick Q & A with Abba T. Makama

Nigerian writer/director Abba T. Makama makes his return to The Toronto International Film Festival with his second feature film, The Lost Okoroshi. Part of the festival’s Discovery slate of 37 films from emerging filmmakers representing 35 countries, Okoroshi follows a disillusioned security guard haunted by dreams of an ancestral masquerade. When he’s suddenly transformed into the mute, purple spirit, he embarks on a dream-like Technicolor journey of self-discovery and search for simplicity through the city of Lagos.

Makama’s first feature film Green White Green had its 2016 world premiere at TIFF as one of the eight movies selected to represent Nigeria in the City-to-City program. It has since screened in over 20 international film festivals (including Stockholm international Film Festival, Berlin Critics Week and the New York African Film Festival) and can now be found on Netflix. He’s an alumnus of the 2018 Berlinale Talents and has a lengthy resume that includes work for Al Jazeera, Google, BlackBerry, Hennessy and Cîroc Vodka. Abba is also a visual artist with two solo exhibitions (2016’s Hypnagogia and 2017’s Images from the Unconscious) under his belt and is the founder of Osiris Entertainment, a creative outfit specializing in content for digital and traditional media.

I sat down with Abba shortly after his arrival in Toronto to chat about the inspiration behind his latest film, leveling up creative artistry and scary childhood stories that made their way to his work.

*Lightly edited for clarity and length.

L: Your first film – Green White Green – was a pseudo-autobiographical exploration of pride in tribe and country. The Lost Okoroshi builds on that and adds pride in a simpler existence. What elements of you are in Raymond Obinwa (The Lost Okoroshi’s protagonist)?

A: At work, Raymond spends year after year watching people come and go, always rushing in and out of work and ultimately longs for simplicity and a time where things were…just less complicated. Simplicity is equally as important and relevant as a more advanced western civilized way of living. Tech billionaires get all this money, reach the peak of their success and what do they usually do? Buy a piece of land in the country and hermit. That’s what all our grandparents are doing. That’s what my ancestors have done. It’s what I want to do. It’s like you chase this dream your whole life, only to realize you wanna go back to when things were easier. And like Raymond, I’ve experienced hypnagogia (vivid hallucinations before falling asleep) my whole life. My most recent experience was two nights ago.

L: I can’t imagine how jarring that is, but is it comforting, almost stimulating in some way, to write your way through it?

A: I used to be scared, but I had the realization that it crafts my identity. I mean I’m always drawing shadows. These are some of the things I see at night. This is the inspiration for the Okoroshi, just without the mask.

L: Like Green White Green, your color palate is diverse, but purple popped more than any other. What’s the significance of the color as it relates to the Okoroshi?

A: My mom used to say purple was the color of the Holy Ghost. It’s also the color of royalty. Also, Jean-Claude Moschetti photographed an image of the purple masquerade from Burkina Faso and I used that on my mood board when Okoroshiwas in development. It was the best choice, the obvious choice.

L: Can you tell me more about “Okoroshi”, the use of masquerades and their place in Nigerian culture?

A: The short version: Okoroshi are physical manifestations of spirits and the masks/masquerades associated with them have different functions. For example, there’s a masquerade associated with the spirit world called the Eyo draped in all white cloth with a hat and associated with a rich or powerful man dying. My Okoroshi’s function is primarily entertainment and a social justice warrior (laughs). He rights wrongs, fights crime, walks among the people, and sometimes has a good time doing it. It’s a tongue-in-cheek use of the term, but at its core, that’s what he is.

L: What place does this Okoroshi have in a world dominated by Christianity-dominated world, especially as modern Christianity tends to vilify and demonize other religions?

A: He represents choice. There’s room for every religion. Yours is yours, mine is mine. No one is right or wrong. There’s room for everyone to have their own space. We get nowhere with division so extreme you lose sight of the whole point of religion – unity under a common cause. Religion should be a personal journey. It should touch people. It’s supposed to be for everyone. I’m someone who doesn’t judge, so as long as you’re not actively trying to harm anybody, what works for you is okay with me.

L: Was it difficult to balance the religious elements with humor and political commentary without it becoming offensive?

A: In my original draft, I considered giving Raymond a Hausa background and have him transform into an Igbo masquerade. But the depiction of Igbo people and culture requires sensitivity, something that is lacking in other projects. I wanted to respect that and not make it more political than it already is. The IPSSHRR (Igbo Peoples Secret Society of Heritage Restoration and Reclamation – a fictional historical preservation agency) was my part of my solution. I had them suggest capitalizing on the Okoroshi’s increasing popularity by giving him a social media presence and monetizing his very existence. It’s all ridiculous and it was my favorite scene in the film. To the Okoroshi, it’s useless, meaningless and banal chit chat: “You follow me on Facebook. You said ‘hi’ to me on WhatsApp!” All he can do is just watch this unfold.

L: (Laughs) You almost feel bad for him. He can’t speak, let alone speak up for himself or get out of it.

A: Right, so he just vanishes because he’s fed up with it all. His leaving doesn’t mean hope is necessarily lost. He’s just gone back to the spirit world. He tried life on Earth, saw we’re all fucked up and haven’t figured out shit out and dipped. (Laughs) “Welp, I’m going home! Peace out. Y’all motherfuckers deal with this shit. When y’all are ready, just let me know. Set up your own social media accounts, leave me out of this.”

L: The Lost Okoroshi made references to the Slender Man and Son of Sam murders: “all indicative of an altered imbalance psychospiritual state…and displaced spiritual psychological collective”. Do you believe it’s the lack of religion that causes chaos in the world or too much religion and how susceptible it is to skewing?

A: It’s the imbalance, for sure. The Son of Sam murders happened immediately after the hippie movement, the introduction of eastern religions, the Vietnam War, and marked the beginning of the end of the counterculture movement. Music changed, drugs of choice changed. The government changed and ushered in a more conservative state of mind. People responsible for these heinous acts of murder always say there’s some sort of major cultural and spiritual shift beforehand. Because of it, they felt god-like, even having the hubris to return to the crime scene to relive it and take trinkets and what not.

Slender Man reminded me of a supernatural entity we heard about as kids: something so long and so tall, its head would go all the way to the sky. He would walk behind you and would only chase you if you ran. The key was to maintain your calm. I never saw it (Laughs), but it’s one of those things that maybe existed in another culture and made its way to ours. No murder, no harm, but just to scare us straight.

L: When we last spoke, we talked about stories that you felt needed to be told, more specifically: the 1967 and 1976 Nigerian coups. Are you any closer to getting that done?

A: Now that you’ve reminded me, I should probably go back to the lab and start thinking about that. That would still be really awesome. I’ve done the City to City track. I’ve done the Discovery track. If I’m coming back to TIFF, I can’t do any of those programs again. I need to do something bigger. I need to level up. That would be the best project to come back with.

L: Between Green White Green and The Lost Okoroshi, you’ve taken on different projects in different mediums: a short film, commercials. Is there more of that on your agenda?

A: Only if I really like the project and it appeals to me. Before, I’d do business development for Osiris and pitch constantly. Now I just paint to fill my time. I always make time for my art. I have an exhibition in December in Lagos, so I’m preparing for that.

L: There was a line in the film, “When the ancestors call, we answer them.” If you were to take that call now, what would be the message you need to hear at this moment?

A: I think I’ve already taken that call. I’m a cultural ambassador. There are a lot of people who have no idea what a masquerade and this film will change that. This is my job now: to spread the gospel that this thing exists. Now you can debate about it.

The Lost Okoroshi

Director
Abba Makama

Cast
Seun Ajayi, Judith Audu, Tope Tedela, Ifu Ennada, Chiwetalu Agu