Mo Apodo “from dust to dreams”: interview

When the words are not enough, the music appears to dress up with broken family links in the melodic drama Dust to dreams. The short film is written and directed by Idris Elba, based in Nigeria, and produced by Mo Apodo, the media pole in Ebonylife, and follows Melissant (Nes Ikebe Etim), who benefited from the legendary Lagos Night Licker that her late father owned, who aims to transfer the family’s actions to her daughter with musical tendencies, PC (who plays her role as Constance, and is a competition. Nigerian is a precedent in the idol), despite the pressure of others. Family members to sell real estate.

After receiving news about her incurable illness, which only enhances Melissant’s desire to maintain the famous nightclub in the family, she finally decided to present PCi to Johnson (Seil), her separate father, who left the army a long time before her birth. Through their newly discovered relationship on the brink of Melissant’s disease, the two must get to know each other through the only way they know: singing and composing music.

Dust to dreams It was first shown this year at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it was first shown recently at the London Film Festival. Here, the deadline talks with Abuo about reviving her vision, working with Elba, and making the world see Africa in a more diverse way.

Delivery date: What led you to this cooperation with Idris Elba?

Mo Aubo: Cooperation with Idris returns to a few years ago. We both decided that we are committed to telling African stories in a certain light, and from this cooperation came Dust to dreamsA story that I wrote, so I shared it with him. Then he looked at this and liked the idea of ​​the story, then asked if he could modify the story. I had no problems with that. I am in a stage in my life where cooperation is very strong. When he modified the scenario, the spirit of the story was still present, and that was the beginning.

Initially, I wanted Idris to play the role of Johnson, the lyric soldier. He already agreed to do so. Then, at some point during our discussions, he reached a great idea that a torrent will play this role. I said, “Well, I have no access to a torrent. How can you get a torrent? It is in Los Angeles, and we are filming this in Lagos.” But like magic, do that. We managed to involve SEAL in this project. Therefore, Johnson played, and that was beautiful. The basis of our partnership is that we are committed, committed and enthusiastic about telling our stories around the world, but in a way that the global audience understands and is able to link with them. In all the reactions we receive about Dust to dreamsIt is largely related to the extent of the story’s connection. Since it is a story about the family, heritage and music, these are all global topics that people understand.

I think the world needs to wake up and understand that there is more porn in Africa and pornography of poverty, which people expect to see us at any time. We do not want to be among the category that produces a certain type of narration that marginalizes what [African people] It can be because this is not all we are.

Delivery date: What should the industry also know about the African film industry?

Abudo: I think the world has played an important role in telling a single -side story about the continent for the longest period. I do not want to look like a broken cylinder, but we really need some responsibility for the story of the story, regarding what we want the world to see on our continent. And that responsibility is based on us. Film makers and storytells are gay and Idris feel a sense of responsibility towards telling certain types of stories. I continue to return to the fact that it cannot be merely porn for poverty or porn for poverty. I see people in the streets of Los Angeles and New York sleep in the open while they are homeless – poverty is everywhere. But the impression you get is that Africa is poor. It is not only Africa. Africa is rich in resources. It is rich in people who have huge amounts of talents that need to be explored, whether in our music, our outfits or many other entrepreneurships that people are carrying out in the continent of Africa.

I think the important thing is to be able to find ways in which we can photograph it. One of the easy fruits is to do it in movies and do it in music. I think our responsibility is to deliver these stories to the world. And when you take a movie like Dust to dreamsIt is linked. It is a slice of life that revolves around a nightclub that the elderly father leaves for his relatives. Now there is a dispute between the family about what to do, as some members want to sell the nightclub. This story could have occurred in New York, Chicago or Lagos because it was important for people to understand that we are going through the same movements as well. And where there is a conflict, there will be a solution.

With this particular story, it was about the trip. It was the mother’s journey. I am a mother and a grandmother. Therefore, I understand what is the journey of motherhood. I can only imagine how the journey will be, God forbid, if you were given a certain amount of time to live it. How do I arrange my affairs, and what are the things that I will do? It is only about spreading the ideas of these stories and showing the world that as much as you feel and do certain things, we will also feel and do certain things and make certain decisions about family and life as well. I think this is the essence of the story we have narrated.

Delivery date: He was amazed when I was searching for this, which is that this is the first leading role for SEAL in anything ever.

Abudo: I do not think that a torrent has been spent before. To my knowledge, this is the first main role he played in terms of being an actor. I don’t think he wants to be called a representative, but he has somewhat exceeded. The response and comments were that people love this performance. He is very honest with his performance. There is also a song that comes out of this movie, the song they ultimately perform, called “Mama”. Written by a torrent, Konstan, and a group called the cave men.

Delivery date: Let’s talk about the topic of that song. So, Johnson made his daughter Pessi meet for the first time. And they composed that song after the loss of Pessi’s mother, the former Johnson Habiba. It is a beautiful moment, but why is the decision to keep it away from the family?

Abudo: We will have to assume certain things, because as you know, not everything is seen in the movie. Someone asked me before if I could add 10 minutes to the movie, what would I like to happen? I wanted to explore the dramatic background in the flashback, especially the relationship between Millie and Johnson, which was good to explore, especially when he was working in the nightclub. The dramatic story is that years and years ago, before the birth of their daughter, Miley worked in her father’s night club. At some point, his bags were packed and decided to join the army. Then he goes to the army, after he was in a relationship with Miley, unaware that Millie was pregnant. So I decided to raise this child on its own.

But now she is dying now, she realized that she wanted to be her daughter’s father in her daughter’s life. Therefore, I looked at him and extended his hand, then he said: “Millie, she asked me to come. I came. What is the problem?” And that is when we discovered that she was dying, and only wanted to have her daughter and her father this relationship and this link. The dramatic story is that she also knows that her daughter can sing, but the daughter did not express this singing talent in the way she should, perhaps because of fear or shame. She knows that this talent comes from the father, because the father also sings. When you see them in the lawyer’s office, when the will is read, her urban wish is to perform together. We see this happening at the end of the movie, and this brings everyone together.

Delivery date: Since this is shown in different festivals, what do you want people to learn from this short movie?

Abudo: It was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, and the reactions were great. The room was full of applause for the film. The assessments were good. It will now be shown at the London Film Festival soon, which we are very proud of. And I think what I want people to extract from the movie is how this interview started with you, is that there is something more in Africa and in our stories of pornography and pornography of poverty. We are complete individuals. We are people with the same desires and aspirations like anyone else around the world. We are human. Sometimes I believe that the humanity that people see in the rest of the world do not extend to us often. It seems as if we are stuck in this time capsule of poverty and despair on the continent, which they often see.

And I think what we do with this story is to say, “This is a slice of life from Lagos today.” Energy in Lagos is the same energy density in New York. It is a beautiful city full of life and energy. Music plays a very important role in our lives on the continent. We wanted the music to be part of this movie, and we wanted the family to be part of this movie and the legacy, because this nightclub was desirable for Milli, and it is now clear to her sisters and daughter. It is also related to the dynamics of the relationship between men and women. Things happen. Here she is, she is pregnant, the man has gone. I decided not to disturb him. She raises her child herself. This happens everywhere, as well as in Africa, as well as in Lagos Nigeria. It is important for people to know that this could be our reality as well, often our reality, and for people to communicate with humanity, this could be a story that could have been narrated in Lagos, London, or Los Angeles.

[This interview has been edited for length and clarity]