In an exclusive interview with Pulse, a veteran Nollywood actress from the 90’s told a secret about her latest project in film:
“When we started reading about the script (for ‘The Ghost and The House of Truth,’) initially, the character of Officer Stainless was not written for a woman, it was a man. So when we started thinking about it, we were in sync because that’s who we were thinking about for that role. We were just thinking about Kate Henshaw.”
-Ego Boyo
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The woman speaking is Ego Boyo, an actress that captured the hearts of Nigerian households with her bold and dynamic acting as Ann Haastrup in a 90s TV show called Checkmate. She is speaking about The Ghost and the House of Truth, a film that was released two weeks ago. Ego Boyo was involved in the project as a Producer, with Akin Omotoso as the Director. The two bring a diverse suite of talents to the table. Ego Boyo discovered a love for movie production when she acted in her last film, Violated. She stopped acting that year (1996) and set up Temple Productions, her own company. Much of her career was essentially mentored by the late Amaka Igwe until her death. Since she founded her own production company, Ego has been involved in a number of projects, including the presidential campaign in 1998.
In spite of the faith Ego Boyo and Akin Omotoso had in Kate Henshaw for the role, Kate Henshaw confessed that it took her some time to connect with the character:
“It took me a day or two to understand Akin the director and what exactly he wanted but I was able to get into character.”
Akin the director is not your typical Nigerian director. He started out as an actor in South Africa, with the intention of just trying it out. His original plan was to become a lawyer until he discovered the magic of a story. In a 2018 interview, he admitted:
“When I look back now, I just feel like I would have been a very unhappy lawyer.”
Perhaps. But one thing is apparent. Akin Omotoso is a talented filmmaker. His 2016 drama film, Vaya, screened at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Joburg Film Festival. Tell Me Sweet Something, a romantic comedy, won an Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award (AMVCA).
Most of Akin Omotoso’s best work, however, is entrenched in South African narratives (Vaya, Catching Feelings, Man on Ground) and his projects are influenced by films like Julie Dash’s Daughters of Dust, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, Ernest Dickerson’s Juice as well as John Singleton films like Boyz n The Hood, Higher Learning, and Poetic Justice. From this perspective, The Ghost and the House of Truth is a courageous step for him to take. The film examines blunt truths that may be familiar to Africans in general, but are especially particular to an average Nigerian’s experience. The story is set in the gritty and congested area of Makoko, Lagos, while the script is laced with bold takes against female stereotypes in Nigerian culture. For example: a pregnant police officer can do her job, a mother is not a pushover. A mother is an avenger, she will go to the ends of the earth for her child.
The Ghost and the House of Truth premiered at the Urban World Film Festival in September and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best World Narrative Feature. It screened at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) on the 15th of November and won three awards at the Festival (Best Actress, Best Director, Best Nigerian Film). Since its release in Nigerian cinemas, reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, although one editorial review has called it ‘a good effort that fails to capture the attention a story intention like that deserved.’
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The film is still available in cinemas, and is probably showing now in a cinema near you. In The Ghost and the House of Truth, Kate Henshaw is Officer Stainless, a principled and very pregnant police offer who does everything she can to solve a missing child’s case. Susan Wokoma, a Nigerian actress barely known at home but relatively popular abroad, is Bola Ogun, the mother. The story, reportedly written by four scriptwriters, revolves around this police officer and the distraught mother of the missing child.
Watch The Ghost and the House of Truth trailer below:
Sources:
The Nation Online NG
Film Rats Club
PM News NG
Pulse NG
Deadline
Punch NG
Featured Image Source: Cuisine Noir Magazine
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