Respected filmmaker, Tunde Kelani (TK) and team members of his film school, Mainframe Film and Media Institute (MFMI) recently graduated the first set of students and presented certificates to them in the presence of notable personalities such as Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Segun Odegbami, Kunle Afolayan, Mr. Segun Adaju, Dipo Famakinwa, Mr. Tunde Adeniji, Chimaobi Agwu, Femi Odugbemi, Ropo Ewenla, Seye Oyeleye and many others.
At the ceremony that had filmmaker and pioneering head of jury for Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Award (AMVCA), Femi Odugbemi delivering the keynote address, many other notable stakeholders in the industry enjoined students to put to good use during the eight-week course.
Filmmaking, according to Femi Odugbemi, is a powerful drill. He said “Use it to make a hole…Make films to make a point. Make films that matter. Filmmaking is first and foremost an artistic endeavour. It is a thoughtful, disruptive endeavour that seeks to influence the minds of its audiences. It is primarily entertaining but its real power is that it causes society to reflect on its history, its sociology, its ideology but much more its empathy and humanity. Filmmaking is not a trade; it is not some easy vocation for the dimwitted or something to do because you couldn’t pass JAMB.”
Kunle Afolayan, a filmmaker, who has drawn so much from the well of wisdom of TK, emphasised the need to have mentors. In driving home his point he said, “Filmmaking is a collaborative effort. You need the input of several people to make qualitative films.”
Tunde Kelani holds a Diploma in the Art and Technique of Filmmaking from the London International Film School, London. After many years in the Nigerian Film Industry as a Cinematographer, he now manages Mainframe Film & Television Productions, an outfit formed to document Nigeria’s rich culture.
Tunde Kelani has worked on most feature films produced in the country in his capacity as a Cinematographer. Some of 16mm feature films include: Anikura; Ogun Ajaye; Iya Ni Wura; Taxi Driver; Iwa and Fopomoyo. In the area of video productions, he has to his credit award-winning feature videos: Ti Oluwa Nile; Ayo Ni Mo Fe; Koseegbe and Oleku.
An advocate of ‘Alternative Technology’ in motion picture production in Africa, Tunde Kelani has successfully produced and directed two digital features,Saworoide, Thunderbolt. He also completed work one of his latest digital films ‘Agogo-eewo’ shot on widescreen digitally on Dvcam. In addition to the M-net short features films, ‘Twins of the Rainforest’,’A Place Called Home’ and ‘Barber’s Wisdom’ (35MM) , he also photographed, produced and directed a short feature in 16mm ‘The White Handkerchief’ in the same series. He has since added The Campus Queen’ Abeni and The Narrow Path, the first set of works to probe further the possibilities of advanced digital filmmaking.
He recently added a new film Arugba which has just concluded free, open-air community screenings in 57 local government and development council areas of Lagos State in Nigeria. Tunde Kelani uses the Mobile Cinema Project, designed to take information and entertainment to the grassroot.
Tunde Kelani’s latest film is Maami that tells the story of a single parent, Maami, and her young son who are desperately poor.