My first encounter with the phenomenal Stanlee was during a gruelling rehearse session for the Adesuwa play. The director, Israel Wekpe had informed us there was an ‘August Visitor’ coming to visit us later in the day. I looked forward to seeing what was going to be special about him.
And then he came. His skin was just glittering like all these Oyibo people. In my mind I said, ‘Filmmakers dey enjoy life sha’. We had that celebrity moment with him and took photos with him before he left. In my mind, I said ‘So, that is it?’
Some of my fellow actors asked amongst ourselves, ‘Who is he?’ ‘Why haven’t we seen him before since he is a top Nigerian filmmaker?’ I got to learn why later.
Some weeks later, I got information about a cinematography masterclass organised in conjunction with the Edo State government. I signed up for it and attended.
This was the first time I had been to Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub. I came into the impressive soundstage. I met Stanlee addressing a small group of people. I knew I was late. I had missed my way before because in 2022, not many people along Airport Road knew my destination as Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub.
We soon got settled in and thus began my first lesson in filmmaking. I assumed after the class, I would know everything I wanted to, but acquiring knowledge doesn’t work that way. You need to learn, meditate and apply over time before anything can become a part of your neurology.
We bombarded Stanlee with a lot of questions just as the Japanese kamikaze bombers did to Pearl Harbor during the Second World War. Before the end of the masterclass, I knew what the filmmaking process would entail to ensure its success, at least fundamentally. The first thing I remember he said was, ‘Filmmaking is divided into 3 stages: pre-production, production and post-production. And any mistakes made in pre-production will appear during production and any errors during production will find its way into post-production and any errors found in post-production will affect the overall quality of the film project.’
In those words he highlighted how important it was to prepare for your film project in order to get the best out of it. But then again, we know how determined and impatient filmmakers can be. Especially when they get that sudden flash of inspiration, and they want to get started right away.
I saw the trailer for Stanlee’s Ohikhuare’s ‘Idahosa Trails’ and it was mind-blowing cinematography at its finest!
Months afterwards, I took a masterclass on Screenwriting for Series and during one of the lessons he got to lecture and demystify the process of writing a series. He spoke about the differences between writing for series and writing a feature length script.
Stanlee Ohikhuare is also known as the master of lighting aka ‘light bending’. What this implies is his profound knowledge and ingenious utilization of lighting effects to enhance the intensity of the scenes he directs. And he is mostly behind the camera and that explained why we didn’t know him when we first met him.
We asked him the reason for this and he said, “Fame has its downsides. If I enter a bus heading for the ghetto, I have no worries about being recognized. But if I was ‘facially famous’, I would not feel comfortable doing certain things. I love my freedom. My anonymity.”
Before the training was over, he had shot a short film called ‘Deserted’ where he went on to explain the dynamics of lighting and colour interactions and how to setup a camera to best make a scene work. And then he gave us assignment.
Stanlee Ohikhuare is one of Edo’s brilliant and widely recognised filmmakers who has made and stood behind several films, such as ‘Amiable’, ‘Iterum’ which was screened at the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival. Others are: ‘Kpians: The feast of souls’, ‘Common Man’, ‘Heavy Beauty’, ‘Lady Buckit and the Motley Mopsters’, ‘Tunnel’, ‘A Tune Away’, ‘Madam President’, ‘Oblivious’, ‘Coat of Harm’, ‘Retrospect Whispers’, ‘Horn Free Day’, ‘Stupid Movie’, ‘Yahoo taboo’, The Tunnel And End Of The Tunnel’, ‘The Deadwood, Preuba, Unprotected, Behind The Wheels, ‘Verdict’ and ‘Idahosa Trails’, based on the story of a Journalist meeting the Nigerian pastor, Benson Idahosa.
Amongst many other things, this writer, film director, cinematographer, film tutor and producer is a proud son of Edo State and he is always passionate about showcasing our talents from Edo To The World.
