COVID-19: Avoiding Infection as Nollywood Goes Back to Work!

August 23, 2020August 23, 2020 Editor

As the world races towards finding a sustainable solution to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, confirmed last week that she had tested positive to the virus. This confirmation was immediately followed with the revelation that her infection happened on a movie set.

Although the actress had since moved into an isolation centre and is said to be doing well, receiving treatment. The fact that she contracted the virus on a film set has increased fears about the safety of practitioners in this endeavour where physical body contact is near unavoidable.

How COVID-19 Affected Filmmakers

Recall that when President Muhammadu Buhari, first announced a 14-day national lockdown to contain COVID-19 on March 31, 2020, it abruptly halted the activities of major industries in the country. One of those mainly affected was the filmmaking industry where work on tens of production either already on location or still under plans had to halt. And for more than twelve weeks, thousands of Nigerians who function in different sections of the industry were unable to ply their trade and invariably left without a means of livelihood. Frontline Nollywood Producer and Director, Mildred Okwo, indeed indicated, in a podcast released by Arts for the people during the week that it only took a few weeks of the lockdown for many practitioners to go into “starving mode”. That is understandable because a lockdown seemed to have preceded the government’s announcement.

Producer/ Director, Kabat Esosa Egbon told eelive.ng that practitioners had actually shut down their sets before the official pronouncement of a lockdown by government. “We have been out of business for months now. Even before the lockdown, productions were shut down. Over 90% of productions were abruptly stopped. For the first time in five months, I think I’m just trying to make my first movie. It’s crazy!” This sentiment was shared by producer Kemi Adekomi when she spoke with eelive.ng.

Nollywood actor and producer Tope Tedela also told eelive.ng that: “The pandemic really hit hard for different sectors of the entertainment industry and we are still on the road to recovery. With social distancing and other preventive measures in place, congregating is limited or impossible so theatre performances for instance can almost not happen. If performances cannot happen, you cannot work, and the other consequences play out if you follow that train of thought.”

Bolatito Sowunmi, a Nollywood actress who only recently got out of the set of a movie, said the effect of the pandemic is still evident because a lot of people do not yes have opportunities to go back to work. She however noted that there was the positive side of making everyone step back and take a moment to ponder on their everyday life. “However, it affected us and stopped us from making money because we couldn’t work,” she explained.

Ecstasy at relaxation of lockdown

Widespread opinion in Nollywood, as expressed by those who spoke to us during the week is that the lockdown caused varying degrees of discomfort and hardship amongst practitioners. And this is not surprising in an industry where living is largely subsistence, just as the eagerness to get back to work immediately after the relaxation of the lockdown should be expected. Many practitioners went back on set almost immediately after the Presidential Task Force (PTF) gave an indication that Nigerians could return to a measure of the regular practices in their normal life.

One of the producers who got back to work immediately after the ease of the lockdown is Charles Okpaleke, who is working on a star-studded remake of soar away Rattlesnake. Just as Esosa Egbon is back on set to shoot his first movie in months. Okpaleke, who was not available for comments had his set move from Lagos to Abuja just before the end of last week.

Adekomi, hit location in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State on Wednesday, July 19, 2020. Her mission in Ibadan was the filming of her new Nollywood movie, End Game, which she is producing alongside four other people. In her own case, Sowunmi said it took her about four weeks to decide to go back to work. She claimed to have taken time to observe the state of readiness of the industry, a situation that made her turn down two productions. “But after one month, I felt I was ready to go back and I am happy that things went well,” she told eelive.ng.

The Jolt of Jalade’s revelation

Last weekend revelation, which came from an Instagram post by Mrs Ekeinde however threw the industry into a panic. Practitioners started to wonder how much is being done to ensure that everyone remains safe within the prevailing situations.

These concerns stemmed from the physical nature of filmmaking “and we are wondering that if a practitioner of the clout of Omotola can contact COVID- 19 on set, what would be the fate of many young people who do not have the wherewithal to hold their own amongst producers,” a source
told us during the week.

Professional Bodies to the Rescue?

Associations and Guilds in the industry are however taking steps to see that their members remain safe even while working.

For example, the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Producers Association of Nigeria (TAMPAN), and Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) have, put certain guidelines in place to ensure strict compliance with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) rules and the safety of their members on film sets.

Speaking about the new-norm for Nollywood practitioners, TAMPAN President, Bolaji Amusan, otherwise known as Mr Latin, told Premium Times, “Now that we have resumed shooting, we have instructed our members to maintain social distancing as much as possible. This is to to make sure that they don’t do anything that negates the guidelines dictates of the NCDC and the Ministry of Health.”

He revealed that TAMPAN has prohibited acts like “overnight shoots, working with crowds, and unnecessary gatherings. Actors must now wash their hands and apply hand sanitisers as frequently as possible while on set.

Like TAMPAN, AGN has asked its members to shun any shoot that is likely to have more than 30 cast and crew members at any given time. Making this disclosure, President of the AGN, Mr Emeka Rollas, in a published statement, said the directive is a proactive step aimed at preventing the spread of the dreaded virus. While asking members of the AGN to adhere advised that: “Producers must provide all the necessary medical requirements such as alcohol-based sanitisers and hand-washing facilities among others. They must strictly adhere to the principles and best practices of good hygiene while on set.”

Adekomi, who is a special adviser to Rollas confirmed that the actors’ body is concerned about its members’ welfare to the extent that it has put out these guidelines. Sowunmi who was part of the shooting of the film, Die With You, also spoke about the precautions that were taken on the set of this movie. “It started with the temperature checks, constant hand washing, and the availability of sanitisers in abundance. The crew was also always decked in protective gears and special caution was taken during the filming of scenes where we needed to have close contact. There were even scenes we shot with our masks on, these masks were personalised,” she told eelive.ng while praising the efforts of producers of the film.

Ralph Nwadike-led Association of Movie Producers (AMP) and National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) also gave guidelines to their members on how to make people safe

Some filmmakers who are still waiting for the current worry to wear out however think more needs to be done for the situation to be relatively safe. An actor who spoke to us on conditions of anonymity identified two things namely: the testing of cast and crew members and the possibility of isolating same for 14 days prior to filming as possible ways of building confidence and giving a sense of security to everyone.

Some practitioners however think this is unrealistic. Adekomi told eelive.ng that taking on the costs for isolation pre-filming is a risk many producers would be unwilling to add to their budgets with the prevailing economic realities. In her words: “budget will make it difficult to isolate cast and crew for movies. I mean, isolation takes about 14 days, and which producer will cough out hundreds of thousands to isolate? First off, you are going to have to feed the cast and crew for 14 days in isolation. It’s almost impossible, let’s be honest. Isolating each cast and crew member for 14 days might take half of the movie budget.”

While agreeing that testing cast and crew before hitting locations may truly be a way out, Esosa Egbon opined that the assistance of government may be needed in this area. This government aid would be in terms of making tests free and prompt. He explained further: “I think the government can step up in this regard, probably by creating an easy way for actors to get tested for free. I believe this will help, as this is one of the challenges filmmakers are facing. How long it takes, how much it costs, amongst others. I know some of my colleagues who bought test kits for N450,000 for a test kit of about 30. That’s not a small amount of money. If there is this ease of getting tested formally and free of charge by the government, that will help a lot.”

Need for personal responsibility amidst disbelieve?

Curiously, eelive.ng investigations revealed that many practitioners still imagine that COVID-19 is a hoax! A producer who spoke to us with a demand that his name must not be mentioned said he had decided to hold off production “until the whole madness stops. I just said this as an attempt for people to defraud Nigeria. I know this thing exists but I don’t believe it exists so much in Nigeria and I certainly won’t be part of the hysteria…,” He opined.

Adekomi confirmed this reality while speaking with the publication. She lamented that many people still think the virus does not exist and defy the guidelines wherever they go. She explained: “So, really, there are guidelines but it depends on individual actors to decide if he or she is going to follow it. I’m a bit paranoid because some people don’t even believe the virus exists, which is unfortunate. I believe it exists, and I know a couple of my colleagues who have gotten it and I encourage everyone to follow
the guidelines and keep safe.”

COVID-19 Protocols’ adherence

While all movie practitioners in Nollywood agree that strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols on film set may be herculean, given the physical nature of the process, respondents to eelive.ng queries maintained that the best way to keep everyone safe is to take personal precautions because the incidence of the virus in one person would most certainly lead to multiple infections.

Adekomi said: “On set, everybody usually maintains this closeness, and most of the time we are all in an enclosed space. Because of these, the idea of social distancing and wearing masks are tough when you are on movie sets. No matter how much you try to be careful, once a person on set has it, the chances of every other person on that set contracting it are almost 90%. This is why it is important that everyone does their best to ensure that the other person is safe. This means that even outside of the set, people must remain responsible.”

Egbon also noted that the contact nature of filming has created a complicated scenario for Nollywood filmmakers. He however maintained that, since there is no cure for the infectious disease yet, people must make it a personal responsibility to observe given protocols in and out of set. “For those of us in the entertainment industry, especially Nollywood, we’ve been badly affected. Because if you look at the virus itself, the transmission, you will realise that it’s not easy to make films because of our contact-sharing on sets. For COVID to be avoided on set, we just have to adhere to the general safety measures in place. Although it is hard because it is not peculiar to you alone. Even if you are stringent about it, some other people on set might be forgetful and inconvenient at some points. So, there have to be constant reminders to people on set and constant sanitisation of
hands, and constant temperature checks,” the award-winning Nollywood director said.

So, while waiting for governmental intervention in the area of testing and what have you, the consensus amongst film practitioners is the need for everyone to be responsible. And eelive.ng joins in this admonition: keep safe, be responsible to keep yourself and other people safe!