Why I didn’t release ‘La Femme Anjola’ on Christmas Day — Mildred Okwo

Nigerian filmmaker Mildred Okwo sat down to chat on Instagram Live and she dished some details on her upcoming film La Femme Anjola and why she settled on a March release.

Her words were, “La Femme Anjola was supposed to come out inn April last year, but there was the lockdown of course. I then planned to release it during Christmas but everyone was throwing out everything they had and I said no way. I knew if I released it then, I would lose a lot of money.”

“Funke Akindele’s Omo Ghetto made a lot of money but that’s just one film out of many released in that period. It swallowed everything else. I’m glad it did well but we want an industry where 15 to 20 films do well, not just one. So I called it off and said I’m not doing December 25th. I decided I was going to release La Femme Anjola on March 19 instead.”

The filmmaker also said that people forget the business aspect when they release movies and ought to operate with more strategy to increase profit and make their films more memorable.

ALSO READ: I had trouble casting a male lead for ‘La Femme Anjola’ – Mildred Okwo

Okwo said, “I was so distraught seeing people flopping with big films. This thing is as much a business as it is an artistic endeavour. I pay the same attention to the business aspect and cinemas need to work hard to not pit films against each other; to make sure each one gets enough attention and makes profit.”

Speaking again on the amount of time it took her to announce a release date, Okwo said, “I wanted to make something unique and memorable. As a filmmaker, you want the public to enjoy it and remember it for years to come. Not that you’ll make a film that someone won’t remember in two months.”

After so much anticipation, we can’t wait to see the finished product of La Femme Anjola on March 19th!