The much-awaited premiere and launch of Unilife, a Nollywood drama series by young creative Nigerians, was held recently, a well-attended event.
The theme of the movie drama series centred on “where secrets, love and danger collide”.
For many, it was an evening that reminded them of their undergraduate and tertiary institution days.
The event, which took place in Magodo, Lagos, attracted movie enthusiasts from all walks of life, cutting across all ages.
In his welcome address, Olatunde ‘ED’ Ayoola, Executive Producer, said the launch of the drama series was the beginning of many coming forward, stressing that it was the climax of hard work which was invested into producing the movie.
He expressed appreciation to the crew of the movie for their efforts in producing the Unilife series.
“Hopefully, it’s the beginning of many coming forward. I wanted to share with you some words about how we got to where we are from my perspective. A couple of years ago, Frank Macaulay, my childhood friend, messaged me and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to be in Dubai, where I live, attending a film conference.
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“Are you around to catch up?’ And we did. And it was a wonderful catch-up with my dear old friend, Frank. And during the course of the conversation, he described to me why he was in Dubai for the conference, what he was trying to do, the idea and dream that he had about making a series called Unilife.
Speaking further, he stressed, “I don’t know anything about the film industry. But as he described it more and more, it wasn’t only the idea of the Unilife series.
“He shared with me bits of the script, and it looked fantastic and sounded fantastic. I was quite captivated by it. But it was more so what he represented. He described to me all the 9jaStudios, all the boot camps, the workshops, and the training.
“It was all about helping people at the very beginning of their journey in their acting careers and supporting them as best as we can to help them achieve their dreams. That’s what got me about this, because I have been looking for avenues to support young Nigerians in their careers. This turned out to be that.
“Fast forward, we’re here today at the launch event of the Unilife series, an immensely proud moment. I hope you enjoy this series. But please, as you’re enjoying this series, please remember what it represents for us.
It represents what we as young Nigerians can achieve if we work together and we support each other and we put the effort into what it is we’re doing. You’ll see the actors and the whole crew of the film that created the Unilife series. What we can achieve. So let’s make this a success.
“Let’s make the evening a success. Please enjoy it. Let’s make the launch and the series itself a success because we want to do more with the same principle of supporting and helping to bring up young Nigerians towards their dreams and towards their fulfillment. I’ve invested in Frank Macaulay’s dreams. I’m so proud of having done that.
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“So, proud to have him as a friend. So proud of the whole crew that created the Unilife series. Please keep that in mind. Take the enjoyment from this series, but take even more enjoyment from what it represents.”
Frank Adekunle Macaulay, the brainchild of Unilife, revealed that Unilife is about hypocrisy, noting that every character has two sides.
According to him, If you watch unilife, you’ll notice that every main character is struggling.
He thanked all the actors and crew, technical team, camera people and investors for being part of this dream, stressing that talent thrives through training together, without which one can’t achieve anything.
“We want to give encouragement like the executive producer said to young adult Nigerians, that maybe tomorrow will be the superstars. Our motto is – we train the actors of tomorrow today, the stars of tomorrow today, and it’s not just about acting.”
“The journey to create anything starts with one step. “That step is the beginning. There are many up and down trails along the road. Today, I’m really happy that all of you have attended. But you know, a tree does not make a forest.”
On how he came up with the idea of Unilife, he said, “It started with wanting to build a studio, it started with wanting to work with young people because I had worked with young people in the UK, and then it grew from there.”
“It was not all rosy as he faced challenges during the writing of the movie. “I’m a Nigerian, and when we face challenges, we tend not to buckle. It gets to the point where you start carrying more and more load, and you manage somehow to make it work and that’s something that we are able to do.
“But I’ll tell you this, you want challenges, traffic, NEPA, you know, cantankerous drivers, you know it goes on and on. But it’s more to do with how do you overcome your obstacles? Is your cup half full or half empty?
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Speaking on what inspired the decision to have Script Acting Boot Camp (SABC) as back up for his production, Macaulay said the essence was to bring in different elements and share life lessons.
Unilife had movie stars such as; Wale Ojo, Lucille Love Oputa, Oladaye Folaranmi, Peculiar Adunni Anthony, Rubelle Diamond, Iyang Victor, Mercy Essien Emmanuela, Ejiroghene Badare, Celia Okechukwu and Promise Agbor.
Other crew members include Kenechi Oraghalum (Associate Producer, Christopher Fasipebi (Visual Effect Supervisor), Adeniyi Adeniyi (Writer) and others.
