Renowned for the “Wives on Strike” franchise, Oboli is a skilled actor, producer, and director.
Nollywood director Omoni Oboli disclosed that she initially exchanged her screenplays for acting parts, which is what inspired her to pursue directing.
Oboli discussed the challenges she faced when she first started her filmmaking career in a conversation with Radionow 95.3 FM. These challenges included trying to direct her own films and offering out her screenplays for free. When I was swapping scripts, I would tell people, “You know what, just take it; don’t pay me.” Give me a part in the movie, please. I thus got started on that. Then I’ll see the movie, though.
I so began to carry that out. It’s not exactly what I had in mind while I was writing, though, since I see what I’m writing—I write in pictures—when I watch the movie. Seeing the movie is really different from writing since I can see what I’m writing. It is not to suggest that it wasn’t good because different filmmakers will approach the same material in different ways. “I decided that I would have to direct my own stories if they included any of my DNA,” the woman remarked.
She made a point of saying that she was nervous when she first started directing. While lacking much confidence, she mustered the bravery to go after her goals.
It was a frightening notion: who do you really believe you are to come and helm a movie? As in, who are you again? I thought to myself, “Warri doesn’t carry lass na,” even though it was really frightening. What does he have that I don’t? I thought, “I’ll do this.” I therefore began to understudy directors, performing on set while keeping a tight eye on the director. I then said, “You know what?” Perhaps I should get some official training in this. I thus took a little course at the New York Film Academy,” she continued.
Among the movies that Omoni Oboli has acted in are Moms at War, Last Year Single, which is available to stream on Netflix, and The Uprising: Wives on Strike 3, the third entry in the Wives on Strike franchise that opens in theaters this October.
