PTV News Media: June 2020

By Perekeme Odon

Like him or loathe his work, it's about time we came to appreciate the brilliance of Chukwudi John Ejiofor, the variable writer, producer, and director whose entry into the Nigerian motion picture industry spanned years, and bridges the long-standing celebrated innovates in Nollywood.

A director with a knack for inventive storytelling and eye-wowing visuals, with an immense variety of genres who positioned with the great traditional movie directors of the late '90s and '2000s to date.

Chuks Ejiofor

Born on February 5 in Enugu State, and bred up in Enugu and Anambra states, the technically brilliant and a seeming workaholic Awka South, Anambra state filmmaker sojourned into the make-believe business in the late 1990s and has caved an abrasion for himself. Apart from his commendable scope as a director, Chuks played an unvaryingly significant role as a reformer for scriptwriting on the business front.

He attended Trinity Secondary School, Apapa Lagos in 1980/84, and graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state in 1996 where he studied Business Administration.

After graduation, providence came calling and he unearthed himself working with front-line veteran filmmaker and producer, Ojiofor Ezeanyanche largely known as OJ, who accrued fortune from filmmaking in the early days of Nollywood, whose movies include ‘Igodo’, ‘Izaga’, ‘Ashes to Ashes’, ‘The Wind’, ‘Only Love’, ‘Egg of Life’, ‘My Love’, ‘Two Rats’ among others which his production outfit became known for.

(l-r) Florence Onuma, Fredrick Leonard, Kemi Adekomi & Chuks Ejiofor

According to Mr. Ejiofor, “I had a passion for movies and entertainment while growing up. So after graduation, I started working with OJ PRODUCTIONS, one of the most prominent film-producing production studios back then; and from there it all started for me to date”. He stated.

After a long training career with OJ Productions, Chuks realized his deep-rooted dream which he yearned would lend him the clout and inventiveness to make movies his own way without the big-studio interference he had grieved for many years, would manifest.

The delightfully confident Chuks made his first directorial debut in 2011 with ‘Mystery Of Destiny’ starring Kenneth Okonkwo, Stephanie Okereke, and Beverly Naya. His excluding fear of failure or making mistakes ascertained him to be an incredibly successful inspiration with the release of his debut film.

Chucks Ejiofor With Keppy Ekpeyong-Bassey

“I actually passed through the ranks and files, from property management to production manager. I did continuity and producing movies for different production houses after I left OJ Productions, before embarking on the euphoric journey of screenwriting and directing, which I am very much at home. Being a film director is an exciting and stressful job. Family life is extremely important to me, so I am concerned about it. The overall experiments and effects of my venturing into film-making are simply in the service of touching viewers". He acknowledged.

In his 25-year career in film-making, Chuks Ejiofor has written and directed for Mozzyva Pictures, Multimedia Ltd, Eno Glo Entertainment, and demonstrated proficiently on making films about the importance of family, morals and overcoming adversity with distinctive gifted actors deeper than they look, even though recent efforts have seen him trying to diversify, because it’s always fascinating when a director leaps from one genre to another.

For a supposed director of domestic films, he's more interested in the world kinfolk. Adding to his already dynamic career and developing the writing trademarks of family stories that place him at the top of the screenwriting game of realistic storytelling, twisting wit with ease, Chuks, one of the least well-known names on the list, but a writer and director who has steadily refined his own gentle, bittersweet style wrote and screenplay 'Love Triangle', 'Ajo Umume' (Igbo), 'Mystery of Destiny', 'Ihe Omimi' (Igbo), Dark Heart,

On Set With Felix Omohkodion and Florence Onuma.

Operating mostly in family issues with simplicity and compassion, Chuks is delectably one of the most family perceptive directors in the business, with an unerring eye for the stories that matter.

His credits as a director include the romantic family drama ‘Love Triangle (2015) starring Michael Godson, Yvonne Jegede, Mary Lazarus, Devil In Red (2015) starring Yul Edochie, Chinyere Wilfred, Daniel K. Daniel, and Angel Ufome, Dark Heart (2017), Terrible Moment’, starring Mike Ezuruonye, Tonto Dike, Karma (2018), Discrimination (2018), Stab (2018), starring Ruth Kadiri, Wole Ojo, Maureen Okpoko, Roselyn Ngissah, and Roxy Antar, Open Memory (2018), The Deceit (2018), Vendetta (2019, Ajo Umume (Igbo 2020), ‘Ihe Omimi’ (Igbo 2020), and many more.