Akin Omotosho has steadily built up a body of work as a film director, writer, producer and actor with an impressive range from short films to a sport film and now a hit drama series that has steadily climbed to the top of Netflix’s global ratings.
Scion of literary family; his father was Kole Omotosho and his sister is Yewande Omotosho, and his films include God Is African, the riveting Man on Ground which riffed on violence spawned by xenophobia. Others include Tell Me Sweet Something, Vaya (distributed by Ava Duvernay’s ARRAY). He won an Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Director for Vaya and earned critical acclaim for Disney’s Rise which was about Greek Nigerian superstar basketballer, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Akin Omotosho has captured popular imagination with his most recent work as showrunner, creative producer and lead director on the Netflix series, The Polygamist, adapted from Sue Nyathi’s novel. He is no stranger to Netflix having served previously as co-creator, showrunner and lead director of the Netflix series The Brave Ones and Marked.
His work in front of the camera include Catching Feelings, Courting Anathi and Lord of War.
In this interview with Toni Kan, Akin who is a man of few words talks about The Polygamist, tapping into his inner novelist, his gratitude to Ms Nyathi and viewers who have embraced the series and his wish to have a cameo in the screen adaptation of The Carnivorous City for which he voiced the audio book.
Toni Kan: As I began watching The Polygamist with Joyce lambasting the dead Jonasi, I recalled Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay dying. Are you familiar with the book and did it have an impact on how the series unfolded or you relied just on your script?
Akin Omotosho: Inspired by the book, we created a strong opening for the show.
TK: You come from a family of story tellers, your dad and sister, do you plug into your inner novelist when you direct?
AO: I plug into the storyteller in me – the one who directs, and the one who aspires to write a book one day.
TK: Film adaptations of popular books usually get writers upset as we are seeing now from Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. How did the author receive your version especially since the location moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa and some liberties were taken with the number of children and brothers etc compared to the book?
AO: Sue gave us a gift that we all treasured. She is very happy.
TK: 22 episodes is long. Why go all the way, why not break in two?
AO: Judging from the response, the format worked well. It’s nice to give audiences everything all at once every now and then – like a treat.
TK: You have directed movies from short films to sport films and now drama. How different was this experience and how steady was your hand?
AO: Every directing experience is its own journey and, in many ways, incomparable. I’m grateful for everything I’ve worked on and grown from in between.
TK: In the past, you have praised the SA film industry for the available resources and grants. Is that still the case and how does it compare with Nigeria?
AO: The film and TV landscapes have changed a lot these last years, both locally and globally. I’m amazed by how professionals in both countries continue to grow, learn and create!
TK: The Polygamist is shaping up to be Africa’s biggest hit on Netflix, maybe after King of Boys. How does this make you feel as a director and show runner and what do you think it portends for African filmmakers?
AO: I’m obviously happy and thankful that our work resonated with so many people in so many places. Every such story – and especially those that transcend geographical borders – reminds us that we’re not that different after all and are likely to generate interest in stories and storytellers from places and contexts we haven’t been exposed to before.
TK: You have acted in a few films and TV series like Jacob’s Cross. Now that your directing career is catching fire will we ever see you in front of the camera?
AO: Maybe a cameo in The Carnivorous City.
TK: I can’t forget my first interview with you years ago at Terra Kulture after the screening of Man on Ground, I believe? How does it make you feel that 15 years later nothing has changed? And isn’t the irony obvious – a Nigerian born director helming a stand-out South African movie with Xenophobia raging all around.
AO: Every era has its moments – many of them recurring, and with the risk of sounding like a broken record nationally and globally. As always, I’m more interested in human beings in every moment.
TK: You have shown enormous range – a short film, a fantasy, a sports film and now drama with a large dose of sex. What is next – Marvel?
AO: Only God knows, but continued growth and expanding community, I hope.
TK: Thank you.