Biyi Bandele’s Journey as a Director, and Directing Blood Sisters

In 2022, I interviewed Biyi Bandele, immoderate days aft the merchandise of Blood Sister, Nigeria’s archetypal Netflix Original TV Series, which helium directed alongside Kenneth Gyang. In a abrupt crook of events, 3 months aft the interview, Biyi Bandele passed away. It was devastating. In the last connection to maine connected WhatsApp, helium told maine helium had conscionable landed astatine Heathrow Airport and was going to work the interrogation erstwhile helium got home. I don’t cognize whether helium got to work it. The work that initially published the interrogation went defunct. Rereading the interrogation recently, I realised the interrogation maintains relevance. 

As antecedently published:

–

Biyi Bandele called maine a child, and we some erupted into boisterous laughter that lasted for astir 30 seconds. I ne'er expected our speech to instrumentality that turn, arsenic my prepared questions focused lone connected his recently directed movie, Blood Sisters, which is regarded Nigeria’s archetypal Netflix Original TV Series. None of my questions was designed to pb Biyi to inquire astir my property oregon telephone maine a child.

He called maine a kid erstwhile narrating his acquisition of trying to conscionable Wole Soyinka astatine the University of Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) during his clip arsenic a Theatre Arts student. After speechmaking successful 1 of Wole Soyinka’s poesy collections that helium was a lecturer there, helium applied to the assemblage to conscionable him. Unfortunately, erstwhile helium arrived, Wole Soyinka had retired 4 years earlier. However, helium yet met him six months later. When helium mentioned that Wole Soyinka had made a euphony album—something I had ne'er heard of—I asked, “Wole Soyinka made a euphony album?” He replied, “Yes, yes. Oh, you didn’t cognize that? How aged are you?” I told him I was 22, and helium exclaimed, “Aah, you’re a child!” There was a fashionable opus with the lyrics “If you wed a taxi driver, I don’t care” by Bobby Benson. Wole Soyinka wrote the lyrics to that song.

At 54 years old, Biyi Bandele is penning a publication (now published arsenic Yoruba Boy Running). After authoring a mates of books, including Burma Boy, his 2007 caller reviewed by Toby Gould arsenic “a good achievement” for The Independent, and what summarises Biyi was however helium described himself implicit a telephone telephone from Osogbo to his level successful Lagos erstwhile helium said “I person been penning each my life” and penning is thing helium volition everlastingly do, whether arsenic a publication for the satellite to read, oregon arsenic a movie for the satellite to see. 

In this interview, Biyi Bandele ran america done getting his relation arsenic the manager of Blood Sisters, however helium started his travel arsenic a manager and his prospects for the Nigerian movie industry, Nollywood.

I would emotion this interrogation to beryllium arsenic interactive arsenic possible, due to the fact that I cognize I would larn a batch from you arsenic an emerging writer. Can you concisely archer maine astir your travel arsenic a writer and arsenic a director?

Basically, I’ve been penning each my life. I had my archetypal abbreviated communicative published successful a paper successful Jos called The Sunday Standard due to the fact that I was calved successful Kafanchan, which was astir a thirty-minute thrust from Jos. I knew I wanted to beryllium a writer astatine a precise young age. But I had nary involvement successful directing. I knew I could go a writer due to the fact that determination were mentors. There was Wole Soyinka, determination was Chinua Achebe, and each the writers successful the African Writers Series whose works I read. So penning was a possibility. I didn’t cognize immoderate directors. But I saw a batch of films. In Kafanchan, we had a cinema which showed Bollywood, Hong Kong, and Bruce Lee-type movies, which we each loved. And I didn’t spot a play successful the theatre until I was sixteen oregon so, erstwhile I moved to Lagos. My ancestral location is Abeokuta. I saw a play astatine the National Theatre and I retrieve be...