Interview with Biyi Bandele

The third series of Shuga will be produced and filmed in Nigeria for the first time ever, utilising a predominantly Nigerian cast and crew.

Celebrated Nigerian film-maker Biyi Bandele, director of the hotly anticipated feature film of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, will direct the 8-part series. Crafting the screenplay for Shuga is a team of Nigerian writers led by award-winning scriptwriter Kemi Adesoye (Tinsel, The Figurine, Doctors Quarters, National Cake), who was hand-picked for the project by Bandele after he saw her screenplay for “Phone Swap”.

So Biyi, you just recently completed your first feature length movie, your adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun due out later this year. What drew you to Shuga?
Biyi: I was approached to direct Shuga after I finished work on Half of a Yellow Sun and I was immediately drawn to it because: number 1, I loved the Kenyan series; I watched that and I really liked it and the second reason which is equally as important, is I loved the idea of directing something that was set in Nigeria which is where I am from, something as exciting as Shuga.

So, you say you loved the first series, what captivated the first series for you?
Biyi: It completely confounded all the stereotypes that you’ve come to expect about stories from Africa. It dealt with serious issues but these characters were not victims, they were people who were mostly at the helm of their destiny. They were in charge of their destinies, things happened to them, life happened to them and they fought back, they celebrated life, they did things, they were not victims and that is what I love about it.

Why do you think Shuga is so special and why is it important to have something like this for young people to watch?
Biyi: I think Shuga is special because it’s doing something that no other TV series, as far as I know, is doing in Africa right now. It’s essentially saying to young people, the future is yours but you’ve got to take responsibility for your own life, you’ve got to take responsibility for yourself. It doesn’t matter where Shuga is, Africans wherever they are can find something in it, to relate to.

Shuga is being shot in Nigeria this time round, which is where you’re from; can you tell us what it means for you to be Nigerian?
Biyi: What I love about Nigerians and what I love about being Nigerian is that we never take no for an answer. We tend to take a no and yes it up and it’s the thing that drives people crazy about Nigerians but for me it’s the greatest quality about Nigerians.

For this series we’ve involved Nigerians in every aspect of the show, from concept through to creation, why do you think that’s important?
Biyi: For the current series of Shuga, we’ll have a pan-African crew, people coming from South Africa and from other places, and essentially I wouldn’t have it any other way, as I think it’s important that Africans actually tell their own stories. Time and again I come across people from all over Africa who talk about a film, book or play somewhere that’s written by or directed by a non-African and they start complaining about being stereotyped, and while having sympathy with their complaints I actually don’t have time for it. I say, so why don’t you tell the story yourself? What’s stopping you? And I absolutely think that we need to stop making excuses and begin to tell our own stories in whatever way we can.

Are you excited to be working with award-winning scriptwriter Kemi Adesoye?
Biyi: I’m a big fan of Kemi’s work, last year I saw a film she wrote called Phoneswap and I loved it. I made a mental note of wanting to work with her at some point, someday. I didn’t know her then but the moment I was approached to do Shuga, the first person that I put on the table was Kemi’s and I’m so glad that she was free to do it.

What’s your vision in bringing this new series of Shuga to Nigeria?
Biyi: I hope to direct a series that is very vibrant, very alive, that connects completely with the audience and that people can relate to.

How will this series differ from the previous two?
Biyi: I’m not setting out to actually distance myself from the previous season because I loved it. Nigeria is Nigeria, not Kenya, Lagos is Lagos. It has its own peculiar and very original characteristics and that will show its self in the stories.

Why should everyone look forward to the new series of Shuga?
Biyi: Because it’s going to be great, it’s going to be fresh and it’s going to be great drama, I can promise that.