Meet AMA Psalmist, a Filmmaker that believes in Africa and the Uniqueness...

Meet Micheal Akinrogunde, professionally known as AMA Psalmist, a Nigerian Auteur, Director and Writer. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Convenant University, he hails from Ondo State, Nigeria.
He says he has always been involved with drama and related arts but was sure about film in his 300 level in 2013.
Micheal said he is a filmmaker for a lot of reasons but the major reason being the constant need to express, tell stories and the power film has to influence decision making. He was never exactly attracted to the industry, it was more of disgust than attraction because without any form of training, he remembers always pointing out errors and mistakes he saw in films he grew up watching. He then learnt to enjoy them, appreciate the work put in and he fell in love with the industry. One of his earliest inspirations was watching 'Knocking on Heaven's doors' he felt Adesua Etomi's acting was a super inspiration, as regards pursuing film as a career, the earliest inspiration he says, has to be Kunle Afolayan.
He began his journey by doing a lot of studying, he would. read and consume a lot of materials, from books to articles to videos to Behind the scenes (BTS) videos, anything he could lay his hands on.
AMA Psalmist stated his professional filmmaking career in 2015, he said he was lucky he was very guided by mentors and senior colleagues, it is what he is most grateful about, as he didn't get to make many of the mistakes even if he did make a few, but it was very guided.
His first experience on set was very overwhelming, he didn't know it was that 'serious', one thing he said he learnt early was to plan, plan and plan some more so that helped with many issues, but even then, it was still overwhelming. Learning to work under pressure, working with different temperaments, managing emergencies, time teaches you a lot too.
He learns a lot from his role models, believes it is one of his strongest weapons because a lot of people have lived this same journey and it only makes sense to learn from them, he also believes example is always a better teacher than experience.

Meet Fiyin Gambo, a Filmmaker that wants to bring Fast and Furious to 3rd Mainland Bridge...

Meet Fiyinfoluwa Gambo fondly called Fiyin Gambo, a Nigerian Action Filmmaker, CEO of Cliq Studios and Public Speaker. He hails from Yola North of Adamawa State, Nigeria, a graduate of Civil Engineering from. Covenant University,  Nigeria.
In 2014, when he was in his 200 level was when he realised he really wants to be a Filmmaker because he wants to change how the world perceives Africans to a positive one , correct the inferiority complex most Africans have as being less because of their skin colour, and also to address key social issues with his films.
Fiyin said he has always wandered why we didn't have tent pole or action blockbusters with. all the special effects and all, he did research and discovered Visual effects and softwares like 3Ds Max they use on Hollywood films are actually all available to us! That was when his Eureka moment happened. He actually forayed into Nollywood to make films he enjoyed watching growing up but he eventually fell in love with the art of using motion pictures to tell stories that take people into different worlds and actually start conversations that challenges the status quo.
He started filming professionally in 2017. He started out by shooting short commercials that had some visual effects to test the possibilities of the technology, he later went to shoot some short films on child tracking and a couple of audacious and experimental short films, and then he incorporated his production company 'Cliq Studios'.
Fiyin says his early. experience was very interesting and challenging at the same time, getting people to buy into his idea and dream especially as a new face was quite challenging. However, he was quite fortunate to have the support of his parents and great mentors like Mr. Jimi Awosika, the Convenant University community and many others that invested in his dreams, morally and financially.
He shot his major motion picture at the age of 19 in 2017, an action film set in the heart of one of the busiest and commercial part of Lagos State, Nigeria, an independent production titled 'PURSUIT', which was seen as a revolutionary and breath of fresh air, it was highly acclaimed and got great reviews.

Meet Uyoyou Adia, a Filmmaker hungry for growth...

Meet Uyoyou Adia, a Nigerian Scriptwriter, Actor and Director. She holds a B.SC in Microbiology from the Osun State University, she hails from Isoko, Delta State.

In 2013 she acted in a movie called 'Child Not Bride' directed by Toba Tegbe, it also starred Tomiwa Tegbe and Oruaro Adia. Uyoyou immediately fell in love with the industry and informed her friend she has stories she would love to share, he encouraged her to write them herself, she went online to read more about it, and in 2014 she wrote her first feature film titled 'Unbroken'.

She began attending auditions, but had to take a break to round off school. In 2017, she moved to Lagos to concentrate in the industry. She starred in a short film, she co-wrote  titled 'Broken' Directed by Peter Petrelii, the movie went on to win the Best Nigerian Film at the African Smartphone Film Festival 2017 and 'Wild Thoughts' that got to screen at the New York Mobile Film Festival 2018.

Same year, 2017, she saw a call for writers to be a part of the Homevida awards, she applied and was selected to be among the 30 participants that got groomed and trained as writers by professionals in the Industry. 

During the Homevida workshop she met Micheal 'AMA Psalmist' Akinrogunde, they bonded fast and an idea came to shoot a short film about a female footballer that her parents didn't want to play football, After nursing a dream of becoming a footballer herself for years, it was a dream come true for Uyoyou to play the role of the lead female that was a footballer, she and Micheal went on to shoot the short film called 'Gana Street League' directed by Micheal 'AMA Psalmist' the movie also starred  Femi Branch who played the father of the lead actress played by Uyoyou Adia.

She was also a part of Chris Ihidero's 'Story Story' scriptwriters workshop 2018.
As a writer she has written Lost, Akachi Series season 1, The Family, N.E.W, The Fourth Side, e.t.c, she also does a lot of Assistant Director Jobs, she was the Assistant Director for Chris Odeh's Hausa TV Series 'Rai' and also for Akachi web series pilot directed by Priye Diri. 

In 2018, she decided to take a giant step and went ahead to write, shoot, direct and produce her first film, she challenged herself to make something out of what she had and shot the film with her phone. The short film is titled 'Lost' and it stared Oruaro Adia as the lead actor and also the Editor. 

Synopsis of LOST:

After being diagnosed with depression, everyday for Dave is a battle, with the help and presence of his sister, he tries to get through each day without taking his medication. Will he continue fighting when he finds out she is no more?

Uyoyou released the poster online few days ago, designed by Rex Franklin of Rex Posters. No release date has been set for the film yet. 

Uyoyou Adia is a working Scriptwriter, Actor and she is an amazing Assistant Director. She is highly dedicate, hardworking, intelligent, determined to be a better version of herself and always ready to learn new things and take on big challenges. You can reach her on social media via:

Instagram:@missy_uyi 

Twitter: @missy_uyi

Uyoyou Adia

Oficial Poster for LOST