By Idongesit Ikono

For those who were at the premiere of the movie Haunting at the Silverbird Cinemas, Port Harcourt, recently, the general opinion was that the movie was top notch.The next question obviously would be, who produced the movie ? You would think that the producer is one big name in the movie industry ,but oh no the producer is young woman in her early twenties, Esse Brodericks .This 200 level student of linguistics and communication in Uniport from Delta state and a daughter of a pastor is one of the brightest emerging stars in the movie industry.

With her father being a minister of the gospel there is the feeling that giving his consent for her daughter to venture into the world of movies would be a tough call, so how was she able to go round this.

It was difficult but somehow when he came ,this was really my first movie premiere, he was impressed. When I told him about it he thought I was really joking or playing around. Esse explains

For her movie to be premiered at Silverbird means the movie must be damn good which she agrees and goes on to say that the movie is really good since the accolades from people could not be a lie. She adds that what makes a good movie is the script, the story ,then the sound and picture and she thinks her movie got all that.

Being so young how has she been able to manage a movie production, especially having to work with a lot of the big guns in the industry? She offers some insight

It was really challenging, but having people who care about you really helped and made things easier .I learnt a lot from so many people, like Lancelot, who was my director, and taught me so many things. Also, my assistant director, Alex Joseph, who really brought out my talent, he directed my first movie. The whole crew and cast were good. Yes, I was so young and although I had some experience but working on such a huge movie was not very easy, but working with these people really helped.

She also tells us how she actually got into the movie industry and says that when she was growing up she always saw herself doing movies. Then she met Alex Joseph three years earlier and they had a chat and later did a movie together where he was the director(save the last child).Later on she told him that she had a story and wanted to sell it and trusted him enough to tell him all about the story but he discouraged her from selling it and advised her to keep it and remarked that it was a very wonderful story and that some day she could use it. She says that after about a year, she went back to him and told him that she wanted to make a movie and wanted him to tell her how she could do it.She goes further to explain that before then most of the films he shot she was always there, got close to the people and saw what and what went on and was so interested in the job and wanted to shoot a movie. She got registered and met other producers .According to her the first film she actually did she worked with a producer as a co-producer.

To some people the bane of Nollywood is poor productions which is as a result of poor budgets ,how challenging is it to put the finances together?She replies

I give thanks to God for everything. With God it was not difficult and everything went well.

A lot of money was put into Haunting and I want you to make the calculations based on what you saw in the movie. I was able to put the finances together through friends who helped in the sponsorship.

Esse gives an insight on the most challenging aspect of the job during the production of Haunting

Oooh! Handling all the stars, especially my director, Lancelot, he was really difficult, I actually cried on set. But Lancelot is the kind of person who handles you very hard to make you learn more, but at the end of the day he draws you back closer to himself. It was very challenging but like I said before, having all the people around me made things much easier.

So wha’s next for her?

I want to go into movies full time. I’m not just a producer I’m an actress too.I love the job so much, I have serious passion for it and I want to be in it. Don’t worry you will hear from me soon again.She said emphatically.

On her impression of the evolution of the industry in Nigeria in terms of quality and marketing,she agrees that a lot of things have changed. She opines that if one see the quality of her movie one would then know that Nollywood is doing something different now .She believes that in marketing things are improving and the industry is stepping up the fight against piracy.

Esse, apart from producing in the movie also acted in the movie. On how easy or difficult it is to play multiple roles in a movie she explains that it depends on how experienced one is but that in her case it was difficult because of the huge script but that she had a lot of help and that made it easier for her

I sought out Alex Joseph ,the person who seems to be the one that gave Esse her big break and asked him what was his first impression of her was when he first came across her and he had this to say about her, My first impressions were very positive .I saw the passion she had for the industry and I said why not work with her and that’s where we are now.

I saw the fire and the zeal to act in her .It was really burning in her. She told me,This is my life, I want to do this. She seemed to me to be a goal getter right from the first day we met.

On what he thinks the future holds for the young and very beautiful Nollywood’s next big thing ,he didn’t hesitate to declare,”Esse is a lady of quality, she Believes in quality, in development and she wants the best or nothing else. Since she is one that wants the best ,then, I believe she will not settle for anything less than the top.

Like she boasts, let us watch out for Esse Brodericks, coming to you soon.

By Idongesit Ikono EXCLUSIVE FOR NIGERIAFILMS.COM