Onyeacho; the light behind the award winning figurine

By Daniel Alfred
Movie making in Nigeria is fast taking a new shape as great talents are beginning to spring up on daily bases. However, the name Chima Onyeacho is obviously not a name to reckon with in the movie industry but for those that are familiar with light in the making of movies, will understand that without it movie making is almost in jeopardy.
The young man whose name has recently continued to rock the industry and rose from his humble days as a production assistant, has struggled through thick and thin to drop his name in the book of history as well as creating a niche for himself as a light man in the industry. Haven been part of the crew that contributed to the success of the award winning movie, the Figurine, he described it as one of his highest point in the industry.
Speaking with HVP he described the challenges of lighting to every production he gets himself involved as well as the prestigious Figurine a great challenge but handles them as they come.
In his word, “Lighting for figurine was quite hectic but I thank God that today the job came out well and today it is recognized everywhere in the world. It gives me joy to know that I was part of the people who made the work come out successful and for that singular act, I am proud to say it. In no time to come, the bad eggs in the industry will gradually fizzle out. It gives me hope that movie making in Nigeria will some day grow to a point that we will compete with Americans over the Oscar award. We have the tendency to do good movies in the country better than what we are doing presently but the problem is that so many just dabble into it without proper knowledge. If we have a good story, good cast and good crew, I see Nollywood moving to the next level soon. What I am trying to say is that lighting in the movies helps to tell stories; it also helps to differentiate moods in different scenes and locations. For instance, in most cases when we had to film a night scene during the day, with the light, we can achieve a night scene and like wise. This is what I have been into though I started the industry as a production assistant but I had the opportunity to do a crash program with the Nigerian Film Institute and ever since, that has helped to differentiate my job from that of other of my colleagues in the industry. I was also part of the crew that did blackberry babes, Champions of our time which is in so many cinemas now and many others but my latest are tears for Lisa and My only man, which will soon hit the screen”.
Being a strong advocate of education, he believes that what ever it is one must do he must do it must be done well and to achieve the best, one needs to attain a training for that which he did and today, he is proud being a student of Nigerian Film Institute.