A chat with Nigerian award winning casting Director and Producer; Kolade Shasi

Kris; Give us a small biography

Kolade;

I am Kolade Shasi; an Actor, Casting Director and Producer. I am the first African Casting Director (along with Christa Shamberger) to be accepted into the International Casting Director’s’ Association, and one of only two African members till date. My Casting credits include the Netflix original Series; Far From Home and the Amazon Original film — Breath of Life (unreleased).

I joined the film industry as a young Actor over 20 years ago and I’ve since moved into Casting Directing and Producing. As a Producer, I have produced some of the biggest television commercials from Nigeria, for Brands like UBA, hotelnownow, DSTV and Flutterwave, some of which have aired on major platforms like CNN. I have also produced films like “Date Night” starring Adesua Etomi and Deyemi Okanlawon as well as Employee of the Month which has presently screened at over fifteen film festivals including Durban, Rhode Island intl. Film Festival and Cannes to mention a few.

Kris;

You were nominated for the Best Actor award at the In-short International Film Festival, Lagos, in 2015, for the multi-award winning film – Blood Taxi, so it seems you’re quite accomplished in all facets but which awards are dearest to you?

Kolade;

(Laughs) That’s a very hard one to answer! To be candid, they are all equally important, they make up who I am. I am always happy to see films that I handled Casting Directing for, win awards in the Acting categories, yet I do know for a fact that there are very few award categories specifically for Casting Directors, and this is a global issue, not just in Nigeria or Africa. There needs to be more recognition for the work Casting Directors put in, so for this reason, such an award will be one that I’d cherish. This is part of the work that the International Casting Directors’ Association is doing, to create more awareness and recognition for the work of Casting Directors.

Kris;

Your journey is an intriguing one, from humble beginnings, being nominated for the best Actor at the In-short Film Festival, Nigeria, to a film you produced – Employee of the Month – winning the Best Short Film twice, at both the Diversity in Cannes and at the American Pavilion in the Cannes Film Festival, that’s a huge leap, how did you get here?

Kolade;

By climbing on the backs of persons who have been kind enough to lead the way and show me the ropes. There is one universal truth about filmmaking; it is a collaborative work. It does take a village to put a film together. I have been lucky to work with exceptional individuals. I have also kept two things close to heart; one is the words of Phillip Stanhope that my mum always rang in my ears, “what is worth doing, is worth doing well.” The second is the words of Alfred Hitchcock, “to make a great film you need three things – the script, the script, and the script. I have always had an utmost appreciation for a good script, and I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing screenwriters and storytellers, the likes of Anthony Kehinde Joseph, Muyiwa Aluko and Goga Clay who is the Writer-Director of Employee of the Month, a film that has literally taken us round the world. It has just won us four awards in the span of one week, all in France! It’s extremely humbling and quite surreal.

Kris;

Indeed! It’s been a very rewarding week for Employee of the Month! It started with winning Best short Film at Nollywood Week Paris and then at the American Pavilion but also winning Best Actor and Best Short Film at Diversity in Cannes, this brings me to an important question, how inclusive has Cannes been this year?

Kolade;

This is a very important question and I’d be honest, having Employee of the Month screen at Cannes has opened my eyes to how important the biggest festivals are. These are where the really big deals get struck. We’ve been lucky enough to have a few investors become very interested in what we may want to do with this film and if we would want to make a feature-length. These conversations started even before we won the Best Short Film awards at the American Pavilion (and Diversity in Cannes) and for this reason, it is extremely important that Cannes be more accessible to BAME. You may be aware that Ramata Toulaye-Sy, whose film is in competition for the Palme D’or, kudos to her by the way, is only the second black female director to ever be in competition for the Palme! An amazing achievement for her, but Cannes Film festival needs to take very deliberate steps to break down the barriers further. If you look around the festival, you’d notice that filmmakers from the BAME are not as many as would be ideal. Which is another reason to appreciate the work that Yolonda Brinkley and Diversity in Cannes are doing.

Kris;

Winning the Best Short Film Awards at both Diversity in Cannes and the American Pavilion at Cannes is a significant accomplishment. How did you feel when it was announced the winner twice, and what do you think made it stand out among the competition?

Kolade;

My head was spinning! I think I felt gratitude. It’s really the Director’s vision, and as the Producer, my job is just to help him realise his vision, so I was grateful to Goga Clay for bringing me on board, to Rotimi Ajibola, our Executive Producer, our amazing Cast and really amazing Crew; the extremely detailed Cinematographer – Maciej to one of the Best Makeup Artists in the business – Aminat Bolaji, to the Gaffer, Muri! It was an amazing team that made my job as a Producer much easier.

Kris;

Nollywood has gained global recognition over the years. In your opinion, what unique qualities and stories do Nigerian films bring to the international stage, and how do you contribute to shaping this narrative through your work?

Kolade;

Nollywood has indeed grown leaps and bounds over the years, it is an industry that I am proud to be part of. An industry that has risen to where it is today by sheer will and perseverance, with very little Government and Corporate support. I think the answer to your question, is in the question itself. The stories. Africa and Nigeria are rich in stories. We have so many unique stories. At a time when Hollywood has been depending a lot on franchises, remakes and sequels, they could lean on collaborations with Nollywood to tap from our rich stories. Consequently, Nollywood would gain a lot from such collaborations as we have a lot to learn from Hollywood in many areas and also in making better scripts from our rich stories.

As regards how I contribute to this, I simply try to pay attention to the Pre-Production phase, regardless of what role I am playing on a project. I firmly believe that taking time to properly plan for a project gives us the opportunity to make the best version of that project possible. This detailed Pre-production involves allowing the script to go through as many drafts as it requires to be ready for Principal photography, albeit most of that usually happens in the development phase. This is equally important when I am hired as an actor, because “an Actor prepares”. As a Casting Director, most of the work we do is in the Pre-production phase, and we’re sometimes done with our duties by the time principal photography starts.

Kris;

As a casting director, you play a crucial role in assembling the right cast for a project. Can you share any insights or strategies you use to ensure the perfect casting choices and create memorable performances?

Kolade;

A Casting Director must have a very large database of Actors. Especially up and coming actors, not just established actors. In Casting Directing, it’s important to be able to read the script and breakdown the characters, analyse them, have discussions with the Director to understand his/her vision for the film and the different characters. All of these will help the Casting Director to find suitable actors for the different roles. It’s also very important to have a team of actors who are believable as a team and not just individuals who can play the different roles.

Kris;

What upcoming projects or collaborations are you excited about, and what can we expect from you in the near future as an actor, producer, and casting director?

Kolade;

There are quite a few, and I must say, I am really excited about all of them. There are also discussions like I stated earlier, to explore making Employee of the Month into a feature-length movie. There is “Ripple Effect”, a movie that we shot on a smart phone that is presently in Post-Production, it sheds light on mental health issues as they affect African men. It’s been five years in the making and I am really excited to be this close to sharing it with the world. My Production company, Ephizzie Films is also collaborating with 1200 Pictures to develop “Man on Ground”, an espionage thriller about insurgency in Africa. So there are quite a number of projects in the pipeline, all of which I am quite excited about. If it doesn’t excite me, then it’s not really for me.