Crey Ahanonu: Filmmaker or Business Executive? It's One and The Same.
Is there a faster way to shoot to instant stardom than to have your debut Nollywood movie production garner over 10 award nominations across Africa? ‘ I was frustrated at the quality of movies coming from Nollywood and the stories not been told well, so when I had time to develop a movie, I poured myself into and made work that I and my partners are proud of.’
Crey Ahanonu is a Nigerian filmmaker who used to work as court registrar in Enugu. In 2010 Chris Eneaji Eneng who is now his long-time collaborator told him of an opportunity to produce Nollywood Movies ‘ I told him, if it’s the regular Nigerian movies, I am not interested. But he assured me we were going to do things differently. I agreed and moved to Lagos and started learning moviemaking from scratch.’
They formed a company called SRC Productions and made Murder At Prime Suits (MAPS) produced in 2012; they received 2 nominations in AMVCA 2014 from then on other admirable productions like Secret Room produced in 2013 (5 nominations on AMVCA and won 1, AMMA nominations and 2 in BON awards both in 2015). AMMA and BON. Deja Vu, produced in 2015, won at a festival in Ireland and the US. Amonye- Bu — Onye (2016), AMVCA Best Igbo Language Film 2017. On The Brink (2016), Jury’s West Hollywood movie at TINFF in 2017. Life (2018), best online movie January 2019 Best producer of the year by AGN 2018, best-emerging producer of the year amongst other accolades.
His given name is Arinze Ahanonu, and while in University, he formed a band with his friends, his love for Boys to Men band member Michael McCray impelled him to choose Crey as his stage name, changing the ‘a’ in Cray to ‘e’. The name stuck, and he has seen been known and referred to as Crey for the past 2 decades.
He cuts a figure of a deliberate man, agreeing to meet with me a day after arriving in Lagos. He is in the company of his friend, a fellow producer, Chibuzor Onyimba, known as Simon Peacemaker and perceivably a loyalist. I arrive a few minutes before him at 5 pm and Peacemaker suggests drinks to relax him down, as they were coming directly from a set supervision visit and tense. His head is close shaven, and his attire is cut in elegant lines. He is a slim figure and every inch the business executive.
Crey is quite the picture of balance infusing both creativity and profiting from his creativity. A graduate of Cooperative Management from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Crey says that his background in management has helped him manage the expectations of his job as a producer. ‘ managerial skills are required.’ Crey, who is also working on MySafTv an online TV, tells me he used to work as court registrar but received a call that changed the trajectory of his life in 2012 from Chris Eneaji Eneng his long-time collaborator ‘ I told him, if it’s the typical Nigerian movies, I am not interested. But he assured me we were going to do things differently. I agreed and moved to Lagos and started learning moviemaking from scratch.’
His head is not up in the cloud, he is self-aware and also aware of the terrain he operates in. Pricing peace of mind over visibility and choosing to return to his Enugu family and coming to Lagos for business. ‘ Lagos was becoming stressful for me. Getting things done wasn’t reasonably easy in Lagos, so I moved to Enugu to explore the ground, to see if I could live there, produce movies but sell and promote my films in Lagos. However, I am producing this movie in Lagos, I am directing and producing the movie, it’s a movie about a love triangle starring Tina Mba, Mofe Duncan, Melvin Odua, Fred Idehen.. ‘Many actors don’t film on Sundays, so today is my day off. I am working with Chris Eneaji on this one. This is my first time of coming to Lagos to produce a movie in a long time.’
He expresses intense emotions when talking about his first film Murder at Prime Suites ‘My first movie is my worthiest work, we were ready and had high hopes that distribution will be easy and return on investment is guaranteed so we put in our very best, I do not think we have surpassed that achievement. It was not the most financially rewarding I can beat my chest and say we did a good job.’
Though still works with Eneaji, he has since moved on his own production company SAF Productions, This company produces and also runs an academy in Enugu where he trains aspiring moviemakers. ‘when I got back to Enugu, I started a succession program where I train people on what I know especially sound, the sound is a big issue and an expensive post-production requirement in filmmaking, I currently train others on how to master sound.’
Ahanonu is worried of the way people view filmmakers and the image laundry he may have to adapt to fit in; he is grateful for the upside of being in the public eye and the overwhelming support is received from people. Believes that people in the society expect so much, especially family and friends who assume that moviemaking is a ticket to fame and wealth.
Shrewdly he doesn’t believe being a producer is a line of work for people who lack financial discipline. He says ‘as a producer in Nollywood, financial management is a necessary skill, conscious of the time ‘ every production has a budget, be conscious of your cost, ensure you don’t overspend, because every day extra day affects negatively on your financial plan, manage time, people and resources and many people think a production is a glamorous event, but it is a not because you have to keep your eye on the goal, focus otherwise you spend more than you should’.
When I asked him about Nollywood telling bigger stories that will appeal to a global audience he has a lot to say ‘ Nollywood producers respond to the market, the limited market requires filmmakers assume the more minimal risk so they can recoup their money, however with Secret Room we didn’t spend too much but we could blow the minds of the audience and some universities are using the movie to teach students about Nollywood studies/filmmaking. Distribution is a big issue. Who will you sell to?. Nollywood can tell big stories, but penetrating the internet is hard. Though some producers are going the Cinema route if the production, audience negative feedback is usually explosive and it backfires.’ He thinks community cinemas and government intervention will help producers who want to tell our stories.
He is laser-focused about his mission and vision as Nollywood filmmaker ‘ I always wanted to create things and change the way African stories are told, I am besides a business owner and believe filmmaking can be a financially rewarding creative activity.’ If I do not have to think about the market, funding, I will tell Epic Drama with the right representation of our cultural history so that those stories can reference our past correctly, I am in the developmental stages of working on an OSU story, a historical drama.
When not producing movies, he is the Director of Culture and Tourism South East Zone, Nigeria. Using this position to explore the cultural and tourism potentials in the South-Eastern part of the country. He suggests that government support and advocacy is required to grow tourism in the regions.
Independent filmmakers supply audiences for their markets, distributing their content via the right channel. Most producers like Crey are outsourcing the part of the filmmaking to the experts so they can focus on creating ‘ I can do it, I can also write scripts, but sometimes finding the time to do everything is not possible or realistic’
I love the creative process of birthing ideas and telling beautiful stories. I will be here for a long time. Though media houses are now making their original productions, and some independent producers are a little worried and more actors becoming producers and wielding their clout and enormous fan base to generate visibility for their film. But I did not become a filmmaker by accident. I believe businesses should grow with the market and remain relevant no matter what.’
Crey said gets in the creative process of everything he produces, and he sees himself being a filmmaker for an incredibly extended time, ‘ filmmaking is so massive that you can invariably find something to do in Nollywood… Well, unless they stop buying our films,’ he adds and laughs in a way that betrays his true sentiment because we all know Nollywood is here to stay.
