Tunde Kelani urges creatives to return to cultural roots

Tunde Kelani

Tunde Kelani holds a Diploma in the Art and Technique of Film-making from the London International Film School, London. After many years in the Nigerian Film Industry as a Cinematographer, he now manages Mainframe Film & Television Productions, an outfit formed to document Nigeria's rich culture. Tunde Kelani has worked on most feature films produced in the country in his capacity as a Cinematographer. Some of 16mm feature films include Anikura; Ogun Ajaye; Iya Ni Wura; Taxi Driver; Iwa and Fopomoyo. In the area of video productions, he has to his credit award-winning feature videos: Ti Oluwa Nile; Ayo Ni Mo Fe; Koseegbe and Oleku. An advocate of 'Alternative Technology' in motion picture production in Africa, Tunde Kelani has successfully produced and directed two digital features, Saworoide, Thunderbolt. He also completed work on one of his latest digital films 'Agogo-eewo' shot on widescreen digitally on Dvcam. In addition to the M-net short features films, 'Twins of the Rainforest','A Place Called Home' and 'Barber's Wisdom' (35MM), he also photographed, produced, and directed a short feature in 16mm 'The White Handkerchief' in the same series. He has since added The Campus Queen' Abeni and The Narrow Path, the first set of works to probe further the possibilities of advanced digital film-making. He recently added a new film Arugba which has just concluded free, open-air community screenings in 57 local government and development council areas of Lagos State in Nigeria. Tunde Kelani uses the Mobile Cinema Project, designed to take information and entertainment to the grassroots. Tunde Kelani's latest film is Maami that tells the story of a single parent, Maami, and her young son who are desperately poor.