Nollywood star Actress Funke Akindele, is currently Nigeria’s largest filmmaker and a trailblazer of sorts. However, things weren’t always like that.
She was actually a rookie director once, having been trained by the formidable Mo Abudu. She had an experience on set that left her in tears and self-doubt.
Funke talks candidly about the incident that happened and the lessons it taught her about leadership and navigating the business world as a woman, particularly when working with men who doubt your abilities, in this inspirational narrative that she shared with The Guardian. She said the following.
Funke Akindele made the revelation when asked “Being a woman in leadership, have there been times when people did not accord you the respect given to men in the same position or even lower than you? How did you handle it?” to which she said:
FUNKE AKINDELE: Yes, I have experienced this. God bless Aunty Mo Abudu who gave me the opportunity to direct my first film, Your Excellency. The cameramen were like, ‘Where is this one coming from? This was my first time directing, so I was a bit shaky. I was quite mindful of those men then and would beg Aunty Mo, ‘You will follow me to set o,’ and she always said no. ‘Ma sope oni direct film yen o, (Don’t tell me you cannot direct that film); you will do so, you are a woman, you are bold.’
I went there to do my thing and they were giving me attitude. There was a particular camera operator who was being difficult, and I reminded him that he had worked with me on Industreet. He was one of the camera operators on that TV show, and we met again on the set of that film. I told him to take a particular shot for me and he refused, saying I couldn’t do it like that as ‘this is not a TV show. It’s film.’ I walked away because I didn’t want to start misbehaving on set and I went to cry somewhere. Aunty Mo called me and told me I was not going anywhere. She told me to stand my ground, ‘You started this thing and you will finish it,’ and I went back on set, wiped my tears away and stood my ground, telling them what I wanted and they must get it done.
Once you know what you are doing, be open to corrections, conversations, and dialogues, but don’t let anyone run you down. Stand your ground, there is nothing you cannot do once you set your mind to it. Just do it. Tell yourself that you were paid to do a job, you are the boss there, and they have no choice but to listen to you. That’s it. Most importantly, however, ensure you know your onions well and have what it takes to deliver on said job.