By Mava John Joshua
It is generally believed that one cannot climb to the apex in Nollywood unless he joins the ‘cabal’, but that is not the story of Ibeh Ifemechukwu, popularly called “Ifeme Divine”.
The Ozobulu, Anambra State native, who was raised in Aba, Abia State’s rise in Nollywood will make a good script for a movie. “Due to quest for greener pastures, I relocated to Lagos at a tender age,” he began in an emotional tone.
He started as a location driver as far back as 1995, in the film directed and produced by the late Director, Nollywood Icon, Chico Ejiro: titled, ‘Silent Night’ “where we had cast like, Segun Arinze, Joke Silva, Ramsey Noah, Emeka Ike, Alex Usifo to name a few. It has been a long, patient journey,” he said.
His steady rise to stardom as an Executive Producer was a journey of decades of patience and doggedness. He combined the role of filmmaking, location and commercial bus driving, to make ends meet.
He was location driver and extra (popularly known as ‘waka pass’) in movies like Danger Zone, Karishika, Set Up, Domitilla among others. “The first film I produced was for Kingsley Okereke (Divine Touch) who I call “Chairman”, who I met in a film called “Till Jesus Comes” in 1997, after we produced ‘Most Wanted’. Thereafter, I became an associate producer to some famous producers. After this, he(Okereke) gave me the opportunity to produce ‘Men in Love’,” the first ever Nollywood movie he was associate producer of.
“The first movie I was Executive Producer of, was Haunted Love, directed by the late Theodore Anyanji. From there, I have not looked back since then. For now, I have up to 30 films as Associate Producer and more than 10 movies as Executive Producer. I am still surviving, many have fallen by the way side. I give God all the glory!”
According to Ibeh Ifeme, breaking the glass ceiling needs one to be inspired and determined in the industry despite the seeming challenges. “And that is why I “advise upcoming producers to see Nollywood as a business, and losses are just part of it. Losses are bound to occur, that should not discourage one. So, with such mindset, the sky is your limit.”
On Godfatherism in Nollywood, Ifeme said: “It depends on how we want to describe it. For me, the aspect of Godfatherism has to do with having a mentor that you can look up to, which happens almost everywhere, in every industry. So, yes, I have(Godfather), this was to mentor me and direct me accordingly. We all need mentors and people to drive us, that’s is how I see it. I am happy to be a part of this epoch making industry and I know we will continue to thrive as a unit. For now, I am with my mentor, working on our next series film to be released on ROKTV,” he submitted.
