MERCY AIGBE GENTRY Having my children gave me greatest joy
producer and entrepreneur, is a lady who continues to make waves in the industry. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde and Mujidat Balogun, she talks about the early days, awards,
challenges and motivation on the job.
We thank God for what has been done in the past and what I am planning to do this year.
At the moment, I am working on my next job, which is going to be my first English-speaking movie and the experience has been very interesting. If you check the records, you will see that I am more popular in the Yoruba sector in Nollywood. As a producer, this is a great experience and it has been good working on my first English movie, and that, for me, is new. So, I would like my fans to watch out for it soon.
Which of your movies do you like most?
I love all my movies because every experience is unique. In addition, I would say that as a producer, all the movies that I produce have different messages that I want to pass on to
the society and the fact that I am able to play
different characters in those movies and show
the different sides makes it all very
interesting. So, I must say that I love all the
movies that I have produced. It’s a long list
that includes Kofo, Osas Omoge Benin, Gucci
girls and also the recent one called Victims. I
love all my movies.
Let’s talk about some memorable moments in
your life and career
I have two memorable moments and they were
when I had my children; my daughter and my
son. Those were and still are the happiest
days in my life. In my career, when I look back
till date, I would say that it was when I did my
movie Kofo and won the AMBC Award 2014. I
was very happy and it was a memorable
experience in my life.
What are some of the challenges encountered
on the job?
I had a number of interesting times on the job
and they all came with some challenges. Some
of the challenges I encountered as an actress
are my privacy. You know when you there in
the limelight, all eyes are on you; your life is
not yours any more. Just because you are
under public gaze, people want to know what
you are up to and all that. So, whatever I do, I
have to be extremely careful. This is very
important for me because I don’t want to
disappoint people. A lot of people are looking
up to me as their role model.
That explains why I am always very careful,
and one thing that I have also learnt in this
career is that when you are climbing up you
have got to be careful. I am not just saying
that it is not difficult when you are climbing
up, it is difficult but it is most difficult to
sustain that when you eventually get there. To
stay on top is very difficult; it’s not easy, and
those are some of the challenges that I have
encountered. Also, as a film producer, one of
the challenges I encountered is funding,
because most of the movies that I have
produced, I have had to use my personal
money to fund such movies and it hasn’t been
easy.
How did you cope with the financial
challenges?
I try to manage what I have and make sure
that I optimise what I have to give out, as
well as make sure that it is something that is
worthwhile. As a producer, I try as much as
possible to produce very good movies; movies
that have good messages and when my fans
watch them, they won’t be disappointed.
Who or what do you consider as the greatest
influence in your life and career?
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