When Kemi Adetiba isn’t making blockbusters, she is, as you’d soon learn, helping teenagers pursue their filmmaking ambitions. According to Adetiba, she was tagged on Twitter in a video made by some kids sourcing for funds to take their content creation to a higher level. I have spent a great deal of time consuming these videos made by @The_critics, a movie/television studio run by teenagers. The videos revolve around a niche aspect of filmmaking, involving VFX effects, sci-fi action and dystopias. Adetiba had been intrigued by their work, so much so that she contacted them immediately and got to know that the eldest amongst the teenagers is nineteen. Subsequently, she made an appeal on social media on their behalf, asking people to help them financially.

Not long after, Adetiba posted on Instagram indicating Sterling Bank’s donation of one million to the teenagers.

 

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WHOOOOOOHOOOOO!!! ?? ?? I’ve been in tears for the past 15 minutes, and I just got off the phone with Godwin, the oldest of the @thecritics001 crew. He is in utter shock… I am as well. First off… I would like to thank EVERYONE that has sent in money. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. YOU GUYS KILLED ME OFF!!! Godwin has been sending me screen shots of the donations POURING in. In his own words, he said “All our dreams are finally about to come true. I wish my mom was here to see all this.” You guys made 8 super young, faceless kids feel “SEEN” and SPECIAL. They (WE) are so grateful. To the folks that also donated equipment, to studio space, to the well known actors that have promised their TIME to feature in their next movies ? THANK YOU ???????? I’m so emotional right now. All the Media outlets that reached out for their incredible story… They are so grateful. They told me they weren’t able to sleep all night out of excitement ????? And to crown it all… I just got the call about this (see image above) and broke down crying on the phone. THANK YOU @sterlingbank… With the biggest THANK YOU shouted from the rooftop of the tallest building to The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. @abubakar.suleiman for hearing the story of these kids and insisting they needed to do something to help. Sterling Bank is giving the kids N1,000,000 y’all!!!! ??‍♀️?‍♂️??????????? AAAAAAND the want to help them push their work!!!! When I informed the kids over the phone there was silence for a few seconds. They’re so GEEKED!!! I’m so GEEKED for them too. And like I told them on the phone, I did nothing but help their story travel. Why people are helping is because of the work THEY have done, the capacity and the incredible creativity they have shown while doing it. I’m so excited about this guys.

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Kemi Adetiba (@kemiadetiba) on Jun 12, 2019 at 8:18am PDT

This is exciting, in that the money will help to empower these teenagers by making their craft better. Think of Marvel Studios and the comic-book movies they have churned out over the years, and how it’s massively appreciated now. Think of George Lucas and the Star Wars movies. Nollywood is yet to incorporate grand VFX effects into filmmaking, and these teenagers could be the future.

Bernard Dayo

When Bernard Dayo isn’t writing about pop culture, he’s watching horror movies and reading comics and trying to pretend his addiction to Netflix isn’t a serious condition.