Why I Produced Mother’s Love – Omotola Jalade Ekeinde

Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde has shared why she produced and directed her new movie, “Mother’s Love.” She recently had her say during an interview with the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to her, she fell in love with the project because it was inspired by her own life as a mother and a daughter, especially her relationship with her own mum.

Omotola added that her desire to tell grounded emotional stories about women’s strength and resilience birthed the movie.

Her words, “So the inspiration for the movie Mother’s Love came from my own experience. Actually, being a mother and also a daughter. And a first daughter at that.

My mom, as a first‑time mother, felt she needed to train me, and she never had any time for me. So the only times we ever had together were during the weekends. Actually, it’s precisely Sunday… And I didn’t understand it, I didn’t understand her. First, I didn’t think I felt motherly love…

But I didn’t know that it was tough love, cause my dad was charming to me. You see, he was always with me. So my mother felt like she had to be the one to bring the discipline. And I always questioned why she never understood me.

In fact, I claimed other people as my mom, you know, against my own mom. And so I actually started getting close to my mom after I got married. And that was when I began to understand her and vice versa. So my husband coming into the picture and the two of them having a perfect relationship helped my relationship with her.

So doubling up as a director and actor in Mother’s Love was tough. It was tough.

Interestingly, I enjoyed being a director more than an actor… I totally enjoyed using my brain alone, not my looks, and not having to act or come in front of the camera.

I expect people to see finesse. I expect them to know that many people say they miss old Nollywood… the audience will take home a lot from this movie.

So, this is my movie, Mother’s Love. Please watch it. Bring your kids. Bring your family. Tell everybody to tell everybody… It’s a gift to families. It’s a gift for mothers. It’s a gift for first daughters. And this will not be the last. We’re going to do another part two.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.