Oliver Mbamara....

Oliver Mbamara is a multi talented individual. In addition to sitting as an administrative judge in the State of New York, he is a writer of several books and a columnist with numerous magazines. He has written, directed and played the lead role in two African feature films namely ‘This America' and ‘Slave Warrior' in which he performed his own stunts. “My parents still recall when I started acting in ‘concerts' as they were called then in kindergarten, says Oliver. I started writing as an undergraduate at the University of Lagos and in the early nineties toured all over Nigeria with the ‘Prime Circle Theatre Group. I wrote several plays and scripts for them”, he remembers.

Oliver has had a love for poetry from a tender age and somehow manages to find the time to perform poetry readings at various private parties, clubs and public events. He also loves cooking and photography. Asked how he manages to juggle everything that he has going on in his life he replied “Sacrifice. I get only a few hours sleep and have almost no personal life. My passion keeps me going when things get tough, often there is little or no material compensation involved, but most of all I appreciate God's love and blessings. I am fortunate and grateful for all the opportunities that I have.”

Oliver faced numerous challenges in making his feature films, as an independent producer on a low budget. He had to film during his vacation and shot Slave warrior in the south eastern Nigeria .He did not have financial support from any source, simply relying upon his own salary and savings. “I saved money writing the script, playing the lead role and doing my own stunts,” he says with a measure of well deserved pride. “The whole situation simply enhanced my creativity and I can't wait to shoot the second part of the Slave Warrior Trilogy.” The film has not been released yet and Oliver is seeking interested promoters and distributors from around the world. Despite the criticisms levelled at Nollywood, Oliver says we should be very proud of it. “Some of these players have created a worldwide presence and, with a little bit of improvement and an injection of more funding, the power of the image and sound put together by Nigerians would be astounding. There is no reason why the financial gains from Nollywood for Nigeria should not be indicative of what Hollywood and Bollywood are to their respective countries.

“For people starting out, it may be tough” says Oliver, “but it is doable if you are driven by passion, love or gratitude and not mere material gain. When you are growing these virtues will keep you going through the difficult times and when you have grown, the same virtues will keep you well grounded and assure you that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Good Luck!”

Read Poetry by Oliver Mbamara