Dele Ishola is a Nigerian born Film Director, Screenwriter, Editor, and colourist.
He hails from Lagos state but was born and raised in northern Nigeria, Kaduna state precisely.
He founded Say, Something Africa, a film production and content creation company in 2015 and has successfully produced 2 films. He has also created commercial and product videos for clientele.
The Films under his credits include a short film (The Other 360) and a feature film (Sheila) both films which he wrote, produced and directed.
Tell us about your experience at the Hip Hop Film Festival West Africa?
My Experience at the Hip Hop Film festival was pretty delightful, I was impressed at the professionalism displayed especially in aspects of reaching out and corresponding with me and how to go about participating at the festival. I liked that the festival was still able to hold virtually despite the global pandemic. I would say the only experience I had an issue with was I couldn't get to be interviewed for my short due to technical difficulties and even though this was communicated to me, a reschedule for interview somehow also didn't happen but besides that, I was impressed.
Why are stories from the culture important?
I would say Preservation, being able to create visual content in video format around societal issues, regular or historical events helps in passing knowledge and experiences from generation to generation which helps in keeping the culture alive.
What projects are you working on now?
I made a feature film titled "Sheila" last year, I'm currently trying to get it acquired by any cable TV network or VOD Platform or both. I have included the trailer.
Why do you think the Harlem Film House and Hip Hop Film Festival is important?
New and Upcoming filmmakers are usually plagued with the issue of never having a proper platform to express themselves and show their creation or content to the world. I believe the Hip Hop Film Festival helps to bridge that gap by providing a platform for filmmakers from all over the world to showcase their films and connect and interact.