The director and producer of Gangs of Lagos, Jade Osiberu, has disclosed that some individuals she saw during her time in Isale Eko, while shooting one of her earlier projects ‘Giddy Up’ birthed the idea of ‘Gangs of Lagos’.
Osiberu, while speaking to journalists at a press briefing recently in Lagos, said she saw a mother preparing dinner and feeding her children and she thought about what it would feel like to live in Isale Eko, stuck there, yet desiring more for herself and her children.
According to @jadeosiberu, she wanted to affect people who live the lives people don’t understand through Gangs of Lagos, which she described as a revelatory film and a film about empathy, love, and dreams
“Twelve years ago, while I was shooting a series called Giddy Up in Isale Eko, across the window from where we were, I could see into another building’s window section and the people living there.
“Immediately, they became characters in my story. I saw a mother cooking dinner and feeding her children.
“I thought about what it would feel like to live in Isale Eko, stuck there yet desiring more for yourself and your children.”
She added: “I wanted to humanise people who live the lives we don’t understand. It’s a revelatory film. It shows political thuggery. It’s a story about empathy, dreams, and love. I also hope people are entertained.”
Gangs of Lagos is a high-stakes, gritty and hard-hitting action crime-thriller, with an authentic storyline centred on a group of childhood friends who each have to navigate destiny, growing up on the bustling streets and neighbourhood of Isale Eko, Lagos.
The feature film features Tobi Bakare, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Chike Osebuka, Chioma Chukwuka, Iyabo Ojo, Olarotimi Fakunle, Alabi Pasuma, Funke Williams, Mr. Marcaroni, and Zlatan among many others.
Photo credit@ Instagram/Jade Osiberu