Why I featured Ime Bishop in 'Okon Lagos' – Nollywood movie producer, Uduak Isong Oguamanam

Uduak Isong

Uduak Isong Oguamanam holds a first degree in Communication and Arts/Russian Language from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and a Masters degree in New Media and Society from the University of Leicester, UK. She also has a diploma in French from Alliance Francaise. She writes short stories and screenplays. Her short stories have won international awards including the Commonwealth short story competition. Oguamanam has written several Nollywood screenplays including the award winning ‘Bursting Out’. Uduak attended the prestigious Berlinale Talent Campus in Berlin, Germany, on the strength of her screenplay Unfinished Business. Some of her notable screenplays include: A Piece of Flesh, Entanglement, Ekaette, Edikan, Timeless Passion etc.

Uduak’s quest for excellence has led her on a path of continued education. She attended the ‘hands on directors’ workshop’ at Raindance, UK.  In 2010, she cut her teeth in directing with a short film ‘To Live Again’ adapted from her own short story which was published in Farafina Magazine. In August 2012, Uduak was selected by the British Council to attend the UK-Nigeria creative world partnership programme, London, UK.

Uduak’s work history started in the aviation industry where she worked as a cabin crew for two years. Thereafter, she worked in the capital markets and telecommunications industry before pursuing a full time career in Nollywood in 2010. Her previous work experience equipped her with the business acumen and knowledge of the market that have been the hallmark of her success as a screenwriter and movie producer.

Uduak believes in Nollywood as a powerful tool for social change because of its large audience and the potential for film to affect. Her short film, To Live Again, focused on HIV stigmatisation; her 2012 feature, KOKOMMA, spotlighted on the sexual abuse of women; and Edikan, which she wrote and co- produced with Emem Isong and Desmond Elliot, was made as an attempt to educate and inform parents on the ills of labelling children as child witches. In partnership with Steppingstones Nigeria, several copies of Edikan were distributed free of charge in Akwa Ibom state.

These movies were made to influence a paradigm shift in viewers’ minds, replacing their contempt with compassion, hatred with love and ignorance with understanding.

Uduak’s latest short film, Truth be Told, touches on homosexuality, her comedy OKON LAGOS is already one of Nollywood’s most successful movies and its sequel, OKON Goes to School sold out on its release date. 

Uduak continues to grow as a movie Producer, keeping faith with her dream to make Nigeria a better place and the Nigerian a better person, by the stories she tells through films.

Meanwhile, Ime ‘Bishop’ Umoh a.k.a Okon Lagos is an hilarious Nollywood actor, when I was first introduced to him, I knew he was the best man for the job because of his jovial, funny and unpredicted character he exhibited. Give it to him, he is good.