Nollywood Actress and Producer, Matilda Lambert has emerged winner for two award categories “Best use of Costume in a Movie” and “Movie with the Best Sound” for her film – Unroyal at the just concluded “Best of Nollywood (BON) Awards”.
With barely three years into the Nollywood industry, Lambert has produced five movies with experiences gathered as an actress, rigorous research and studying at a film business school for movie producers.
UNROYAL which has brought the actress accolades and commendations from movie critics has been referred to as a contemporary Royal Drama with all the glitz and glamour of the modern day palace and royal lifestyle.
The star studded movie with features from Veterans in the Nollywood industry – Pete Edochie, Shaffy Bello, Bishop Umoh (Okon Lagos), Blossom Chukwujekwu, IK Ogbonna, Linda Osifo amongst others showcases a very prestigious African culture and lifestyle through the use of powerful costumes.
Showing in the cinemas since October 2, Unroyal is Lambert’s latest movie from her production outfit, Matilda Lambert Productions, which has produced other movies like Deepest Cut, Insta Guru, Kendra and Star Girl.
REPORT AFRIQUE reporter, Osaze Isesele, spoke with Matilda Lambert on her journey so far in the movie industry.
Below is the interview:
QUESTION: Tell us about your latest work “UNROYAL”
Matilda Lambert: My latest movie which is my 5th as a producer is Unroyal. It was shot in Port Harcourt and was premiered on the 15th of March 2020 at KADA Cinemas in Port Harcourt. It was released in the cinemas just three days before the lock-down. The movie is a masterpiece carefully put together. It features legendary Pete Edochie, ‘Okon Lagos’, Matilda Lambert, Ik Ogbonna, Shaffy Bello, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Linda Osifo and many other amazing actors. I was particularly inspired to come up with the movie through everyday life experiences.
QUESTION: Tell us about your journey in the Nollywood Industry?
Matilda Lambert: My journey in Nollywood at the beginning was nothing short of sweet and sour. There were moments when you know you had done so well in an audition, with applause from both the audience and judges, but because of your refusal to their selfish desires, it slips through your hands.
But because I know my craft, I wasn’t desperate but taking it one step at a time and believing in God that the place he will take me is surely up there.
The journey has been awesome even though there have been challenges here and there. But God has been awesome. Delving into the entertainment industry is nothing short of amazing.
I studied Philosophy in my first degree at the University of Abuja and philosophy is the mother of sciences and as such it cuts across all spheres of life. So I will say the knowledge of Philosophy also helped to shape my career as it is applied in almost everything I do.
QUESTION: What are the challenges you have faced in achieving results making impact in the industry?
Matilda Lambert: The entertainment industry is a place where one can easily get defrauded because very few can be trusted. As a newcomer, I had the challenge of getting the right people around to help weigh my priorities.
While some people think it’s just about the looks, others like me knew it was way more than the looks but intelligence, vocal presence, energy, charisma, good understanding of dramatic techniques and the ability to physically convey the emotions, motivations and intentions of a character through physical movement as well as speech.
Knowing all of these and not having the knowledge of what comes first and what’s of more importance was a bit of a challenge for me as a beginner.
There will always be challenges in life or anything that you do. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought us face to face with the most basic questions of life. It has demonstrated to us the value of freedom. Being in the creative industry with my movie released at the cinemas three days before the total lock-down was worrisome and challenging, and so it is to every other producer out there because money has been spent.
But right now, life is all that matters and I am grateful for it. In contributing my quota to help alleviate the situation, my Foundation Tilda Goes Green in partnership gave palliatives to over 500 families in some communities (Ozuboko community and Okujagu community) of Rivers State.
QUESTION: What lessons of life have you learnt and will like to share with young people in the creative industry looking up to you?
Matilda Lambert: I will say that life has taught me that success is no accident and that it takes hard work, perseverance, sacrifice and most of all, love for what you do or learning to do.
Secondly I will say life has taught me to love myself and appreciate me for who I am. I have also learnt to stay away from negative/toxic people. Life has taught me to accept change and be thankful for everything that happens and to always trust in God’s word.
Trusting God doesn’t mean he will do all you want but rather believing he will do everything he knows is good.
QUESTION: What other future projects are you working on that your fans can look forward to?
Matilda Lambert: I hope to make bigger and better movies in future that can help to promote my state and country through my production company and to collaborate with international productions.
I also have plans to go into partnership with the United Nations for my foundation “Tilda Goes Green” to help achieve the desired sustainable development goals.
I am open to whatever opportunities the future may hold. I think the best way of planning for the future is to make the most of the present.
Nollywood is a good platform that can be used to positively promote and project the image of Nigeria to the global space.
I also look forward to working with Mo’ Abudu. She is one person who inspires me a whole lot and I look forward to working with her in the future.
