I decided to make Lara and the Beat because I saw the need in telling the story of the dreamer’s struggle highlighting the thematic values of finding courage through pain and loss to pursue dreams and passions.

Nigeria is a third world country, which has been in a constant economic recession over the past three decades. There is a socio economical disparity between the rich and the poor. Many citizens are introduced to the harsh reality of shelving their artistic dreams and aspirations in favor of seeking tangible financial stability through conventional employment in the corporate world. Some people are also forced to adhere to high-class societies assessments of the arts; both visual and musical, being an undignified career choice.

I have met many people who have had to forget their passion for the arts because it simply wasn’t paying the bills or it was looked down upon thus living an unfulfilled life.

The fact that this film revolves around two wealthy people who lose everything overnight helps us place a faction of society in a destabilizing situation where the security of financial independence is absent. This forces our protagonists to dig deep within to find out who they are and what they are really made of thy have any hope of survival.

I feel the message of trusting one’s self would benefit just not people in tough economical circumstances but could also be a global introspective device to inspire those who once dreamt.



The journey of making a film such as Lara and the Beat can subsequently be considered story of triumph by way of trial by fire as it was extremely challenging due to the extreme limitations of shooting in the developing industry of Nollywood (Nigeria’s Motion Picture industry).



We were made to overcome challenges many would consider insurmountable in the filmmaking process such as limited and irregular power supply, constant harassment by local authorities and neighborhood thugs who shut down production in order to extort money from us. We also had to deal with hindrances in logistical and equipment resources.



Most of our Pre-Production was done on site. All the blocking, production design choices, cinematography and costume decisions were made on location on the day of the shoot because we weren’t given approval to shoot in many locations till the day of the shoot in order for location proprietors to maximize on their fees.



I guess it is safe to say there was a lot of Guerrilla filmmaking involved despite legally securing permits to restrict the extortion.



The reason I am mentioning these trials isn’t to form a sob story because I believe that when all I said and done, all the adversities helped in making us as a team, better filmmakers. We were challenged to think on our feet and be resourceful in our technical achievements and I believe this shines through in the film.



The aesthetic approach on Lara and the Beat is very different from what most Nigerian films would consider traditional. Given the fact that we were creating on the go, we chose a subjective approach to the cinematography where we immersed the audience in the experience.



We adopted a live camera aesthetic inspired by Terrance Mallick and Chivo Libeski, which serves to highlight the emotion within individual scenes and moments often simulating itself as another party witnessing the journey of the characters from within the story.



There is spontaneity in movement to some scenes and others extremely deliberate to enhance the emotional impact of the moment. There is also the unique utilization of light and color to establish mood and visual appeal of the film.



Fashion is used as a form of expressing each characters personality on this project. we utilized it as a platform to showcase Nigerias fashion forward culture while integrating traditional flare to western influenced fashion pieces.


Lara and the Beat is a film in the vain of Brown Sugar and Beyond the Lights with Nigerian Afro Pop music at its heart.