At the Nigeria International Film Summit in Lagos, filmmaker Biodun Stephen joined a FRAME panel moderated by writer and culture curator Wana Udobang, alongside industry figures Ego Boyo and Brenda Fashugba. The conversation turned sharply to one of Nollywood’s biggest habits: leaning on stereotypes to tell stories and cast actors.
Stephen, known for character-driven dramas such as ‘Breaded Life’ and ‘Sista’, admitted that stereotypes often feel like the “safe” option in Nollywood. Audiences are conditioned to expect them, while producers and distributors push them for commercial security.
“When you see Aunty Shola Shobowale, you only cast her for one thing,” Stephen said. “It’s evident; she is shouting. But I’ve directed her before, and she asked me, ‘Do you want me to shout?’ I said, ‘No, Ma, I don’t want the shouting.’”
That small refusal, Stephen argued, is where freshness begins. Instead of recycling the familiar, she looks for ways to flip the narrative, to give an actor or character a path audiences may not expect.
Her writing approach reflects that same instinct. “I take one character and then assume that this character has two choices,” she explained. “There’s the familiar choice and the unfamiliar choice. I focus on the unfamiliar choice.” For her, the real drama goes beyond the stereotype to watching a character wrestle with a hunger for more and finding transformation on their own terms.
Still, Stephen admitted that economics often discourages experimentation. Nollywood operates in a space where “the naira and kobo” matter, she said, and producers fear that deviation from stereotype won’t sell. That tension between commerce and creativity is what makes the industry default to safe portrayals.
But she insists audiences are ready for more. “You can’t keep serving them rice and beans,” she said. “Put small dodo. They will still chop it.”
For Stephen, breaking stereotypes is about trusting both actors and audiences to embrace complexity when filmmakers dare to offer it.
This article is part of Nollywire’s coverage of FRAME at NIFS Lagos.
- Read Ego Boyo’s reflections on ‘Checkmate’.
- Read Brenda Fashugba’s call for better women’s stories and spaces.
