Undoubtedly he is the most cerebral thespian in Nigeria. Now he has just attained the role of the best producer. It is easy to see the how good Seven Doors is and forget why he is this brilliant of a thespian. We have forgotten Jagun Jagun and how that flick changed the movie industry. Of course, we have conveniently forgotten his pedigree. The fact that his father is Adebayo Salami, the legend of Oga Bello. We forgot his role as a child actor in Owo Blow. He killed it in that movie, his break out role. We forgot that he is a lawyer. Called to the Nigerian Bar. But his passion for the theatre has kept him away from the courts. Femi, a rare gem in this so called Nollywood industry gets it. He understands the responsibility that comes with the movie industry. His father taught him that. His early roles prepared him for this. His deliberate attempt to be educated stood him out of the mad crowd of the one million and one producers in the country. A country where any dummy with a camera thinks he is Steve Spielberg.
Femi Adebayo is not trying to be who he can never be. He is evolving before our eyes into himself. Seven Doors sums up all the above. A very special flick with great cultural impact. A lesson to the youth about the richness of a culture they are so eager to jettison. Set in the late 60s and early seventies. The difference of this movie, sooth the troubled stress out souls of the pandemic Emilokan era. Each scene is painstaking molded with a blending of Yoruba, English and the Igbo language. A symphony so good you can dance. You should dance. The dialogue in Seven Doors is not forced. The movie is not the slapstick that have become the norms in theatres. It is one man’s idea to teach.
One man that understands that movie making should come with a responsibility. Our culture is dying. The adults have forgotten where they came from. The youth thus are lost. Femi Adebayo gets it. It is is mission to find them. To bring them back home.
Three Gbosas for him. …..Gbosa! Gbosa!! Gbosa!!!
