Critically acclaimed director Baba Dee’s highly anticipated release “Head Gone” is amassing rave reviews after making its Nigerian debut at a media premiere in Lagos recently.
The movie, which is a comedy, is centred on a busload of patients being conveyed to a mental institution, whose paths cross with unsuspecting people along the way and culminates in a string of hilariously unfortunate events.
Head Gone features an all-star cast which includes the talents of IK Osakioduwa, Wale Ojo, Yomi Obileye, Akpororo, Basketmouth, 2face Idibia, Eniola Badmus, Tunji Shotimirin, Tunde Obalana, Basorge Tariah Jnr, Hafeez Oyetoro aka Saka, Alibaba, Zack Orji and Sound Sultan. Director Dare Fasasi aka Baba Dee, himself appears in a cameo as a corrupt prison warder. They all come together surprisingly seamlessly to deliver a truly outstanding piece of work that is fresh, original, technically accomplished and is most of all, gloriously funny.
Speaking after the premiere at Film House, Surulere on Thursday December 4, Baba Dee described the movie as the outcome of 10 years of work after having been given an idea for the plot by Basketmouth while shooting a video for Sound Sultan ten years ago. The intervening period was spent working on the script, reaching out to potential cast members and doing research on Nigerian prisons and psychiatric institutions, including some actual time spent at Aro Psychiatric hospital in Abeokuta (as a researcher and not as a patient, he was eager to point out).
According to Baba Dee, the strength of the movie aside from the script lies in the performance of the cast who came on board eagerly after reading the script. Certainly, the on-screen chemistry of the characters and the obvious comfort they had with their roles seem to indicate that the opportunity to take part in a groundbreaking project like this appealed to them.
Indeed, as Baba Dee pointed out, he does not see himself as a “Nollywood” director, but rather as a Nigerian filmmaker. Based on the enthusiasm the movie was received with at its Berlin premiere, his dream of projecting Nigerian cinema to a wider international audience seems to be on track.
Head Gone opened at cinemas on December 5th 2014. You can watch the trailer HERE and on the official website.
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