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Noble Conversations
A New Era for African Storytelling | A Noble Conversation with Ferdy Adimefe
What if a medical background could lead to an exciting career in media and animation? Join us as we chat with Ferdy Adimefe, the creative force behind Magic Carpet Studios and Imaginarium Creative. In this episode, Freddie shares his unexpected journey from studying human anatomy to becoming a leader in Nigeria's creative industry. He talks about his passion for storytelling and his commitment to addressing Nigeria's educational and political challenges through innovative leadership.
Ferdy’s story is all about embracing unexpected opportunities and using creativity in various ways. He recalls how he became an influential editor and led a university magazine, even without formal training in mass communication. From directing the orientation broadcasting service during his NYSC to founding companies that push the limits of creative technology, Ferdy’s career path shows the power of passion and adaptability. You’ll gain insights into how combining academic skills with market needs can help bridge educational gaps and reduce unemployment.
We also dive into Ferdy’s mission to highlight authentic African narratives. He discusses the global appeal of African stories and the untapped economic potential within Nigeria’s creative industry. From adapting the 1960 novel "The Passport of Malam Illia" into a 2D film to dreaming of Magic Carpet Studios as the "Pixar of Africa," Ferdy’s vision is both ambitious and rooted in cultural pride.
Discover how his faith, family, and deep love for Nigeria drive his mission to elevate African stories and create innovative storytelling experiences. Don’t miss this engaging episode packed with inspiration and forward-thinking ideas!
Welcome my people to Noble Conversations. We're a platform that aims to build the Nigeria and society of our dreams by engaging in what I didn't hear you Louder, louder, louder, noble Conversations, exactly with those who are making community and global impact. And today we'll be having a conversation with Freddie Adimefe a noble conversation, in fact, with him on telling authentic African stories, the direction of the Nigerian creative industry and the work his team at Magic Studios, or Magic Carpet Studios, is doing to tell a 2D version story of the 1960 novel the Passport of Malam. Ilya Ferdi is an accomplished individual, a very successful individual. He is the founder and CEO of Magic Carpet Studios, which is a storytelling company aimed at telling authentic African stories through film authentic African stories through film. He's also the founder and CEO of Imaginarium Creative, which is a digital ecosystem that aims to invest in early stage creative companies in the tech space. He's also a board member of the Slums to School project or initiative, which is aimed at providing access to education to kids in hard to reach areas.
Speaker 1:Um, so think you know chess, uh, chess in slums similar that kind of initiative, but focused on education. So join us for noble conversations. Let's go. I was looking through your LinkedIn. Did you study political science or something related to no?
Speaker 2:no, no, no, no, no. I studied human anatomy, so I was in medical science Human okay okay, okay. But I my master's was in media and communications, but I would let her run for an elected office. I ran for Congress, but I ran for House of Reps in 2019. But you know, like they say in Nigeria, they stole my mandate.
Speaker 1:They stole my mandate, so that was the election, they stole your mandate.
Speaker 2:So I prepared that line, rather than stealing those elections.
Speaker 1:Would you like to reclaim your mandate at some point?
Speaker 2:I think I've outgrown that mandate. Right now, I'm so excited about what we're building I still see the possibility and the potential of what it can do in Africa. So I'm now having to sort of like focus on scaling along that line.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay. So what inspired you in the first place to run? I want to dive into you know, like what you're currently doing now, but before that, like what inspired you to run? I I want to dive into you know, like what you're currently doing now, but before that, like what inspired you to to run well, I think that I was um.
Speaker 2:Quite frankly, I'm a news analyst, so I used to do news analysis for um, one of the smooth fm, and every morning I would go and I would read newspapers, I read the headlines, and after doing that for a period of four years, I realized that Nigeria was stuck in a circle, in a circle of ineptitude, corruption. It didn't seem like the leadership may change, but the problems remain. And I think the problems remain because the challenge was actually a cultural problem, that different people came in with the same realities right. So my decision to run was fundamentally realizing that we needed a different type of leadership, a leadership that was very intentional about moving the needle right. So we're talking about, yeah, 13.5 million nigerian children not in school, and every year we talk about that number. And every year we talk about that number, every election about that number, and it's getting worse and nothing has been done. I mean progress would mean if after two years you said, okay, 13.5 million kids. Now 30% of that has reduced. Another year you hear that it has reduced, but nothing was changing in the way of policy. That was what actually got me very, very interested in the world.
Speaker 2:I've always been very, very politically aware. So I do follow politics, I understand pretty much policies, macroeconomy, microeconomy, possibility of creating jobs and I do think that with the growing population of Nigeria, you realize that the IMF said Nigeria needs to create five million jobs every year for the next 10 years to keep it safe and sane. Now, quite frankly, I don't even think we're creating, up to you know, jobs every year, right, so we are underperforming. And when you put that side by side out growing, a fast growing population, it's really a crisis, because when you have because it's expected to reach what?
Speaker 1:yeah, go ahead to 400, uh. So it's expected to reach, I think, almost 400 million by 2050, so double, even more than the us population.
Speaker 2:The us population. So at the end of the day, we're creating um and we're not necessarily being able to be. We're not creating as more jobs that we're creating population right. And then population is an advantage until until it is not skilled. So what makes the population an asset is that people are skilled, educated and can add and contribute to the economy.
Speaker 2:And I don't know that we're doing good in the area of scaling up our people and for the most part, I also think the curriculum currently being used across Nigerian universities cannot cater to the 21st century workspace. So people are studying things that are not actually needed. So why don't we revamp that and focus on the top ten high quality skills that are needed in the world today? So if you're studying sociology, how do you take that sociology to understand consumer patterns, consumer behavior, so that every tech company that is trying to solve for consumer retention acquisition can hire you? If you're studying psychology, how do you take your knowledge of cycle demography and your, your knowledge of profiling users to create customized, tailor-made product feeds for the market?
Speaker 2:But that's why I really do think that there is still a gap. So most times I tell, when I speak to students, I always tell them that it is upon you to take yourself from what you whether you're studying fishery or you're studying microbiology and you ask yourself how do I become relevant in the 21st century? It's to remind yourself and go back, ask yourself what are my skills and my passion? How can I start to align with what the world needs now?
Speaker 2:Because, if we can, align with what the world needs now, because if we can align with what the world needs now, once you bring the steel, the economy will provide the jobs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, and it sounds like well, actually, would you say that's one of the things that motivated you to get involved with slums to school as well, yeah, okay, slums to school was quite interesting because my friend and I used to live together back in the NYC days and it was a decision about doing something for a community at the time. So at the end of the day, slum to school also gave me a keen insight into how the rural underclass were living. Right, even in a place like Lagos that was very metropolitan. You had, like, a large population of people in Makoko not going to school. The kids don't go to school, right, and there were, in fact, there were schools in those communities, but they were not actually oriented towards appreciating education. Most of the kids will accompany their parents to go fishing or accompany their parents to go sell in the market or assist their parents, but it wasn't for education and we wanted to do something about that.
Speaker 2:So at the time we we with the thought process was we need a new school or do we get them to appreciate schools? Most of them told us they didn't have school uniform, they didn't have notebooks. So that was what we started with buying those notebooks and school uniforms. And we saw that when they got what they needed, attendance improved. We started to see like 20% school participation, we started to see 30%, and then we increased that number and at some point we started to support the schools in the communities with things that they needed to function. So it's really been very rewarding and it's been been very rewarding and it's been a decade of just seeing the growth and the impact. I mean, some of the early kids are now in universities, some of them are graduates doing good stuff.
Speaker 1:So I mean that particular work has been a huge reward. Yeah, yeah, I really like that because I think when you're able to see something that you put in effort and you're able to look at it over time and you see, okay, especially in the case of slums to school or slum to school, you see from you know, secondary or primary school to university like people are actually like it's making a difference in people's lives and you're like yeah, yeah I'm glad that I was able to be a part of that.
Speaker 1:Um so you mentioned being able to be resourceful, like taking what you are learning and saying how can it fit into what is needed in the 21st century, in the world today? Um, so you studied, uh, a human anatomy, then you studied, yeah, media and, and then you did news analysis and then now you're telling African stories through Magic Carpet Studios. Walk me through that evolution and how you adapted as you were exploring what you were passionate about, but also what you felt like you were skilled at doing.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm a big believer in the concept of flow you were passionate about, but also what, what you you felt like you were skilled at doing. I'm a big believer in the concept of flow and flow is actually a concept that we oftentimes describe that for life, life it's about unfolding opportunity that they present themselves to you. So it's not so much about getting stuck in a pattern of thinking or in a way of approaching life, but allowing life to present to you opportunity does become, and I think that's something that I've also enjoyed tremendously. So after my first degree, while I was on campus, I was an editor. I was publishing a university magazine at the time and it was very successful. I was known more for my writing and my storytelling than I was known more for my writing and my storytelling than I was known for being a medical student.
Speaker 2:And I remember when I went to NYC they had told and somebody came up to me that they were looking to hire. They wanted a student that understood media to come and head the orientation broadcasting service called OBS. So this was the radio station on camp, in camp for the NYC students, and the lady was in my school school, but we never met what she said. She was a big part of the magazine and she told the, the PR rule of the NYC, that she had someone that was defeating for it and I became the person.
Speaker 2:Now, I didn't have mass communication background, I didn't have any background, but I became the head of OBS because the ladies saw that over the years, in just editing magazine, I understood the process of creating news and I did a fantastic job. I got my newscasters who write news that would broadcast the news. We had some shows during camp, during the campaign was fantastic. But again it points back to the fact that there's a difference between your curriculum vitae and what I currently now call your creative vitae, and I would say that, while your curriculum vitae is essentially about the things you are learning in terms of the curriculum right, the creative vitae is what you're contributing, producing and creating right. And I think fundamentally, many Nigerians got into the lie that they were not creative. In fact, for many, most of us born into Nigeria, the concept of creativity was something we limited to just art or or more often than not, we limited it to the faculty of art, at best a method in science.
Speaker 2:But we understand that creativity was the capacity of the human soul it was an imprint of every human soul to yearn to reach full potential, so that, at any point in time, your ability to imagine a possibility, to imagine a solution, to imagine a value, to identify solution, to imagine a value, to identify a problem it's even solution, is even creativity. Your ability to meet a problem with your passion is creativity. So that, as much as we are all created in the image and likeness of god I believe there were fundamentally creators so that when we come to life, the question is not what am I supposed to, what can I? It's not whether can I create, am I creative? That's actually a false question.
Speaker 1:The question is how do I create?
Speaker 2:What am I creating in the moment?
Speaker 2:So I really think that for me, moving away from NYC, I got into my after my master's I worked for an advertising company where my master's and I worked in a loyal gas company as a black communications person and even while I was still there, I brought in my skills and my passion of storytelling, documentary making and, you know, creative writing to bring a lot of work and projects to the company at the time.
Speaker 2:And when I transitioned into my first company, margin, which was a creative technology company where I was working with telecoms to build telco content systems, it was a fun job and then I moved from that and I moved into creating Magic Carpet, now an animation storytelling company, to focus on exporting feature themes, series and games. So it's been an unfolding, beautiful journey and I keep telling people that when we free ourselves from the idea that we have a figured path of how we think our life will go, we'll realize that life invites us and, more often than not, offers us many exciting opportunities that we could never conspire or manipulate our way into. So it's really important to recognize flow. When we are in flow, we don't struggle Flow, we are in sync and we are in season right, so I'm not having to expect my harvest when I've not sown my seed. But I enjoy my period of sowing my seed and I enjoy my period of harvest. So every season comes to its own beauty no, that that is.
Speaker 1:That's beautiful and encouraging. The reason I say that is as someone who didn't consider himself a creative initially, um I think over time I'm realizing that there are different ways to bring what you are interested in um and combine it with your skills to serve what people need, and it's not that you may even have those skills initially, but you can develop those skills, um.
Speaker 1:So I want to. I want to ask, with, when you were starting out, you know, with doing, you know writing, editing, like how did you? Did you just jump into it? Did you like, how did you develop those skills? Were you like reading about it, watching videos? Like how did you, you know, cause some people, like some people could look at it and say, oh, okay, but I don't know where to start. Okay, these are the skills I need, but I don't have them. So, like, how did you develop those skills?
Speaker 2:So I think that, quite frankly, even amongst my siblings, we read a lot of novels, but I was one of the most avid. I would read a lot of fiction, nonfiction, and I do think that that did give me I mean, reading more made me a better writer. Right, I had to work on editing and correcting myself because I was in that great athlete at the time, but I was good at writing. But often, more often than not, editing was another field I had over the years to work on improving. Right, of course, you didn't have ai at the time to help you, uh, synchronize all of those things, but it was something you just had to perfect and do. So I think the reading part was fed my imagination, but I was also as a child, I was very imaginative.
Speaker 2:I remember even as early as seven and eight. I would tear out portions of my notebook to make novels. I'd write novels and novels. I mean, I was a stone collector. I'll pick stones and pebbles from the neighborhood. I would pick them and I'll put them in different parks, my mom said. She asked me once what do I do with all these stones? And I said they are my characters, they are life and they are stories. So I knew that I was actually going to end up somewhere telling these stories. I haven't really done much yet because I mentioned it's a much harder one. So now I'm having to reposition my company so that people on the life background side I can start to explore what that looks like and how people start putting out in that direction okay, okay.
Speaker 1:So it was something that was kind of already there, but then it was inspired by the books you were reading um, and so like that was kind of what you would use to measure. Okay, like this is the book I'm reading, this is what I'm trying to create. How does it measure?
Speaker 2:it wasn't that technical, it wasn't a full technical. I mean, when I saw a book, I read the book for what the book had to give me in that season and, um, I didn't make the connection at the time of saying I'm reading to become a better writer. I read because I enjoyed fiction. That was how I could pass time. It was a hobby for me, reading. But I realized over time that reading was also helping my writing.
Speaker 2:It was a discovery, it was a discovery, and then it was much later. I now started to figure out okay, how do I? Intentionally I was doing a quirk before I understood that it was working. I just realized that I would write something on my notebook and I wanted to have a rhyme. But I was a science student, so it wasn't because.
Speaker 1:Did you rap? Did you try to rap?
Speaker 2:I did, I did.
Speaker 1:Can we hear some? It's not going to be good for you. I don't want to. I mean, I did, I did, I did. Can we hear?
Speaker 2:some. It's not going to be good for you. I don't want to actually. I mean this was way back. I mean, at the time, a lot of the rappers that defined those years were mostly Tupac and Biggie. This was much younger years, right, but at the end of the day, I mean I saw poetry as very, very powerful. I saw it as powerful. I saw poetry as very, very powerful. I saw it as powerful. I saw it as something that could really really awaken the consciousness of the people. I saw it as an invitation to discover I saw it as a clarion call it was powerful what poetry can do to emotions and what it can do to people of what poetry can do to emotions and what it can do to people, and so so, okay.
Speaker 1:So for you, what? Going from that to now? Magic carpet studios and creating um telling africa authentic african stories, like what inspired you to, to tell african stories specifically.
Speaker 2:So I I remember reading a lot of African literature and also reading a lot of literature about Africa, and it was very interesting to me. But I started to think a lot of the writers I read at the time, some of them were writing from a very colonial lens when they write about Africa. But there was also the imperial lens, where Africans were writing from a colonized mindset and it wasn't something that we could fundamentally identify or understood. It was almost insidious or almost. It was just something in the background, right. But I asked myself, what if Africa was never colonized? What type of stories are we going to tell about ourselves? Or what if Africa had colonized the world? How do we present our identity, our consciousness, our spirituality, our culture, our history? And there was so much to Africa.
Speaker 2:The pre-colonial Africa had so much to give. The prehistoric Africa also had so much to give. So my being a storyteller was, I thought, at a very strong level. It was almost a prophetic invitation or a calling to begin to discover what Africa was before the world told us what we were Before Africa was demarcated, divided, constructed in what it is today, as a people, as a place, as a culture. Who were we? And then coming back to rediscover the beauty of the Ubuntu culture, where Africans were inherently communal, and start to identify our mythology, our legends, our empires and the emperors of the time, our legends and even the stories about Africa, the folk tales, I realized that there was just so much wealth there and I think for us it's easily a civilization we can own. When we bring african story to the world, the world would discover a new way of being itself, because africa had never really been seen so highlighting africa at its core, without colonization.
Speaker 2:Without a colonized mindset.
Speaker 1:yes, Without a colonized mindset. So you talked about bringing African stories to the world. Why do you think, or why is the world hungry for African stories, especially now, in this moment?
Speaker 2:I think because the beauty of Africa was the birthplace of civilization. I mean, africa was really really pretty much fundamental to shaping what music is in the world today. If you trace the jazz music, if you trace even things, as whenever Africa touches the sound, it never stays the same. Trace even things as whenever African touches the sound, it never stays the same. Whenever Africans touch anything, whether it's dancing or whatever we touch expands. And I really think that that's what we're seeing.
Speaker 2:Wakanda made it possible. I think Wakanda was a signal of a new era for storytelling, for every African content creator and producer. It made it seem like Africans could not just make a film, it could become a blockbuster. And I think because Wakanda was a story that unapologetically positioned its royalty, the way Africans wanted to be, wakanda came from the same consciousness what if Africa was never colonized? And I think it's important because we're the only continent, the tribe at the time they were not very conquered. So I really think that we have seen again that there is endless repackaging. We have seen a lot of old classics being redone again by big studios, like Disney did Lion King after 25 years. They also released Mulan after 24 years and now they are doing Mufasa, which is an extension of Lion King, and we have seen from Disney.
Speaker 1:I think they also did Iw.
Speaker 2:Do Iwaju too, yes yes, but that's the first exploration into African stories, so they're exploring as well, which is also a sign to say, okay, yes, they acquired an African IP from a comic studio based in the UK and they created Iwaju, although as a studio we did a bit of some concept work in the early days. But I think that is a signal. Even we did a bit of some concept work in the early days, but I think that is a signal. Even HBO is also working on another African IP called Iyanu, which was a pre-existing comic series. So we're already seeing that the interest is black, the interest is actually going African. So we Africans who are creators have to now rise to the occasion and come to the table with our stories so that they don't just meet us on their terms, but they meet us on our terms.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, so that we are the ones making the stories, as opposed to them making the stories and then maybe not representing it in the way that we would want to represent it.
Speaker 2:So representation is a fundamental aspect of our DNA. As a studio, we want to really create African characters. It doesn't have to look like Disney, I mean anything is a genre on its own. I think Africa can also invent or create what can fundamentally become its own cut-out genre and I think as a studio we're very committed to that process of discovery.
Speaker 1:No, I like that. No, I like that, I like that. Um, so I'm I'm just thinking about nigeria's creative industry as a whole. Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but I, I think that, like, the creative industry in nigeria contributes about 1 billion to the economy right now. Um, and I, I think I think the minister of arts, culture and creative economy had mentioned that you know, the goal is for it to contribute a hundred billion to the nigerian economy by 2030. Um, I, I think that was I don't know if that was a prediction based on analysis or if it was a goal of okay, this is what we're trying to do, but assuming that it's a prediction, okay, this is where the industry is heading from your perspective. Why do you think the industry is growing at such a rate in nigeria?
Speaker 2:first of all, I actually think that's um one billion annual contribution to gdp.
Speaker 2:It's pretty much underestimated and I would say okay, partly because it's a different part of the creative industry, is largely a map and also largely informal.
Speaker 2:So you, you would see that in in the mapping of the creative sector they're like 14 sectors of the creative economy, right, and I don't know that we do a lot to talk about, for instance, music, and I don't know that we do a lot to talk about it, for instance, music From the shows that are done across Africa.
Speaker 2:Afrobeat today is a major sport and if you think about how much Afrobeat is generating and the foreign direct investment that flows into the country from Afrobeat is significant enough to record, then when you think about our fashion, you think about our comedy. Literally a lot of our comedians go on tours in Europe and the, the US, and musicians go on tours in the US and in Europe and in the US. So I've seen the movie also gaining grounds through the streaming platforms. Our movies are really becoming more recognized, right, um, so that the potential that the industry can contribute a hundred billion is actually very, very possible. But I do think that all that the industry has accomplished over the years has not been because of policies, but even in spite of them.
Speaker 1:That even in the absence of policies, the industry has remained resilient.
Speaker 2:So I think it's important for the governments to start to think around some policies from co-production and bilateral trade agreements to tax rebates that can attract producers to produce in Nigeria, attract jobs to Nigeria, to even strengthen our IPs, where our intellectual property can then be collateralized. So I really think that we have an opportunity to truly, truly, you know, identify these gaps and then structure this industry. I'm part of the Nigerian Economic Summit group.
Speaker 2:One of the reasons why I volunteered was because I really wanted to be a part of how we shape the next decade of the creative industrialization in Nigeria. I would really say Nigeria is a creative wasteland, not because we don't have the talent, but because the environment has not been conducive enough for the talents to thrive and flourish.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So you would say the $1 billion is underestimated and the $100 billion is definitely feasible, possible.
Speaker 2:It's very feasible, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, it's very feasible, okay, okay, okay. So when you look at animation because you mentioned about 14 components of that creative industry so when you look at animation, like, what role do you see animation contributing or playing in that growth?
Speaker 2:It's a catalyst. I think animation more than anything else I mean, I'm working on projects now we're developing projects that we have to work with skits makers and comedians, we're working with musicians, we're working with actors and actresses, we're working with fashion people. So animation, because it has more exportable value, I can actually create projects where I can tap into other sectors of the creative economy and that's why I feel that it will catalyze it, because animation is an export and so it has more success in terms of its return, it has more bandwidth in terms of success than just a regular film. So I think it's important for us to also keep that in mind. And animation is pretty much also about expanding the understanding of the people, because the storytelling is famous, cinematic right. So I really think that and, yeah, I really think that everyone sits very well at that.
Speaker 2:If you go to india or eastern, the potential of animation to create jobs is humongous. Uh, almost uh. 40 percent of the indian economy comes from outsourcing and it's that the significant part of that Indian economy comes from outsourcing and a significant part of that outsourcing comes from sector recognition. You can find animation studios with about 3,000 to 5,000 people working like a factory works. I mean, no studio has the skill of that number. I mean we are not building to that, but no studio in Nigeria has that kind of skill. So it's fundamentally okay for us to start to think about the potential of what we're doing, but animation, like I said, is pretty much a catalyst to fast-track the growth of other creative sectors by designing an ethical system where every of these sectors can play part in what is produced and exported.
Speaker 1:I really like what you're saying about animation because I'm thinking, with that growth, the number of Nigerian, you know, first of all nigerian kids that watch these animated shows, right, because as growing up, I didn't watch any. I don't remember watching any like nigerian or african, like focused, like animated. You know movies and so I'm just thinking of how that could shape the mindset of a young nigerian child growing up, um and watching that um. So, okay, you've mentioned that multi-disciplinary collaboration. I think I said you mentioned this online that multi-disciplinary collaboration across the creative industry is a form of capital. So when you say form of capital, like what are you? How do you like? Can you expand on?
Speaker 2:that the reality of capital we have a very, very narrow idea of what capital can do. For instance, we are collaborating with a couple of studios. Um, there is this company in the us. They wanted to produce an animated movie and they didn't necessarily have all the money, so went into a collaborative effort where we were able to. They were able to assess a reduced budget in exchange of 13% profit you can leverage.
Speaker 2:But for you to actually be able to see collaboration as capital, you need to have almost an enlightened self-interest and you also need to have that sense of conscious business thinking where you are not just thinking from the lens of I but from the lens of we, and where we start to embrace that idea that how can we win with no one losing?
Speaker 2:You know, most people's idea of business is competition and that idea of competition is that I have to lose for you to win. But what we're advocating in the conscious era of business is actually not anybody losing, but how can we all win, so that the competition is not one that is about losing markets but about distributing value in such a way that the market gains. Everybody gains as improvement or as excellence, right? So everybody's actually trying to out-compete in excellence, out-compete themselves in creativity. But it's not so much about getting monopoly over the market in such a way that you crowd people out. So we want to be able to rethink competition not from the lens of just dominating the market, but from the lens of owning the dimension of the market and owning the space of the market, that in a sense you have a niche, but you're also inspiring creativity, excellence in the others because they understand that they have to compete at that level. So we must see the positive side of competition. Competition is a negative word.
Speaker 1:it can have a question on the tone right, and I think that's how I perceive um business thinking really so it's like bringing different people from different aspects of you know, or different industries, uh, or disciplines, um, to pull together resources and at the same time, like you're competing but it's not like, oh, I have to win and you lose. It's like, okay, let's, let's compete and see how we can produce the best product for what the market needs. Okay, okay. So when you're thinking about disciplines that's would provide the most, like what top three disciplines would you say, provide the most cross-functional support to the creative industry? Because there's health, there is, you know, education, there is, I mean, agriculture, you know different, all these different industries that could benefit from the creative industry or could contribute to the creative industry. But if you could only pick three I know it's impossible, to three alone is not enough, but if you could only pick three I know it's impossible, three alone is not enough, but if you could only pick three, what would you pick?
Speaker 2:I would not necessarily approach the point from actually what industry? Everything that needs to be sold requires the creative industry to connect to people. So at the core of marketing is creative industry the videos that will be created, the ads that will be created, the design that will be done. Industry the videos that will be created, the ads that will be created, the design that will be done, the scripting of the story For you to some great products can be successful as a product but fail in marketing. So I think that marketing is not a non-essential. Marketing is the fundamental essential in every industry, in every business. So fundamentally, that's where I would say the creativity layers into everything. So it's not which top three industry requires creativity more than others. But how can every industry begin to recognize how important creativity is in part of the ecosystem? And we need to make sure for creativity to be seen along the value chain as an essential part of what they do okay, okay, definitely, definitely, um.
Speaker 1:So one of the things I've been following slightly um is the work that you're doing with the passport of malam ilia. Uh, is popped up on my social media every now and then, so so the marketing is working. You know that was how I came across you in the first place. So Magic Carpet, you know, is currently working on creating a 2D version of, or 2D film of, the Passport of Marlam Ilya 1960 novel. I personally haven't read the book yet 1916 novel.
Speaker 1:I personally haven't read the book yet, but could you tell us more about? Maybe you know, like what was the book about briefly? And then, why did your team decide to work on this story?
Speaker 2:Okay, so the book is about? It's a story of love, war, right, it touches on many things. This was 19th century Kano, and for us, we think that the northern part of Nigeria is the least told part when it comes to storytelling. In a sense, we wanted a story that could really really touch on something fundamental, and this was during the colonial invasion. So we thought it had a universal appeal, because it wasn't just about a story that was about Nigeria, it was historical, there was a colonial aspect. You were also seeing the colonial invasion. There was also three countries there was Mecca, which is Saudi Arabia, and there was Cameroon.
Speaker 1:So we thought that from a very interesting perspective.
Speaker 2:the story was expansive enough to connect pretty much with everyone. But the story was about two lovers who actually, I guess, a very strong-willed young lady who was almost difficult to stay in a relationship or in a marriage and would eventually be put up by her dad. And there was a game of Sanji, where all the men would come to fight and the best man or the strongest man was not deemed fit to marry the princess, and so eventually this guy beat the villain to marry her. But you know, the story went on and on where at some point there was the night of war where the British invaded Kano and there was a tragedy, and I wouldn't tell you what the tragedy was, but after the tragedy happened, so that there was no spoilers, um, it became about, it became a post-it for Vengeance.
Speaker 2:But you know, even while the story was really about the, the contention and the struggle for love, acceptance, healing and also forgiveness, on the fundamental level, the passport of an anilia was also the evolution of the human soul. It was against our shadow self, how today, in each and every one of us today, can refine us a shadow side or a shadow cell that we never quite confront, and the real enemy is not always out there, but it's always within, and being able to conquer your shadow is truly how you get liberated. So it's a story of liberation, of evolution, of enlightenment, of rediscovering the capacity of the human soul to heal, and it's quite exciting for us because it touches on pretty much some exciting points that we're happy to share with the world.
Speaker 1:So, okay, without, because you said no spoilers, so I don't want to ask questions that will lead to spoilers. But what aspect of the story is being portrayed, you know, in the film that you would say is not necessarily told in the book? Because I mean, I'm sure, like as you're exploring filmmaking, you probably make a few changes here and there, but without spoilers.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, I think I will tell you one. So this was 19th century. A lot of the women in the book. I thought the book didn't do enough deep dive into their character and into their motivations and their choices. But at the level of the movie we expanded on those. We also wanted to get into those, into their thinking. So there was that part too where we had to really explore and deep into the female characters. We had a few additional characters that we felt was going to lighten the entire experience and make it comical and fun to watch. So we took some creative liberty to bring color. And there's a musical aspect to the movie, although it's not a musical per se, but there are musical aspects to bring more color and magic.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay. So more color and magic. Is it because it's magic carpet?
Speaker 2:I would think it is.
Speaker 1:Is that Okay? Okay, and so right now, from what I saw you're raising right now, I think about two. Correct me if I'm wrong but about $250,000 in completion, $250,000 completion fund for this project it's actually a 500 000 completion fund um.
Speaker 2:I mean, we've raised some money already, um, but yeah, it's about 500 000 completion okay, okay.
Speaker 1:So, like for those who might be, you know, interested in, in investing, um, like what ways would this fund help complete the project and like what timeline are we?
Speaker 2:looking at. We're definitely releasing this year, um, and so partly I'll try to see if we could make December release possible. That's not possible. There's still a bit of work to be done, but it's coming out next year most certainly. Um, and, like I said, we are doing both cinema and we also will be back to the streaming. Now let me tell you a little bit about cinema.
Speaker 2:On record, we have about 12.5 million people working in the animation industry. Now I will tell you, on average, even very independent animated projects tend to do almost $55 million dollar ticket sales in box office. So what that means is 5.5 million tickets. So, but I can say the reason why animation tends to do that is because in a thousand movies you might have like five animations to live action. So there is not always a lot of animation.
Speaker 2:So when people make choices, there is a sense that a lot of people would make choice because of the diversity and the different situation. Right, yeah, but also for us, and we the studio will see for entertainment, but we also see for learning. So because we run a studio, whenever there is an animated, they were like, wow, that was crazy, right. So in the 12.9 million people working animation, you pretty much have almost a 50 60 percent Possible ratio that these guys will go see your film and that's part of why animation, you must do cinema before you do screening because it's still a lifeblood for most cinema release Europe.
Speaker 2:A ticket sale is about $9 for tickets in the UK or in Europe or in the US. So if you think about that, nine dollar for 5.5 million tickets, that's kind of size you might make. But again they're all the deduction from the cinema. So in a lot of ways I think because part of the year is a movie that touches pretty much in different parts of africa. The tuareg and also fulani culture is very well known in places like North Central Africa, the Sahel region. It also pretty much touches on aspects all the way to Saudi Arabia.
Speaker 2:I think you can also connect in cultures like Qatar, dubai, middle East. It's something that can really sell very much in the Middle East, and it can also move in places like India and China because of the 2D artistic quality that we carry. And there's also a 3D side to it, though. For us in Nigeria, we really think that it's going to do very well in the box office because it touches everywhere in Nigeria, and it was written by a man from the Southeast C Prod Ndisi was a mentor to king and the rest. So it was about older right now, right, with such strong legacy, right, um. And then it was about the north, I mean the north field. There has been no movie cinema that has been done for them, um. And then, of course, in new legacy, we celebrate the use of technology, of our software, of animation and innovation, tell stories. So there's something there for everyone so okay.
Speaker 1:Well, so you said next year is that, middle of next year, is that?
Speaker 2:beginning almost before the end of next year. But middle looks more plausible than anything, okay, okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:Now that's, this is a huge project, so I mean, I, I, I, I like that you're undertaking it. What is something you wish more people knew about the project that they don't know or that you think they don't?
Speaker 2:know, actually a nigerian title, but it wasn't a nigerian thing because it's a disney project, so it was paid for by disney producing canada. So because this is a project that is being done end to end here in lagos, nigeria, and everyone that is investing the greatest opportunity that all of the talents that is working on this project. We trained them, so this is the opportunity for them to really really enjoy and earn from the skill they've acquired.
Speaker 2:So it's such an exciting opportunity to be creating one of Africa's best projects from the very place here in Nigeria. Animation is most animation from Lion King that has been done has not always been done here in Africa. That we are doing this in Africa is in itself a true testament for Africa that the time of Africa has come a true testament for Africa at the time of Africa's come.
Speaker 1:And you mentioned about 12.5 million people working in animation. Is this globally?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's globally.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, okay. Now, another thing I want to explore is what is something you wish more people knew about you that they don't currently know.
Speaker 2:I think that I think in the early days I was a very disruptive thinker, so I could easily be misunderstood. Right, I live in the future, my mind is always working and thinking and dreaming, but I'm also a. I'm very, very passionate about my faith. I'm a family man with three kids. I love my kids, I love my family and I'm a very passionate person about Nigeria. I love Africa, I love Nigeria, I love family, right, and I think those are areas where I've seen I don't know that it's easily seen or felt Right In the early days. Yes, I could be very optimistic, I could dream, but I've had to mellow over the years as we mature. To be alive, sometimes you have to.
Speaker 1:Mellow mellow. Yeah, yeah, mellow mellow.
Speaker 2:I think to mellow as we mature. I think that, yeah, the years have been good to me as well.
Speaker 1:So how do you strike that balance between living in the future but basically pulling the future into the present? Um, because, like, especially, a lot of us are younger, like we are constantly oh, I want to do this, I want to do that, I want to do this, I want to do that. But how do you, like, make the future the present?
Speaker 2:I think that I had to learn it over time, right?
Speaker 2:because sometimes I'm talking to people and they get overwhelmed because they are seeing I can be talking a decade in a day and they are hearing a lot that needs to be done, but over the years it comes with discipline. I also understand that the thoughts the future is in the thoughts, the past is in the thoughts. The past is in the thoughts and the present is also in the thoughts. So I'm actually very intentional about always learning to be in the present when I'm with people. But when I'm alone I can't dream. But when I'm with people I have to be present and be intentional and pay full attention to being there and there and there and now for them and for whatever the conversation is unfolding. So it's been an art in itself that I've had to perfect or learn over time.
Speaker 1:Okay, and looking at you, because you mentioned being passionate about your faith, family and Nigeria, so what role would you say your faith, family and Nigeria have played in grounding you as you seek and pursue all these endeavors that you're doing?
Speaker 2:Grounding. I think my faith was very much an anchor for me. I've had some major losses, I've had some not so good days, I've had some things that have always been almost nerve-wracking. I've had some things that have always been almost nirvana. But when I realized, what pulled me through is the realization that all that happens to me it's only a passing phase, but at the core of my being I am complete, I am enough. I am today, with all the successes we've had, there is nothing I would lose that would make life lose its meaning, and there is nothing I cannot take that would make life more exciting than it already is to me. I've learned to love life even in the mundane and in the miraculous. I've learned to expect life even in the moment and in the memory. So it's really for for me, the gift of knowing that.
Speaker 2:How do you find peace in a raging storm, faith. How do we find joy even in the most deafening grief? Faith. How do we find company even in our lonely moments? Faith. So faith answers to the very deep need of the human soul and for many people that haven't worked with the night, the dark night of the soul, they might never know how important it is to have belief that transcends right, that that gives you, that sustains you, even in the moment, in your dark moments, and that gives you the ray of hope and the ray of light, even the toil, and the ray of light, even the toil.
Speaker 1:Faith is always that ray of light. What about family?
Speaker 2:Family is also our why? I mean, why do we work so hard? Why do we do the things? We do Everything, we do everything we build. We build because of family, we build for family, and I think that you know the gift of family is to have a home to return to and to have people to share your moments with you. For many of us, I'm learning now that the greatest gift I can give to my kids is not that I provide, but I would provide, but that I'm present, and that is not just to raise my kids, but to raise their consciousness, to help them begin to think and see light from a vantage point of view that helps them to understand there is more abundance in the world than there is scarcity, that they are more connected to God than they are separate from Him, and they are more loved by their parents and by God than they are afraid of being sent to hell should they do something wrong. That love is the greatest force in the world, and love is the greatest force in the world, and family is the place to discover that love and to live it out I love.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that because I think it's easy to forget our why, like, we're doing all these things and we forget, you know, our, that our family, like without our family, without having people that we can share this with, it's just oh, okay, we did this and that's it, but we need to be able to pass on lessons to and also time spending time with those that we love. So, looking at Nigeria, where do you see Nigeria in the next 10 years?
Speaker 2:I think that question is a difficult one to answer, because I would like to give you my best answer that I think that Nigeria has such potential potential to truly become a destination for the world, to become a cultural world power, the cultural capital of the world, to become a cultural world power, the cultural capital of the world, in setting the next dispensation for the creative economy of the world. But again, my prayer, this dream comes with a prayer that we will get our leadership right and at other times we'll have the right people who can come and guide and lead us in the way that we ought to go yeah, okay okay so optimism, but cautious optimism, yes, cautious, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:So okay, now let me ask a question that might be slightly easier to answer. I don't know if this would be easier, but where do you see magic carpets? See magic carpet in the next, in the next 10 years so I see um very easily.
Speaker 2:We are, we have, we are building um, um to become like the pixel of africa, to become the, the company that is known for innovative storytelling. Um, I mean we see um having our theme parks where we can create cultural experiences around our stories, where people can connect and bond. We see a very powerful line for different products. We have a kit and markets that we're planning to launch into. We also want to be known for some of the top-end themes that at least top 10 themes should be owned by Magic Carpet in the next decade. We also want to see a possible IPO where we can do an IPO, launch further down the line and raise more capital.
Speaker 2:So, I think that's what I see. I see a grand, epic, beautiful, glorious empire of storytelling.
Speaker 1:I like that empire of storytelling. I like that Empire of storytelling, I like that. So where can our audience find this empire of storytelling? Where can we find you and your?
Speaker 2:work. Check us out. We are magiccarpet on Instagram. We are magiccarpet on YouTube. We are also on Twitter. We also have Carpet on YouTube. We are also on Twitter. We also have magiccarpetstudio, our website, and on all of these platforms you can check us out and stay plugged in as we evolve together.
Speaker 1:Okay, thank you. Thank you, I really appreciate that. Oh yeah, come come, come, come, come. I want to tell you something. Come and say something. If you got value from that noble conversation, let us know in the comment section below and let us know what you liked. But don't stop there. Oh, don't stop there. Share this video with someone else you think will also get value from this. Don't be selfish, don't be sad, because if you share it with someone else, you think will also get value. What that does is it helps us reach more people with the same value that you've received. That's one. Two it also gives us more visibility to bring on more guests that you would enjoy listening to and getting insights from. And so let's go, come join us, comment and share. Let's go.