Charles Novia

Charles Osa Igbinovia (born 20 November 1971), commonly known as Charles Novia, is a Nigerian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, social commentator and essayist. Born and raised in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, Nigeria, Novia is known for films such as Missing Angel (2004), Caught in The Middle and Alan Poza (2013) In 2014, he was chosen as part of the Nigerian team to screen Nollywood films for Best Foreign language category of the Academy Awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Quotes You make it seem as if I have a dual personality. But that might be true. Artistically, I decided to put the actor in me on recess because I found out that I wanted to do more things on the creative side, more things in terms of directing, writing, producing my own stuff. Doing things the way they come out of my head. That is why the appellation “A Charles Novia Think” is unique to me because I call my movies “A Charles Novia Think” instead of “A Charles Novia Film”, because it’s an individualization of my thought process from script to screen. I said I still act, but… mostly in my films. I do one or two cameo roles and all that. I’m still trying to see if I can come back to it one way or the other. But I think the way it is now, I will have to come back to it through my films, not anybody’s… Because somebody was telling me the other day he had a lead role for me. I’m not really crazy about acting anymore. I think I have more recognition now as a director, a writer, than as an actor. I must say I do miss acting. Well, it wasn’t intentional. Of course, everybody would like to massage his or her ego once in a while and know that I’m the person behind this, I’m the actor, I’m a known person. In a way, fame, the glamour, the glitz, the paparazzi and everything, you know, one would have loved a situation like that where I’m in the limelight. But also, having gotten married and trying to keep my life private as it were, I think – for now – the attention my family deserves would come better if I’m behind the scenes than if I’m in front of the camera where there will be much distractions. Well, other actors may not be as naturally endowed the way I am in terms of gifts. I am multi-talented, at the risk of sound egoistic and all that. I’m multi-talented. I’ve been involved in a lot of things. I’ve emceed, I’ve written, I’ve acted, I’ve directed, so I just decided to face what I think is true to me. And I must tell you the truth, within the last couple of years, the financial remunerations from producing and directing is even greater than a million accolades I received as an actor. I must tell you that. (LAUGHING) It’s just now that the industry is getting bigger and paying bigger in terms of artiste fees one way or the other, I also as a producer, was in the forefront of it. When I did a film, “When Love Dies”, and “Real Love”, which really sold, everybody said “okay, it is love movies (that are selling)” and everybody started doing love movies. That is how Ramsey’s fees shot up, because everybody was queuing up for Ramsey, Omotola, Stella… so that’s how fees started going up. Oh, it’s huge. It’s huge. It’s so different. In fact, sometimes, I kneel down and ask God, “God, why did you create me this way?” I am – like I tell my wife all the time – I’m hyper creative. I think in the world right now, my wife and her mother, they might just be the only people who understand me. I’m hyper-creative. I get crazy at times. On this trip to America now, all the other members of the delegation, they are shocked that Charles Novia… I’ve been displaying a little bit of …. having fun. In Naija, they see me all stoic and straightjacketted and quiet most of the time. It is just because at this time, Charles Novia the singer wants to come out. He was quite commercial. He had that blend. People I consider true artists in terms of music – they might not really be popular as such – but people like …Let me take it back to Nigeria. Somebody like Majek Fashek. People I’ve admired, people like… If we go to the old school, people like Victor Uwaifor, people like Rex Jim Lawson… You hear the music and it touches the core of your inner existence. That is what I’m planning to do. I’m not doing it so it becomes a hit. If it becomes a hit, okay, but let it be that in 20 years, 30 years, even when I’m dead, people say “Ah, this guy, he had something.” Because it’s a gift. I’ve been singing right from when I was a kid. I’ve done a lot of singing, done a lot backup. So it’s just that I decided to let all those things go just to face writing and directing because I found out at a very early age that I write. I wrote my first small novella at the age of six. In fact, I will put it that I was a child prodigy, a child wonder in Benin in those days. I didn’t want to lose the essence of that. I felt that first and foremost, that’s my talent. Writing. I still want to do an album, artistic album. I want to do it with analog. I’m so much in love with analog. I don’t believe in computer music. I believe the computer is just… It has come to take away the essence of the human being. Because when you play music, you know that somebody is playing the bass guitar, somebody is playing the drum, the keyboard, the rhythm guitar… Everybody playing is putting the soul into what he’s doing, so you get the feel of that music. But when you use computer music, it’s just one person playing a lot of (instruments). It doesn’t make any sense. So, I believe in the essence, a creative fusion, you know, of all the forces in their different departments making a whole from the total vision. That’s what I also do in my movies, you know? Of course I write and direct my movies. I also can edit if I want to, but I allow other people… On set I even say “give me ideas. Let everything flow so that we all share this vision together”, because I believe in the communal spirit. It’s my own personal decision, because I don’t want to be a Jack of all Trades… And a Master of all Trades, because they say you’re Jack of all Trades and a Master of none. It is very agonizing. But I think the only way I can achieve what I want to do in terms of bringing back those talents is to take it one day at a time. For now, the vision is to propagate the talent of directing. I was at the Berlin Film Festival. One of my movies took me there – “I Will Die For You”. I gave a lecture on Nigerian movies… There’s a lot of international recognition coming my way, which makes me very very fulfilled, satisfied, makes me want to work harder… That is in terms of what I’m doing and in terms of movie production.