Nigerian award-winning filmmaker and director Biodun Stephen has weighed in on the conversation of actors venturing into film production due to the financial opportunities once offered by YouTube.

In an interview, she explained that the advent of digital platforms has encouraged many actors to produce their own films.

“If you talk about actors going into film production in the past few years, it’s caused by the YouTube invasion, and there was quite a chunk of money in YouTube. It was like a big money ritual, but it isn’t the same anymore,” she said.

Stephen noted that despite the financial advantage, she believes filmmaking should not be motivated by money. She opened up on her driving force, revealing that she loves the art of storytelling.

“For me, it’s about why you are doing it. It’s a massive space, and the environment is massive for everybody to fly without touching each other. I tell stories because I think I can change lives, which is very important to me. I came to that realisation in 2011 when I understood that story was powerful, and the onus is on me to change a life one story at a time. If I’m to answer why there is an influx of producers, I will say YouTube money is good. People now understand the power of conversion; by that I mean having a huge fan base,” she added.

ASA