Rimini Makama worked as a principal legal assistant in the Office of Legal Affairs at the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), provided strategic communication advisory to the Lagos Fashion and Design Week and was listed by Forbes as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa.

She is the executive producer of Green White Green, premiering at TIFF this year as part of the City to City program. The lineup showcases gutsy new works by contemporary directors living and working in one of the world’s biggest film industries – the city of Lagos, Nigeria. The film is a coming of age a story about three young boys from Nigeria’s major ethnic groups. We caught up with Makama this week.

SDTC: For you personally, what does it mean to be Nigerian?

I’m smiling thinking about how to respond to this. I’ve never known anything else. To be Nigerian means applying for visas everywhere you go, listening to silly jokes about Nigerian princes and have people ask you your name over and over. But personally, being Nigerian means being born with DNA for survival that allows you to adapt to every situation quickly and hit the ground running no matter what. I think you’ll find that illustrated vividly in Green White Green (which are the colours of the Nigerian flag). If you watch the movie to the end, listen to the song it ends with: “Nigeria go survive” (it means Nigeria will survive) by Veno. It’s from 1984 but it captures who I am as a Nigerian perfectly from lyrics to rhythm…that is the Nigerian spirit. If you ever want to get a feel of Nigeria or its people, listen to that song.

Why was it important for you to get behind this project?

I am a great believer in investing in people. Talent meets determination, drive and most importantly commitment to not give up and see things through. I know Abba has a vision and will 100% see it to fruition. That’s something you can take to the bank. I wont deny that there is a little bit of positive nepotism at play…the small matter of the director being my brother, plus my favourite line from the Telfon Don album is, “Put my last name first” – we always support family.

Can you briefly summarize what this film is about?

It’s a story of friendship, growth and self-discovery. To put it into more familiar terms, remember when you just graduated from high school and you had to decide your next move. This is it – but throw in a friendship threatened by societal expectation, middle-class living, struggling to make ends meet and the need to just have fun as young adults, but knowing the future is nigh. You have to watch it!

How does it differ from the typical Nollywood story?

It’s a satire and it’s an indie movie, not a big famous cast or backed by a major producer. Most films are drama. A lot are themed around traditional Nigerian issues – the rags to riches story, voodoo, the evil stepmother, Cinderella-type stories, etc. Admittedly, that is an older generation of Nollywood storytelling but one that very much exists.

What are the biggest issues that young Nigerians face in 2016?

It depends on who you ask. Many young Nigerians will tell you there are no jobs or opportunities to get ahead and allow them to compete with peers on a global scale. Some will tell you it’s access to capital to drive entrepreneurship and a need to create an enabling environment to allow investors to invest in them and scale their businesses. Another will tell you it’s a lack of opportunity to participate in governance and make meaningful contributions.

As with one of the characters in the movie, a lot of the millennials live for the American Dream: a chance to live in New York and have electricity on demand, things other people take for granted.

Another issue is education. Are they being equipped with skills that will be useful in the next ten years? With the fourth industrial revolution we will eventually become transitional and become a digital economy. Ultimately, I think jobs may top the list. A good place to feel the pulse is on Twitter. Admittedly this is a very small representation of the population, but it’s still a useful indicator.

What do you want audiences to take away from this film?

Internationally I want them to see how similar we all are: the dreams and frustrations, the challenges of friendship, the catapult of privilege (and the consequential effects of the lack of) and the universality of family pressure. I also think it’s a great opportunity to show how vibrant our film industry is and change the narrative that already exists. We should become part of the global film industry and not something you refer to as a novelty. I think you’ll find all the other films showing are also challenging this notion.

Locally it has another meaning for me, bridging a divide of ethnicity – which is made possible in Lagos, where it was shot and I live. I want to see that same spirit unify us as a country and I hope this film can help begin that process. Creatively I want audiences to embrace satire as a genre and appreciate that we have different sorts of filmmakers in Nigeria.