DC Productions Sponsors UNILAG Students to “143” Movie Premiere

By Barakat Lawal and Doreen Austins

The Mass Communication students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), on November 30^th, 2024, took a trip to watch the first airing of the Nigerian movie ‘143’ at the cinemas, sponsored by its producers, Diana Childs Productions.

The movie which was officially released on November 22^nd by DC Productions, held a special screening for students from the department at Ozone Cinemas with no charges and transportation costs fully covered.

In an interview with UNILAG Sun, Diana Childs, a film-maker and the producer of the 143 movie, revealed that the decision to offer free airing of the movie to Mass Communication students was to show them the possibility of their dreams in film and production being fulfilled.

“I am sure that there are some Mass Communication students, who will be interested in film, so DC Productions wants to show them that it’s possible. I am Diana Childs, a self-funded film maker and I want young people to see that their dreams are valid and achievable through hard work and dedication,” she said.

Speaking of how the inspiration of the movie title came about, the writer and producer, Diana highlighted, “The concept of 143 came from a movie I watched as a kid–how Stella got her groove back and it stuck with me. Story behind the title was when I was younger and I used 143 in letters a lot. 143 simply means ‘I Love You”.

Explaining the writing process of the movie, she noted that, “the writing process was straight forward, as I had this concept in mind for years so I already knew how I wanted to tell the story. When it came down to writing, I just had to focus on the scene by scene treatment, the dialogue and character development. I wrote the scenes around actors I had already cast, so they were my muse”.

Diana hopes her movie has a great impact on the society and the viewers derive lessons from it.

“The significance of the movie to the society are the things highlighted in the movie; happenings around us and as film makers and story tellers, we have to shed light on them. Speak up if you experience abuse. Also, don’t just be a by-stander when you see someone going through something, help if you can”.

She further emphasized that the movie offered valuable insights and provides a unique opportunity for young adults to learn about relationship dynamics, also distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy relationships.