The film parades a mixed cast of Nigerian and American actors.
'Hate from the Altar', an inspirational movie by an award-winning Nigerian-American Filmmaker Temitope Adebiyi's film will premiere at the Faith Dome in Maryland, U.S., on 24 March.
The movie, which was shot in November and December 2022 in Maryland, U.S., tells the story of a young girl whose emergence as the new choir leader of a church sparks up controversy amongst the choir members and within the pastorate as it is rumoured that she is having an affair with her boss at work.
Efforts to get her removed revealed a more profound secret in the church.
The movie stars Kike Ayodeji, Ayodeji Adekoya, Paul Tolbert, Lekan Adeiga, Kazeem Omotolani, and Simeon Dan and introduces Olalani Akinyode.
Unusual Storyline
The movie's artistic director, Temitope Adebiyi, told PREMIUM TIMES that some of the church's challenges inspired the film.
"The church, which is supposed to be a house of love, has been turned into a place where hatred and jealousy are the new standards of the time.
"Going by recent events and stories about happenings, hypocrisy and problems in Churches, I realised that the major missing link is the lack of love in the church. Then I feel there is a need for me as a filmmaker to talk about this."
Mr Temitope, a certified screenwriter and Filmmaker from the New York film Academy, said that he initially intended for it to be a short film. Still, along the way, he discovered that the significant subject matter was too broad to be a short film.
Describing the movie as a religious-centric film, the award-winning filmmaker said it could best be described as a Christian film because it passed a solid message to believers.
The filmmaker, who bagged his first degree in Dramatic Arts at the Obafemi Awolowo University, said it would help Christians remember many things not expected of them as Christians.
He, however, highlighted that the plot was not your typical Nigerian gospel movie storyline and that he would screen it in Nigeria.
"My significant targets are churches. We have the premiere next month, and we have some churches in the USA that have shown interest in hosting the screening," he said.
Cast
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Temitope, taking his time to explain his choice of cast, revealed that he chose them after critically analysing their strengths and not through formal auditions.
"As a filmmaker, I always try to pay attention to my cast. What formed my decision on the casting was reaching out to people I have worked with before; I know their acting strengths and which role they fit into because I didn't conduct any audition," he said.
He, however, explained that he was working with some of the cast for the first time and added that he deliberately featured an American actor in the film.
"I have a lot of American actors I have worked with that I could have brought in for the project, but there is something I am looking for in my actors for this project that is beyond their acting skill or nationality. So I had to work with only those who have it."
Challenges
Speaking of challenges encountered in the movie production, he said adjusting to the busy schedules of his cast and crew.
"One of the major challenges in shooting the film is getting film time with the actors. The film was shot in a country where people have busy schedules- work and family, and acting is not a full-time job for anyone," he said.
Without disclosing the film's budget, the filmmaker, who trained at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Russia, assured the public that they would be amazed by the outcome.
The filmmaker, who presently lives in Washington DC has produced films like 'Down from heaven', 'Backchat', 'Pa said to me', 'The dead saved me', 'Late Move', and, most recently ', Hate from the Altar'.
