Hello www.MeetingVenus.com
My name is Lillian Amah-Aluko from Nigeria. I am the 3rd of 5 children born to Mr. and Mrs. P.S. Amah. My Dad was a Naval Officer and my Mum was a Teacher. Both have departed this life. My 4 siblings are scattered around three continents living in the UK, US and Nigeria. I have both bachelors and post graduate degrees in English from the University of Lagos, Akoka and an International certificate in Film and Television Production from the University of California, Los Angeles. I grew up in Freetown, Sierra Leone and fell in love with the world of movies after watching The Sound of Music when I was about 7 years old in the 70’s.
My role models from Cinema and music were quite a few but Julie Andrews, Elizabeth Taylor, Julia Roberts, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Will Smith, Roger Moore and Whitney Houston stand out.
-Most of what I know about making content came from outside formal school. Aside from the training i undertook in UCLA in Film and Television Production, I have taken several courses in Acting and Production and equally learned by understudying others.
-I am quite fulfilled as I enjoy my work in front of and behind the cameras, acting and producing. Global acclaim will be great of course, but I don’t need it to feel fulfilled.
-In my country, there are a good number of female filmmakers who have made a mark and a few have garnered global acclaim. I personally have not experienced gender related problems in my profession. The many hours and days spent away from home while making movies negatively affects the homes of performers and creators male and female alike, so I don’t consider it a gender related problem though with women being the primary homemakers, it may affect them more than the men.
-The Creative Industry in my country is currently experiencing a major downturn as cinemas have been seriously affected by the global pandemic, but practitioners have risen to the occasion doing as much as they can while trying to observe safety measures. It has slowed things down considerably and safety requirements have greatly impacted on budgets.
-The casting business is tough. Very many actors and too few good roles available so competition is stiff and the casting directors have tough calls to make. There’s also a lot of lobbying, but I have been relatively lucky in that I have gotten quite a few really good roles without much effort. This year, in spite of the 4-month lockdown (during which I didn’t work at all), I have worked on 4 productions and presently on the 5th one. I look forward to a better 2021.
-I select jobs carefully. Some of my considerations are the script, the producer, the director and the lead actors. If they are in consonance with my career objectives, I then prepare as best I can to get into the character. While on set, I relate well with cast and crew so as to create a bubble of cordiality around me which fuels my creativity.
-My very first professional acting role as Alero in Out of Bounds. That performance fetched me two awards.. Reel Awards Best new actress 1998 and The Movie Awards (THEMA) Best upcoming actress 1998.
-I am also a writer with two published books: Echoes of a Heartbeat released by Athena Press in 2010 and Dreams of Yesterday published by Kraft’s Groits in 2015.
-For the newcomers, I suggest to them: get some training, create your own identity, put in the work, be patient and stay focused. Success will come when it will come.
-I compartmentalize between my private life and professional practice. When it’s time for work, I give it my all. When it’s family time, I don’t compromise on it. I keep my private life away from the press and only permit publicity on my professional practice.
-Next: I’m currently starring in a series titled Oasis: the enemy within. Have a movie in pre – production and in discussion for another series and a movie. I’m not at liberty to disclose the titles of any of these for now.
