Onyeka Nwelue’s talk show is back for its second season. The Onyeka Nwelue Show first aired in 2018 on Linda Ikeji TV. Eghosa Imaseun, author of Fine Boys, was a guest in its first season. To pilot the new season, Nwelue spoke to the South African writer Lidudumalingani Mqobothi, who is also a filmmaker, photographer, and screenwriter. They discuss writing, race, xenophobia, and filmmaking.
Onyeka Nwelue is a filmmaker and the author of three novels: The Abyssinian Boy, The Beginning of Everything Colorful, and The Strangers of Braamfontein. His documentary on the Nigerian writer Flora Nwapa, titled The House of Nwapa, premiered in 2016.
For two years, he had to put production of The Onyeka Nwelue Show on hold after a car accident confined him to a wheelchair for months.
In a comment to Open Country Mag, Nwelue praised superstar blogger Linda Ikeji as the “brainchild” behind the series. “She came up with the idea. Pitched it to me,” he said. “Her love for art and literature made her ask me to do this show on her channel.”
The show is all “freewheeling and unscripted interview sessions with writers, filmmakers, musicians, booksellers and intellectuals. I spend time, having intimate conversations with my guests. I don’t write out the questions,” Nwelue told Open Country Mag.
The current season of The Onyeka Nwelue Show is co-executive produced by Linda Ikeji and Ugochukwu “TerryTheVoice” Odenigbo. It is produced by the South African entrepreneur Mmamello Matake and directed by the Nigerian filmmaker Dan Akinlolu.
Watch the pilot episode with Lidudumalingani Mqobothi:
