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Filmmaker Interview with Tope Laguda
- Chris Olson
- Apr 25
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 27
Filmmaker Interview by Chris Olson
Hi Tope, thanks so much for doing this interview with UK Film Review. Please can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
My name is Tope Laguda. A lot of people can't pronounce my name but the closest to it is toh-pay. As long as you don't call me toupe, I'm good. I am a new filmmaker but relatively late to the industry. I'm what you would call a late starter in general. I tend to do my own things in my own time. I guess that kinda makes me special. I had a stint in TV commercials as a kid in primary school, was in the drama club and the social prefect in secondary school and a really good dancer too so, it hasn't been a surprise to a lot of people who have known me from when I was little that I would eventually make my own film. I wrote the screenplay for my film, "What No One Knows" but still suffer from impostor syndrome. Haha! I am currently writing 2 screenplays, but it would be good if I could finish one though. My mind flits from one task to another and no, I do not have ADHD.
Good to know haha. Can you tell us the name and a bit more about the film(s) you are working on?
I am still trying to decide a name for them. I feel like a mom-to-be who will only know what to call her child once she sees their face. I guess I'll be more decisive once the story is done. If however, you mean latest latest, then it will be What No One Knows which is currently streaming on Prime Video and I'm working on the marketing for it.
For those who haven't yet seen What No One Knows, what's the synopsis you give to a potential viewer?
Two women, lifelong friends, embark on a shocking act of deceit, which they believe will help them both, neither foreseeing the devastating impact it will ultimately have on each of them and their families.
When me and Brian reviewed the film on the UK Film Club Podcast, we loved it. Why did you want to make this film?
It had been bugging me for so long! It was conceived in 2006 when my daughter was 8 months old and I tried to bring it to life, but wasn't getting any success,s and I soon forgot about it, but in 2018, when it looked like my life was going nowhere, I picked it up and started developing it.
As fate would have it, the delay worked in our favour because my daughter, the same one who inspired the story, ended up playing the younger version of my character in the film.
I wanted to fulfil my dream of bringing my talent to as many people as possible.
That's amazing! I can imagine there were plenty of challenges along the way?
Oh my goodness! There were and still are a lot of challenges.
Putting the funds together, we couldn't find anyone to believe in us enough to invest in the project so, we ended up funding it ourselves. Then we had the pleasure of working with challenging actors who made production actual hell on earth.
My co-star threatened to beat me up on set! It was chaotic and for a first-time production, it almost put me off but for the love of filmmaking.
I always knew it was what I wanted to do.
Then there is the challenge of selling the film as a black female first time filmmaker! It is an absolute jungle out there. Not to talk of falling into the hands of unscrupulous individuals who claim to be sales agents lie and take your money and not deliver on their promises.
I can only talk about how I've overcome them when I have overcome them, but right now, I am still going through them and I am staying positive. After all, my film is now on Prime Video. It's another step forward.
That sounds terrible. It's great you still have such a fire burning for filmmaking. Why do you make movies?
The best way to get away from reality is to create your own reality. Filmmaking gives you that control. Writing allows you to decide where you want to take your characters, what you want to do to them and whether you want the audience to love them or hate them. You are in absolute control (if you have the money haha!), which is something that life doesn't allow you to do.
Believe it or not, Home Alone lit a fire in me. The young Kevin McAllister, and everything about the 1st and 2nd instalment. I watched them so many times I knew the whole screenplay by heart. Shonda Rhimes as a writer/creator/producer, is an inspiration.
I love me some Viola Davis and Mr Spielberg, but ultimately I'm inspired by my environment and everyday people like myself. I'm quite picky about where I get my inspiration from :)
What advice would you give to someone just starting their career?
Do not trust everyone who tells you they know what they are doing or that they've got experience and know better than you do.
Always do your due diligence on people and ask questions. Anyone who asks you to put money down before they help you is not there to help you.
Filmmaking is not for the weak, do it if you really love it. If you are going into it for commercial reasons, you might want to look elsewhere.
That's sound advice. Who would you love to work with and why?
Viola Davis, Shonda Rhimes, Kevin Hart. Viola and Shonda are powerhouses that will challenge me and make me unlearn and relearn everything! Kevin Hart will help me explore my funny side and it would be mad fun to be with him on set.
Other than promoting What No One Knows on Prime Video, what's next for you?
I will continue to work on my next two scripts which I believe will raise the bar even higher than what we have done with What No One Knows.
You can find out more about Tope and her filmmaking below:
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