Nollywood Gbas Gbos: Fatimah Gimsay and Akay Mason Talk Set Drama, Ego & Film Money

Forget your regular, polished press conferences! Nollywood directors Fatimah Gimsay and Akay Mason decided to do things differently. In a special episode of Directors Eye, these two giants in the making turned the cameras on each other, giving us a raw, unfiltered look into their world.

Gimsay, who just dropped her feature debut crime thriller, Black Market, and Mason, fresh off releasing his mystery flick Five Figurines, chopped it up on everything from friendship on set to the real price of putting a single frame on screen. No cap, this gist was heavy!

From Small Bubbles to Big Worlds

Fatimah Gimsay had to break down how her first feature, Black Market, is different from her short films. She sabi her craft, describing her shorts as small, contained bubbles with limited characters just doing their own thing. But Black Market? Nah, that one is a "world within a world" – a whole ensemble piece about a market and a tightly run fuel-smuggling operation. She says it gave her space for a full range of emotions, even with the big jump in scale. What remains consistent, though, is her focus on complex female characters. We love to see it!

Friendship, Fights, and Final Say

The gbas gbos continued when they touched on working with friends, specifically producer Nora Awolowo, who is Gimsay’s close padi. Both women are perfectionists, and Gimsay was honest about how people assume friendship makes everything smooth. E fit no be so! Before shooting even started, Gimsay sent Nora a whole email – half memo, half commandments – on how they would handle conflict. The rule: disagree only for the film's sake, and if resentment starts bubbling, somebody has to japa immediately. Sha, when 2 a.m. exhaustion hit on set, Nora would just remind her of the shot list Gimsay herself insisted on. Gimsay found that accountability sweet, not bitter. She says they fought because they cared. Omo, deep!

Then came the million-dollar question: co-directing. Gimsay is open but careful. She almost co-directed another project, but after riding solo on Black Market, she kinda likes having full responsibility. For her, co-directing go depend entirely on the person and the story; personality matters as much as talent. But Akay Mason? He’s been there, done that, twice with Day of Destiny and Adam and Eve, and he said "never again!" He likes to have the final say on the picture, confessing that ego plays its part. Both of them agreed that directors can be sensitive and sometimes even arrogant, so having two strong opinions on one set can turn small friction into full-blown wahala. Who dey manage that kind tension?

Producing, Pictures, and Real Prices

When Gimsay flipped the script, she asked Mason about directing and producing Five Figurines under his Element24 Media company – his first time doing both. Baba said the logistical load caught him off guard: endless group chats, sign-offs, decisions he used to think were far from his table. He now understands the true cost of a single frame and has learned to balance creative dreams with practical limits. The experience, he said, has grounded him and given him serious respect for producers. No wonder, the wahala no be here!

Mason also dropped some serious technical gist about Five Figurines. He used two aspect ratios deliberately! Scenes set in Bimbo Akintola's character's intimate world are in 4:3, compressing the image and showing closeness. But when the story moves to the richer, more chaotic world outside, the frame opens up to 2.39:1. This wider view brings in more visual noise, reflecting the overwhelm of that environment. He worked on this shift with cinematographer Emmanuel, whom he calls the most beautiful picture he has made so far. Talk about intentional!

Beyond the Big Screen

When asked what he wants audiences to remember from his work, Mason kept it real about emotion and family. He hopes people leave the cinema feeling something genuine, with questions buzzing in their heads. For him, escapism is key: two hours to forget real life and dive into another's, before coming back to your own. We relate, abeg!

The chat ended with rapid-fire questions: favourite films that sparked their directing passion, dream collabs if budget wasn't an issue (Gimsay named Genevieve Nnaji, Mason shouted out Nse Ikpe-Etim and Michael B. Jordan), and the weird comfort of set life versus the emptiness after wrap. Both confessed they just love stories that move them, whether big hits or quiet personal works. And for one word to describe each other? Intelligent, intentional, passionate. No cap, these two directors are definitely going places. What do you think their next big move will be?