Desmond Ovbiagele: 'I want to raise the bar in Nollywood'

Ex-banker-turned-filmmaker, Desmond Ovbiagele whose latest crime drama, “Render to Caesar” is due to premiere in the cinemas nationwide from March 28, has revealed that his love for crime stories inspired the production of the big-budget movie.

According to him, what he tried to do with “Render to Caesar” which features most of Nigeria’s finest actors such as Gbenga Akinnagbe, Omoni Oboli, Wale Ojo, Kalu Ikeagwu, Bimbo Manuel among others was to set a new standard for film making in Nollywood in terms of acting, scripting, story line and production values.

“I love crime dramas. At the time, I wrote the story, there were a lot of crimes being committed in the streets of Lagos,” he stated.

On casting Omoni Oboli as the lead act, Ovbiagele said, “She's highly professional on set.”

‘I was looking for a professional in terms of her approach to work; I have heard a lot of stories about actors and actresses on set. After my research, I found out that Omoni is very professional and is somebody who knows her onions.”

Shot on the acclaimed red Epic camera, “Render to Caesar” is a production of Mighty Man Entertainment. The movie examines themes of crime and corruption, psychological trauma, as well as friendship and romance, in a story that chronicles the journey of two friends who return home from abroad to join a special programme in the police force as detectives. They are immediately assigned the daunting mission to hunt and apprehend a psychotic crime lord wreaking havoc in Africa's most populous city.