Feature film · 2025
The Ferryman's Daughter
A boat pilot on the Warri River keeps one secret from the daughter who wants to leave.
Read the case studyDocumentary series · 2024
Salt and Signal
Four episodes on the creek communities who keep phones, schools and clinics running by boat.
Commissioned by the Delta Story Fund (example)
Credits
- Series director
- Ebiere Tonwe
- Producer
- Tuoyo Ayomike
- Camera
- Ejiro Okpako and Tamarau Ebiowei
- Sound
- Akpevwe Ighodaro
- Episodes
- Four, each 26 minutes
- Commissioned by
- Delta Story Fund (example)
- Languages
- Ijaw, Itsekiri, Pidgin and English, subtitled
Example details for this demo.
The story of the shoot
A boat, two cameras and a lot of patience
Salt and Signal visits four creek communities and the people who keep them connected: a teacher who runs lessons over a phone hotspot, a nurse who travels by speedboat, a mast technician and a fish trader who doubles as the village post office.
We kept the crew to five so we could fit in one boat with the kit and a marine pilot. Every episode was filmed over two visits, a month apart, so the people on screen could see the first cut and tell us what we got wrong.
The drone work was flown by Tamarau, our licensed pilot, with written permission from each community’s leaders.
4
Episodes
18
Days in the field
5
People in the crew
2
Visits to each community
Stills
Frames from the shoot
Select a still to open it larger.
Behind the scenes
How it came together
Access
Six months of visits
We visited each community without cameras first, and agreed what would and would not be filmed.
Field
Eighteen days
Two visits per episode, a month apart, with the boat leaving at 6am to beat the afternoon wind.
Review
Shown back first
Each community saw its episode before anyone else and asked for two changes, both made.
Release
Four episodes
Broadcast on regional television and shown in each community on a projector and a generator.
They brought the film back to us before anyone in Lagos saw it. That is why the village trusted them with the second visit.
Good to know
Questions about this production
Can you film in remote creek areas?
Yes, with time. We plan access first, use a marine pilot and keep crews small. Remote days are quoted with a weather contingency.
Do participants get paid?
Contributors receive a fee and a copy of the film. We agree this before any filming.
Can you add subtitles in other languages?
Yes. We subtitle in English as standard and can add French or Hausa on request.
Next set-up
Want this kind of film?
Start an enquiry with the budget range you have in mind and mention this production. We will say honestly what changes at your number.