Kate Henshae explains why she told her story in pictures

Last week, dark and lovely thespian Kate Henshaw, launched her photo book and she had pictures chronicling her 20 years in Nollywood. She tells Rasheed Abubakar of Encomium, why she decided to write her autobiography in pictures...

What informed your decision to write the book in picture form? I am somebody who likes to keep things. I have information of more than 10 to 20 years. So, when I met the publisher of Royal Times, Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, he asked me about my projection for the industry in few years to come. I told him I really know, but I pray I am still here to make a difference. He suggested I should write a book and I told him I am not an author, I wouldn’t know what to write. However, I told him I have pictures as far back as 1993 when I started. So, he suggested we should tell a story with pictures because pictures, they say, are worth a thousand words.

I brought all my pictures, including the VHS copies of my first movie, When the Sun Set, even the movies the producers themselves don’t have the clips anymore, I have them.
The purpose of this is to remind ourselves where Nollywood was coming from; and where we are going, which is our final destination. 

What comes to mind when you see those pictures of yours today?Wow…thin neck!!! (Smiles) Did you see the pictures of the biggest Nollywood artistes back then during the memory line segment? I am sure you saw hunger in them, but at the same time, you saw professionalism. People who are determined to succeed. We’ve come a long way, and along the line, we’ve lost a lot of our colleagues.
20 years is not a joke…
(Cuts in) It’s not beans (smiles)…

So, what has kept you going?It’s God!

Apart from God?It’s God, God, God. 

Your message to Nollywood?We should continue with what we know how to do best; our stories in particular should be improved and I believe we’ll get there one day.