Chiwetel Ejiofor Hits Out At British Filmmakers

Nigerian-born Hollywood actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, has hit out on the British film industry, accusing its crews of acting like ‘colonialists’ when they film in West African countries.

Ejiofor who was born in Forest Gate, London, to Nigerian parents also criticized their imperialist language.

‘We use military terms, don’t we? We ‘shoot’,’ says the 38-year-old. ‘And the way that works when you’re in a foreign country, when you’re thinking about a British cast and crew is that people tend to sort of channel their inner colonialist.

‘Like, ‘How would my great-grandfather have ruled these masses?’ It’s ridiculous.’

‘We don’t really investigate what Bristol or London or Bath would be without the slave trade,’ he said. ‘Because we really like those cities and the people who live there. So it’s easier to close the door on it and let it go.’

 The Hollywood star, nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in 2013 after his role in ’12 Years A Slave’, might be just the person to set change in motion, as he sees himself one day working behind the camera.

‘I enjoy writing and directing. So a combination of all those things over the next 20 years would be quite interesting to me.’