MSU ALUM RELEASES FIRST FEATURE FILM

“Never give up, not on anyone or anything. You fight ‘til the very end, even if you have to throw a Hail Mary.” 

This is the last message that the audience is left with after the journey of heartwrenching discovery and sweet melancholy that “The Hail Mary” brings to the screen. In a tale of reconnection between a father and son, director Nnamdi Kanaga spills his heart into a script that fosters discussion and brings social justice issues to light. 

Kanaga, born and raised in Nigeria, moved to Montana in 2016 as part of the Ford Foundation Scholarship, where he studied in the film and photography program at MSU. In an interview with The Exponent,Kanaga said that he hadn’t always wanted to be a filmmaker. “Prior to my time at MSU, I wanted to be an actor. I was always doing lots of plays at school and at church… but it was that idea of creating, and when I went back home, I was like, I want to be a filmmaker.” 

In his first feature film “The Hail Mary,” Kanaga tells a very real story about a Black father-son relationship in hopes of creating a conversation about harmful stereotypes surrounding the Black community. “My goal was to make Darius a round character,” Kanaga said. “I wanted to use his narrative to dismantle the absent Black father or dead-beat father stereotype. Hollywood has done a really good job at pushing that narrative and making it seem like that’s what it always is in real life.” 

Kanaga also nurtures a dialogue about how the media perpetuates racism, and that it’s not enough for white people to be performative, but that we must re-examine biases and “rethink the perspective of Black people that we are shown.” Oftentimes stories of marginalized groups are told in a way that makes the white majority comfortable, even if it isn’t true to the original story of Black individuals. With his platform, Kanaga wants to “own [his] narrative,” and reclaim those stories, giving everyone a chance to be seen and heard the way they’re deserved to be. 

In upcoming projects, Kanaga intends to continue giving voices to people who aren’t represented in media by casting and writing for minorities in Montana. “I realized that people don’t write scripts that represent all these different kinds of voices,” he said. Kanaga has taken it into his own hands, hoping to create an inclusive industry that showcases people of all backgrounds across the state. 

For now, he’s coming off the high of finishing such a large project. Compared to his first film, a short titled “Talisman,” “The Hail Mary” had a much larger budget, set and crew. This brought more people, travel and adversity, yet that didn’t stop Kanaga from finding joy in every minute of the process. “It took a lot from me… it’s part of my personal story and it was emotionally draining, it was psychologically draining,” he explained. “But when you do something like that and know something has left you... I felt just joy, I literally smiled. As soon as I got back to my hotel or my bed, I’d go ‘wow, I made this thing’ and I became happy all over again.”

The process of “making this thing,” took Kanaga well over a year, but 17 script drafts later “The Hail Mary” finally came to life. The script actually continued to change and shift even months into shooting. In fact, the heartfelt first scene, inspired by playwright August Wilson, wasn’t added until the 17th draft. “The script kept breathing,” Kanaga said. “I actually wrote one scene the day of filming.” He explained it as a collaborative effort with his cast and crew, allowing it to evolve naturally and to “adhere to [his] team.” This was also the first film that Kanaga was really involved in post-production. 

Getting to this point, however, wasn’t as easy as rewriting a script a few times. Kanaga had to fight hard to not only find a place in the industry but to be heard as well. “I wasn’t sure if my voice would want to be heard,” he said, but he continued on to mention that, if you want something bad enough and work hard enough, “the universe will put something together for you.” Kanaga extends this message to any aspiring filmmaker. “You can’t be afraid to put yourself out there… it’s one thing to dream, but it’s another thing to fight for that dream,” he said. Kanaga also emphasized the importance of not passing up opportunities presented to you — take every chance you get, because “when opportunity meets preparedness [you get] greatness.” 

This is just the start for the young director. With big dreams and aspirations, there’s no telling where Kanaga will be in a few years — hopefully on stage to become the first Nigerian (and of few MSU graduates) to win an Oscar, a target he hopes to reach in his filmmaking career. Keep an eye out for future projects from Kanaga by following him on Instagram @thennamdikanaga and make sure to catch “The Hail Mary” at http://broadcasts.bozemanarts-live.com/the-hail-mary-premiere/,  a gorgeous film about familial relationships and fighting for the people that matter in your life, “even if you have to throw a Hail Mary.”