By Ovio Peters
Steve Babaeko, Chief Executive Officer of advertising agency, X3M Ideas, and a former Drama student who majored in Directing at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has made his filmmaking debut with ‘Ramat’, a short film selected for screening at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) 2026 this November. Rooted in a childhood memory of witnessing his soldier father cry on the day a nation lost its leader, the film marks Babaeko’s transition from decades of advertising and scriptwriting into directing, supported by producer Oluwabukola Makinde of Zero Degrees and a Nigerian cast and crew.
DECISION HIGHLIGHT
Babaeko has converted a long-deferred directing ambition into a completed film with an international festival platform. The selection provides visibility, but the film’s lasting value will depend on its storytelling, audience reception and capacity to translate personal memory into a compelling shared experience.
DECISION MEMO
Babaeko’s move into filmmaking illustrates how professional success can postpone, rather than extinguish, an original creative ambition. Although he studied directing, more than three decades in advertising placed him largely behind other directors’ productions. Ramat reverses that arrangement, bringing him from the creative wings to the centre of authorship.
The film’s foundation is not a commercial brief but a memory preserved for nearly 50 years: a child witnessing his soldier father cry after the death of a national leader. Babaeko recalls being too young to understand the historical significance but old enough to recognise that something profound had happened. That perspective offers the project its central narrative opportunity: connecting private emotion with national history without relying on exposition alone.
Babaeko said: “I did not plan to make a festival film. I just wanted to capture a true childhood story.” The statement establishes the project’s original motivation, but festival selection introduces a different standard of judgement. Personal significance may drive a filmmaker, yet cinematic achievement depends on whether that experience communicates convincingly beyond its creator.
The production also demonstrates the demands of changing creative roles. Babaeko describes balancing script development, storyboarding, casting and location scouting with running an advertising agency. He acknowledges his “insatiability” during post-production, repeatedly identifying details to correct. Such scrutiny can strengthen a film’s execution, although perfectionism must ultimately serve narrative coherence rather than become an end in itself.
Babaeko credits Director of Photography, Nora Oreoluwa Awolowo, for understanding the film’s unspoken emotional dimensions, alongside Makinde, production supervisor, Seun Akinseloyin, colourist, Josh Borrill, and cast members Gbubemi Ejeye, Samuel Adebola, and Durotimi Okutagidi.
AFRIFF offers ‘Ramat’ a platform for continental exposure and places a Nigerian personal narrative within a wider African filmmaking conversation. However, selection is an opportunity for evaluation, not proof of commercial success or critical acclaim. The substantive achievement is that Babaeko has completed the transition from long-standing intention to a film capable of meeting an external audience.
His closing declaration captures the change: “The director is not waiting in the wings anymore.”
DATA BOX
- Film: Ramat
- Format: Short film
- Director: Steve Babaeko, Chief Executive Officer of X3M Ideas
- Festival: Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) 2026
- Screening: November 2026
- Inspiration: A childhood memory involving his soldier father and the death of a national leader
- Producer: Oluwabukola Makinde, Zero Degrees
- Director of Photography: Nora Oreoluwa Awolowo
- Cast: Gbubemi Ejeye, Samuel Adebola and Durotimi Okutagidi
WHO WINS / WHO LOSES
Babaeko gains a directing credit and access to a festival audience. The cast and production team gain shared visibility, while Nigerian short filmmaking gains another personal narrative for continental consideration. No direct losers are identified in the supplied material; commercial returns and audience reach remain undetermined.
POLICY SIGNALS
The film highlights the role of festivals in providing exhibition opportunities for locally produced stories. Its broader cultural value will depend on whether such platforms help Nigerian filmmakers secure sustained distribution and reach audiences beyond festival screenings.
INVESTOR SIGNAL
For creative-industry investors, ‘Ramat’ illustrates the potential to convert professional experience, personal intellectual property and established production relationships into new screen content. Festival selection creates visibility, but monetisation requires evidence of distribution opportunities, audience demand and rights-management strategy.
RISK RADAR
The principal risks are limited post-festival distribution, uncertain audience reach and the gap between personal meaning and wider audience engagement. AFRIFF selection is a credible entry point, but the film’s longer-term significance will be determined by its reception and subsequent circulation.
Ovio Peters is a journalist, reporting on arts, creative economy, business, policy and economic developments through a sharp and analytical lens.
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