Marketing stressful than filmmaking, says Biodun Stephen

Popular filmmaker Biodun Stephen has said that in today’s digital landscape, marketing a film can be more taxing than producing it.

Stephen made this statement during a recent chat with The Nation.

In the chat, she highlighted the challenges of capturing dwindling audience attention across social media platforms.

“The audience’s attention is diminishing every day because it’s so difficult to get them to engage with your movie trailer but if it’s a skit you will get more engagement. So, it’s best to think out of the box and think of how to market your film.”

Stephen described the personal toll of crafting social‑first campaigns. “Even me, I’m tired because I have to think of what to say or the dance to dance because you can do like twenty takes before it would make sense,” she admitted.

Still, the director insists the effort is worthwhile only when backed by a strong narrative. “If you go through that stress, you must have a very good story. Because the stress of marketing is much more than that of making the film. If you’re doing all that stress, make sure the film is good.”