…Series already crossed over 90+ episodes with hundreds of thousands of views per reel, can be reached directly at +2349035244044 and ready to go on Flixora, UK’s biggest digital platform for filmmakers & content owners to distribute, showcase and monetize globally
*Open to Hollywood & Nigerian producers’ deal on real life cast and crew for box office hit
*Film chronicles her personal tragedy, struggle, losing her father as a child and selling snacks in the market to survive, which inspired Chisom’s story
*Movie commands huge followership of millions on all social media platforms with audience expressing emotions, shedding tears and skipping meals to watch next edition
*Self-sponsored through the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, studied Creative Arts Education and topmost among most outstanding students in class
*“I am open to a full live action adaptation of ‘Chisom the village Girl’, with interest already flowing in from producers in Nigeria and Abroad. I receive responses, support and inquiries from all over the world. My movie will transform Nollywood. I believe where you come from can create challenges for you, but it shouldn’t determine where you’re going. That shouldn’t place a limit on your dreams simply because of your background”-FAITH, Founder/CEO, Goodies Tales
SHE has become one of the brightest names to emerge from Nigeria’s booming Ai storytelling niche, a creator who turned a laptop and an idea into a movement that now spans continents. Faith Chidiebere Eze is a Lagos based Nigerian Ai storytelling creator and coach, the creative force behind Goodies Tales, a fast-rising brand producing original, Ai generated dramatic and emotional African stories daily under the tagline “Ai Stories That Touch Hearts.”
Her flagship series, “Chisom the Village Girl,” has now crossed over 90 episodes, with individual instalments pulling in anywhere from 173,000 to nearly half a million views apiece, alongside spin off Ai features that have racked up similarly massive engagement. It is a rare feat for a story with no studio, no cast, and no crew, one woman, a story idea, and a following that keeps growing by the day.
On Facebook, Faith commands a fast-growing community of over 112,000 followers, with fans across Nigeria, the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe following the Chisom saga religiously, many describing it as an emotional rollercoaster that mirrors real, everyday African life. It is this devoted Diaspora fanbase, scattered across time zones yet united by one story, that first began calling her “the Queen of Nigerian Ai movie production,” a title she says still leaves her “overwhelmed.”
Behind the crown, however, is a story far removed from royalty. Faith’s journey into storytelling was forged in hardship. She lost her father while still in primary school, a loss that plunged her family of six into financial uncertainty and saw her helping her mother sell snacks and food in the market just to get by. Despite doubting she would even finish secondary school, she sat for her university entrance examination without a sponsor, gained admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka on her first attempt, with a detail her verified education history confirms, and went on to graduate with a Second-Class Upper degree in Creative Arts Education. She is regarded one of the Most Outstanding Students in her set.
It is a background she credits directly for Chisom’s character and the emotional depth that has made the series a Diaspora sensation, proof that the truest fiction is a real-life experience which often wears a different name. She hails originally from Nsukka before building her storytelling empire out of Lagos.
In this exclusive interview with Naija Standard Newspaper Inc USA, Faith Chidiebere Eze, Founder/CEO of Goodies Tales, opens up about the personal tragedy that shaped her most beloved character, the true cost of keeping a daily Ai series alive, and why she believes her runaway hit, “Chisom the Village Girl,” is only getting started, AS REPORTED BY PHILIP FAVOUR BOLUWATIFE/SOUTHWEST CORRESPONDENT, Naija Standard Newspaper Inc USA.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Good afternoon, Faith Chidiebere Eze, it’s nice connecting with you right here from Texas.
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Yes, that’s my name.
*NAIJA STANDARD: You are the CEO and Founder of Goodies Tales, Nigeria.
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Exactly.
*NAIJA STANDARD: It’s good to connect with you here from Texas. We want to do this interview right here with you right now. Our first question is: what inspired you to tell the kind of true-tale African story you tell, the story that feels so real, like every day human living? What inspired you to tell that kind of story?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: A lot of things inspired me to tell that kind of story. Most of the inspiration comes from my own personal experience. There wasn’t just one inspiration behind Chisom’s story, especially the African story you see on Goodies Tales. There were several.
One of the biggest inspirations for Chisom’s story came from my own life. I lost my father at a very young age and losing him changed my perspective on life and my future. At that point, I honestly didn’t know whether I would be able to continue my education or even make it to university. There were many uncertainties, and I remember feeling, at some point, that perhaps my dreams had come to an end. But I didn’t allow that experience to define me. I had to keep going.
Thankfully, people along the way supported me, and I was eventually admitted and able to finish university. So, when I created Chisom’s story, I wanted that same spirit of determination. She comes from a difficult background. And although she receives some help from her aunt, who is ultimately determined to make something out of her, her circumstances don’t define who she is or what she can achieve. That’s something I strongly believe in: where you come from can create challenges for you, but it shouldn’t determine where you’re going. It shouldn’t place a limit on your dreams simply because of your background.
So that experience influenced Chisom’s character, given the fact that she’s intelligent, she knows what she wants, she’s focused, intentional, and determined to change her circumstances. That’s what inspired me to tell this story, and I envisioned it as an African tale.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Here in the United States, it’s believed that the Chisom movie is one of the biggest stories to ever come out of Africa, in the area of Ai-created natural storytelling, and the whole world is feeling it. The African American community here enjoys the story; it’s the biggest story that has ever come out. With this maximum support you have in the United States, and even in the Western community, do you see the Chisom story continuing non-stop, since the whole world is enjoying this Chisom blockbuster?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: It will definitely come to an end. I know it’s a blockbuster, because the feedback I get is awesome. I get a lot of feedback from all around the world concerning the Chisom story. The story continues, but definitely it will come to an end.
*NAIJA STANDARD: It must have cost you a lot to have your ChatGPT, your Ai instrumentation machinery in place to generate this kind of story, because it’s back-to-back, it keeps turning out. Sometimes you have two episodes in a day, sometimes one episode in a day. How much support have you gotten from people assisting you, or how much have you personally put in so far into this Chisom blockbuster, from your own bank account, every month?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: That’s one of the biggest challenges I’m having, because first, I need to be consistent with the story. And the expenses keep increasing. When I started the Chisom story, I used probably, let’s just say $50, subscribing to just one tool. As time goes on, it keeps increasing. I did that from my own personal account. I started it from my own personal bank account and kept sponsoring it from my purse. But at some point, the expenses were too much.
Fortunately, my followers were able to support me financially. At some point, I wanted to stop, because the expenses were much. Subscribing to the tools was something I didn’t even know where to start, because they doubled, tripled the amount of money we pay every month, and I didn’t see that coming at all. So, at some point, I thought, if I don’t get support, there’s no way I could continue.
I had to tell my followers online that the expenses I was making producing these episodes were really too much for me to carry alone, and that I might need to stop for some time. Fortunately, most of them didn’t want the story to stop. They didn’t even want to miss a day. They were like, no, this cannot stop, we cannot allow this to stop. So, I got support from all around the world. They supported me financially, emotionally, and otherwise, and I was able to continue the story.
*NAIJA STANDARD: From your personal pocket, what figure do you think you’ve spent so far, since starting the Chisom story to date?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: I’ve spent thousands of dollars. Calculating it, I’ve spent more than $1,000, or more, on this story.
*NAIJA STANDARD: You know we have the Nollywood industry in Nigeria, which takes a lot of people, setting up a camera, a studio, doing a lot of shooting, even calling in cast and crew. But with Ai, all you have to do is create Ai characters and use your tools. Do you think that with this modern Ai technology you’re using right now, the end of Nollywood, the industry that requires people to go on sets with cast and crew, is coming someday?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: I don’t see Ai as something that should replace human creativity. I see it as another tool available to storytellers. Traditional filmmaking, animation, live-action production, and Ai-assisted filmmaking can all exist together. At the end of the day, audiences connect with stories and emotions. Technology can change, but the human need for storytelling doesn’t disappear. I see Ai as just another tool to bring creativity to the audience, but replace Nollywood? No, no, no, I don’t think so.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Since you started the Chisom story, we know so many Black Americans and Nigerian Americans here in America, and even some of our friends in the United Kingdom and in Europe, have been following the Chisom story back-to-back. Many of them shed tears watching Chisom; even in South America, they’re shedding tears, they’re so emotional. Do you see yourself, someday, turning the Chisom story into a real-life Nollywood movie, with a crew and a cast, titled ‘Chisom the Village girl’, no longer Ai, bringing it to life on the ground, with actors, cameras, and everything, interpreting the movie because it’s going to be a blockbuster?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: It would be a blockbuster if that happened. Part of why we use Ai is that the expense of getting actors and everything else is high. So, if I see the opportunity, if I see the support, why not? I can do that. That’s quite possible.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Are you using this opportunity to reach out to sponsors, to the Actors Guild of Nigeria, and other bodies, to actually bring the story to life beyond Ai?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Exactly. If I find sponsors, people who will guide me, and producers and people who will actually bring this story to life, I will definitely be glad. And to make it more interesting, the story is already a blockbuster, so if any producer or filmmaker eventually takes up this story, I can assure them it’s going to be one of the best out there.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Are you looking at film producers in Nigeria, or producers in Hollywood?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Any and all. If I can find international producers, that would be perfect, because if you look at my audience, they are not just Africans. My audience is from all around the world.
*NAIJA STANDARD: So that means you could get producers from Hollywood, from the United States?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Yes, yes, yes.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Growing up, from your childhood, did you ever dream that someday you would become this kind of reigning, sensational Ai movie producer in Nigeria?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: I’ve always been creative, right from when I was small. I studied Creative Arts in the University, so I’ve always had that creativity in me to tell stories.
But I didn’t have what it would take to bring it to life. When I discovered Ai, and what Ai can do, I was thrilled. That gave me the opportunity to bring my imagination and my creativity to life.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Since you studied Creative Arts in the University, was it easier for you to master the Ai tools used in sequencing these huge African true-tale stories?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: What I studied didn’t give me the privilege of mastering Ai tools directly. What it gave me was the creativity, what I should bring to life, how my story should connect with the audience, the production, the African settings; the environment, the characters, the storyline, how it should move, the emotional connection the story should be able to pass across, and the educational aspect the audience should be able to pick up from it. That’s what my creativity taught me. But with the Ai tools, I practiced many times before I was able to get what it takes to produce a movie the way I wanted.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Right now, in the United States, a lot of African Americans who haven’t even met you in person get emotional about your movies, even in Europe. Many Europeans get so emotional, they tear up watching your movies. Many of them, who haven’t met you one-on-one, now call you the Queen. They call you the ‘Queen of Nigerian Ai, true Ai movies. That’s the title going around right now, all over the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom. They are calling you the ‘Queen of Nigerian Ai movie’
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Wow. That’s awesome. That’s awesome.
*NAIJA STANDARD: How does it feel to be regarded that way, even though you’re currently still in Nigeria? You can imagine, someday, when you step into Europe, into the UK, into the United States, you’ll be welcomed as the Queen of Nigerian Ai true movies. How do you feel today, knowing this recognition, that the Chisom story has boosted you to being celebrated in that way?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Honestly, I didn’t expect this story to go this way. This is just a story I carved out of my own life experience, and I just wanted to put it out there using my creativity. I didn’t expect it, I didn’t expect it to go this far, I didn’t expect people to love it this way. What I feel now is overwhelmed. I feel so happy, because when you see people responding to your creativity this way, it’s quite something. In fact, I’m the happiest person on earth right now, because of the kind of love I’m getting from this story.
*NAIJA STANDARD: How are your family members and friends feeling, watching your Chisom movies and the feedback you’re getting? How are they feeling, and sharing that with you?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Most of them reach out to me and say, “Are you the one creating this? You?” I say yes. They show it to their friends and to everyone they meet, telling them they know this person, and that she’s the one creating this. They feel so proud of me.
*NAIJA STANDARD: If a Hollywood producer wants to reach out to you from the United States, what number can they call you on directly? What email can they message you at?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Should I put it out here?
*NAIJA STANDARD: Yes, put it out here, let the whole world know.
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: All right. My phone number is +2349035244044, and my email is faithebereeze@gmail.com.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Faithebereeze, F-A-I-T-H?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Yes, E-B-E-R-E, then E-Z-E.
*NAIJA STANDARD: E-Z-E, together, one word?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Together, yes.
*NAIJA STANDARD: At gmail.com, right?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Yes, at gmail.com
*NAIJA STANDARD: Now that you’re being called the Queen of Nigerian Ai movie production in the Diaspora, where do you see yourself in two to three years, in terms of Ai movie production? Do you see yourself having exchange programs with other Ai movie producers in the United States and other parts of the world?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: My vision for Goodies Tales is to grow into a major African storytelling and entertainment brand. I don’t want it to remain just a social media page. I want to explore larger productions, collaborate with other creatives, and create projects that can reach audiences internationally. I also want Goodies Tales to demonstrate that African creators can use emerging technology to tell our own stories, from our own perspective.
*NAIJA STANDARD: As a matter of fact, we are going to connect you with Flixora. Flixora is the biggest United Kingdom-based African platform that allows movie producers to showcase their films to the whole world without having to go through YouTube. It’s called Flixora. You can earn money on Flixora through clicks and views; people pay in pounds and dollars for content on Flixora. At the end of this interview, a couple of days from now, once the story is ready, we’re going to connect you directly to Flixora. We’ll give you Flixora’s contact number directly, so you can reach them in London. We’ll also link your story directly to Flixora, so producers can see it, discuss it with you, and use the platform. It’s a platform movie producer, whether Hollywood or Ai filmmakers, use to release their stories without having to go through any censorship board. It’s a platform where you can reach a larger, global audience, and earn money in foreign currency.
Finally, before the last two questions, and we’ll wrap up the interview: from your childhood, what did you study, Creative Arts?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Creative Arts, yes.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Which university did you attend? Tell us about your childhood, how it was.
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: My childhood wasn’t pleasant. My father died at a very young age.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Just like Chisom, right? Go ahead…
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Yes, just like Chisom. My father died, I think I was in Primary 3 when my father died, and things became really difficult for the family. We are a family of six, and things became very difficult when my father passed away. I started helping my mother sell things in the market, like snacks, and most times we sold food, just to make a living. At some point, I didn’t know if I would be able to continue my education. I didn’t even see myself finishing secondary school, let alone entering university. There was quite a lot of uncertainty surrounding me at that point.
But I had faith, and I believed in God. I had the determination and the focus to keep going, even when I didn’t see any help coming, to the extent that when I finished my secondary school, even though I didn’t have anyone to sponsor me for university, I sat for JAMB without having anybody in mind to sponsor me. Fortunately, I got admission on my first attempt into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I reached out to people around me, and even without a sponsor, people helped me. Given that I was focused and knew what I wanted, I was able to finish strong from the University of Nigeria with a Second-Class Upper division. I studied Creative Arts Education.
*NAIJA STANDARD: So that means, like you said, the story of Chisom is a true story of your life?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Exactly, yes, most of it.
*NAIJA STANDARD: What’s your final message to Nigerians and Africans in the Diaspora, and the African American in the Diaspora, who have been looking forward to and enjoying this movie? Are we going to expect Chisom to eventually get married, have her kids? Since Chisom’s boyfriend in the movie, Ethan, and his father had already made a contract that Ethan must marry Vanessa, knowing that Isabella, Chisom’s mother, is now trying to open up to Chisom, while her company took over Uncle Victor’s company, Chisom’s uncle, everybody has been following this in the United States. That’s what people are waiting for right now: whether Chisom will eventually get married to Ethan, since she’s the daughter of Victor, and since that’s the contract. And Isabella, who was holding the company down, buying up Victor’s shares, is going to back down now that she knows she has a daughter, who is Chisom. Good stories of these magnitudes don’t come along all the time, they come very rare in a generation. So, are we expecting Chisom to continue, to have her kids with Ethan, to grow, to have grandkids? What do we expect, or should we just keep it a surprise?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: I just want to let them know that the story is not ending soon. But I wouldn’t want to be a spoiler. Definitely, the story is going in the right direction, and of course, Chisom is going to get married to Ethan. That’s going to happen.
*NAIJA STANDARD: Finally, before I let you go, can we expect that maybe before Christmas, you could do something like a bonanza, where you give out gifts, and the story continues, you could ask some questions, and towards the end, send a full package of some editions of Chisom to those who got the answers right, as a surprise, since your interaction is very powerful on social media? We expect you might have surprises for your fans, in the form of a quiz, towards the end of a Christmas package, since you have one of the largest fan followings on social media around a true African movie.
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: I’ve not actually put that into consideration, but I’ll think about it.
*NAIJA STANDARD: All right.
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: But I will think about it.
*NAIJA STANDARD: What’s your final message to Nigerians, Africans, and African Americans following your story back-to-back? What words of hope, words of advice do you have for them, so they can overcome any circumstance they find themselves in?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: My word to them is that I want people to understand that circumstances don’t have to define their future. Your background can make your journey difficult, and that’s okay, but it doesn’t have to determine the height of your dreams. I also want people to understand the importance of integrity: don’t steal somebody else’s work just to build your success, and don’t allow trust to become an excuse for poor accountability. Ultimately, I want people to walk away believing that where you start doesn’t determine where you will end up. Your background shouldn’t be a ceiling to your dreams.
*NAIJA STANDARD: We don’t want to sound like Oliver Twist, always asking for more, but since we enjoyed the interview: why did you Monika ‘Goodies Tales’? And what’s your philosophy fn life, how do you see life?
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Goodies Tales, just like the name suggests, is tales filled with good things, where you can expect an emotional rollercoaster, everything you’d want in a good movie, a good tale. That’s what you can expect from Goodies Tales, and that’s why I gave it that name.
My philosophy in life, as I said earlier, is that where you come from doesn’t determine where you end up in life. I believe someone’s background shouldn’t be a limitation to where they end up. I believe that when you have determination, when you have focus, when you have faith, when you know what you want as a person; when you don’t have a poor mindset, even if you are poor, nothing will limit you, nothing will place a ceiling on your own desires, your own dreams, what you want to be in life. I believe that.
*NAIJA STANDARD: It’s been nice speaking with you. Thank you so much.
*FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE: Thank you very much.
*PHOTO CREDIT: FAITH CHIDIEBERE EZE
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