A Nigerian LGBTQ right advocate, Pamela Adie, is set to release the first-ever gay movie in Nigeria titled ‘Ife’. The story revolves around two lesbia
A Nigerian LGBTQ right advocate, Pamela Adie, is set to release the first-ever gay movie in Nigeria titled ‘Ife’. The story revolves around two lesbian partners, Ife and Adaora, who fell in love and struggled through the challenges of being in a same-sex relationship in Nigeria.
The movie directed by Uyai Ikpe-Etim is set to change the narrative and the representation of LGBTQ (Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) in Nollywood.
However, the National Film and Video Censors Board says it knows what to do if the producers of the movie do not present it for censorship. According to PremiumTimes, Adedayo Thomas, the executive director of the agency, said that any film to be shown in Nigeria must be submitted to the board for the necessary ratings as the law of the land prohibits some certain things.
“As long as it is Nigerian, it will be tracked down. Even those who are involved in it too. Before you get yourself involved in certain things, there must be a contract. What is the contract? An ignorance of law is not an excuse. If you say you’re shooting a movie on the concept of lesbianism, fine, that is the work. It has not gotten to our table, when it gets to our table, we will know that this is what we are going to do.”
‘Ife’ is a story which revolves around two lesbian partners, Ife and Adaora, who fell in love and struggled through the challenges of being in a same-sex relationship in Nigeria.
The producer, Pamela Adie, said that the portrayal of same sex relations in Nollywood is not the reality of everybody and their stories, especially lesbians, need to be told.
“We only see stories about LGBTQ people that condemn us, to say that we are people to be beaten, sometimes even killed. That is the kind of narrative that we get from Nollywood but that is not the reality. We are human beings too, just like everybody else.
“The idea was just to show that we are normal people who fall in love, who have their hearts broken, who break hearts, who have troubles, who triumph. We also aim to increase the visibility of the community, to tell the lesbian story too and to drive social acceptance,” she said.
Nigeria has a Same-Sex Prohibition Act, signed into law in 2014, which prohibits marriage or public show of same-sex “amorous” relationship. Defaulters are liable to a jail term ranging between 10 – 14 years. Cases of homophobia are common across Nigeria and law enforcement agents frequently clamp down on suspects.
