After months of raising awareness, Equality hub premiered Under the Rainbow (the documentary) at a private screening event in Lagos, Nigeria on Friday, 28th June 2019. Under The Rainbow is documentary is a narration of a Nigerian lesbian’s journey of self-discovery.
In Under The Rainbow, Pamela Adie, founder of Equality Hub takes us through her experiences, a first-hand journey of what it is to be homosexual in an unforgivingly homophobic society, and the total alienation that can come from being despised, ostracized and ridiculed by the ones you love.
Written, Produced and Directed by Pamela Adie, the documentary also featured voices like Ese Walters, Olumide Makanjuola, Chude Jideonwo, Ade Balogun who shared on the importance of storytelling in accelerating social acceptance of LGBT people and tackling homophobia. “We must tell our stories because telling our stories helps us understand ourselves better,” Ade said.
The premiere was attended by notable Nigerians such as Denrele Edun, Eberechukwu McNwizu, Chude Jideonwo, Human Rights advocate Olumide Makanjuola, Human Rights organizations, as well as members of the diplomatic community.
“We’re so happy to finally release this film to the public,” Ms. Adie said at the premiere.
“It is no secret that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people in Nigeria face many challenges; rejection from family, discrimination, and multiple violations of our human rights. So we made this film to contribute to the ongoing conversation around social inclusion especially for lesbians, whose stories are often not part of conversations around equal rights in Nigeria. We hope that this adds to an inclusive conversation and also inspires others to join the conversation by sharing their own stories.”
At the premiere, a panel session featuring Pamela Adie, Chude Jideonwo and Oyinkansola on the importance of storytelling and the state of the LGBTQ movement in Nigeria ensued. Speaking on the panel, Chude Jideonwo said: “We haven’t even started, but effective storytelling is how we even get started.”
Although the premiere was a private event, The Equality Hub is organizing multiple public screenings across the country pending its digital release on its official website in coming weeks.
The Equality Hub is a non-governmental organization working to amplify the stories of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in Nigeria through visual storytelling and other forms of advocacy.
Check out pictures from the event below;
Watch the teaser for Under The Rainbow Documentary here;
