The coronavirus pandemic may have put a halt to a lot of things and may have had movie production companies rescheduling release dates or putting a halt to movie shoots but it definitely birthed a lot of ideas.
One of these ideas was Ife, a movie which according to writer and director, Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim was created in the hours of loneliness. Produced by Pamela Adie of The Equality Hub, Ife follows the story of two women, Adaora (Cindy Amadi) and Ife (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) who fall in love and have to struggle with the realities of dating in Nigeria, overridden by sanctimony and hypocrisy.
In Ife, we get a look at a proper portrayal of queer people, something that isn’t as common in Nigerian media. More often than not, queer characters when included are subject to interpretation by the non-queer storytellers who are expected to bring them to life and it often ends up in a hot mess. This time around, we see two young, beautiful women enjoying tenderness and intimacy and generally, a normalised romantic experience for queer people.
Ife touches on the naivety of first dates and how, straight or queer, people wait for an ice breaker moment before getting very comfortable with the other person. It also takes a brief look at privilege as well, especially within the queer community when it discusses accepting parents and conforming to what may seem like the norm.
One thing that’s very interesting to note is the chemistry between Ife and Adora, which makes the film very believable and comes together in a very good way. Aniunoh, who isn’t entirely new to the screen, delivers an amazing performance as the titular character and Amadi’s Cindy, which is her first time in a movie leaves you wanting to see her in more productions.
Apart from the acting, the picture is so great that it makes every scene a delight to look at. Ikpe-Etim believes that her director of photography, Oluseyi ‘Asurf’ Amuwa who had worked on other major Nollywood productions was sent to make it easier for her on this journey, especially as it was her first time directing.
At some point, Ife feels like a love letter to literature, citing popular queer literature like ‘She Called Me Woman’ edited by Azeenarh Mohammed, Rafeeat Aliyu, Chitra Nagarajan, ‘Under The Udala Trees’ by Chinelo Okparanta and a host of other poems that the characters bond over.
Since the trailer was released in July, queer Nigerians on social media have looked forward to watching Ife. For the community, Ife was going to be an accurate depiction of queer dating on the big screen. The film made it’s global debut in Toronto in October and is currently on a festival run. There are no plans to screen in Nigerian cinemas and theatres, due to the Nigerian Film and Video Censor Board who insist that the film violates Nigeria’s strict laws on homosexuality. According to the BBC, the director-general of the censor board insists that producer, Pamela Adie and Ikpe-Etim could be jailed for promoting homosexuality in a country where same-sex relationships are forbidden and can carry a 14-year sentence.
Nigeria, like most countries in Africa, treats homosexuality as an extremely controversial issue, and part of it could be attributed to the fact that Nigerians are very religious people. In 2019, The Initiative For Equal Rights (TIERS) published a survey which showed an increase in the acceptance of LGBTQ people although the balance was still tilted. 60% of Nigerians surveyed said they would not accept a family member who was LGBTQ, a massive reduction from the 83% who put themselves in that category in 2017.
It is why, according to the director, Ikpe-Etim that stories like Ife are very necessary. Uyaiedu thinks that it is very important to hear the full stories and not one-sided stories as is status quo. For her, being a member of an under-represented group means that you are constantly at the mercy of people who don’t understand what it means to be queer and as such, people need to see the full story if society needs to view LGBTQ people in a different light.
Ife is a well-done representation of queer people as they should be. It is provoking, brave and well-done. It stays true to itself, challenges stereotypes and allows people to be seen and not sidelined. It may take a while to get to the total acceptance that should be, but this is a good way to start.
Ife is currently streaming on EHTV Network
Franklin Ugobude is a culture writer and an avid reader who lives in Lagos, Nigeria. He works in Marketing during the day and spends time discussing film and theatre at other times. He has attended critic workshops in Ouagadougou and Lagos in the past. His writings appear on various online and print platforms such as Okay Africa, Awotele, Guardian Nigeria, The Theatre Times, BellaNaija and Pulse Nigeria to mention but a few.
