Home means different things to different Nigerian LGBT+ persons and for various reasons too. LGBTQ+ persons are almost always left with no choice but to create a home for themselves elsewhere after being burnt by their biological/initial family with experiences of abandonment to, rejection, and harassment.
This experience is at the center of ‘Country Love,’ a coming-of-age love story about a queer man who returns home after fifteen years only to discover that there is no reason for him to stay. The film explores memory, love, and sexuality—and how these experiences affect queer people.
“I wanted a story that centered on siblinghood, on love, on place, on home, on those things dear to us that bring back memories but at the same time could cause us pain and suffering.” Wapah Ezeigwe, the writer and director of Country Love, tells The Rustin Times. “I feel like the decision to stay or to leave a situation that stifles one’s truth affects queer people immensely, and I wanted to capture that with this film.”
The idea for Country Love came to Ezeigwe while they worked as a contributor for The Muse Journal at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. “I saw a poem by some poet. I think the title of that poem was ‘STAY.’ That title alone was a spark. It’s weird, right? I can’t remember the content of the poem, but the title stuck with me for a very long time, and it consistently created in me this strong emotional scenario where one has to take a decision to stay or to leave, maybe a situation, a place, a loved one.”
Films like this, however, are constantly hampered by controversies. Across the continent, there is a lot of resistance towards LGBTQ-themed projects. Last year, the Nigerian Film and Videos Censors Board threatened to arrest the producers of Ife, a first-of-its-kind lesbian love story shot in Nigeria.
But Wapah Ezeigwe is not worried.
“I have had my own share of fear already. If there is anything I still fear, it is the reception of the film by audiences. I don’t know what it would open to them. I don’t know how they would receive it. Moreover, I do not make my film for Nigeria; it is only a geographical territory. I make my films for queer audiences first,” Ezeigwe says. “That does not mean that I am not aware of the illegality of homosexuality in the country, but it would be ridiculous if I let it impose on my art. I will not survive that. My art is precious to me, and the only way stories come to me are queer inspired. I am not just a filmmaker; I am a queer filmmaker who is femme. It is something deeply emotional, psychological, and strongly political for me.”
The film stars budding actors Kelechi Michaels, Divine Ahiwe, and Uzoamaka Onuoha in the lead roles. For them, the theme of the project and the importance of stories like this motivate them to work on the project.
“It takes a lot for someone to accept that they would never be enough for certain people in their lives regardless of the relationship they have with them,” Kelechi Michaels, one of the actors, tells The Rustin Times. “I think it is powerful just to say ‘F@%k it!’ Leave everything behind and choose YOU and your happiness. I want them to understand that family isn’t always by blood & to never settle for less. Hopefully, people can get to see the struggles of not only being queer but also being femme as a man in Nigeria. It is something I experienced first-hand on set. We shot ‘Country Love’ in a remote village in Nsukka, so the villagers would gather around whenever we filmed. I would hear the back talks, giggles, and whispers when I got into character. Even though I was playing a character, it still made me feel some way. Now, imagine the femme queer men that have to deal with that all the time; it made me appreciate them even more.”
“I want the audience to see how it’s okay to leave your ‘fatherland’ to seek happiness somewhere else.” Divine Ahiwe added. “Your happiness, as an individual, matters the most, so go find it, leave everything behind, and find it.’
Uzoamaka Onuoha believes the project will help people understand the LGBT+ community.
“I am on a learning journey regarding the LGBT community. I can’t say I have full-on knowledge, but I am learning and understanding. This is what I want people to take from seeing this film – learning a little more, understanding a little more, and having empathy,” Onuoha adds.
Wapah Ezeigwe hopes the film will spark more alternative forms of storytelling in the Nigerian film industry.
“If there is anything I want to see happen when people see this film, it is for more queer filmmakers who are passionate about queer liberation to be deliberate about telling queer stories. It is for more queer films to be on the big screen and for more queer characters to linger in our hearts after we leave the cinema on a Friday evening or a Sunday night,” Ezeigwe hopes. “I do not want us to be invisible, although visibility makes us vulnerable as Audre Lorde says, I believe it is our greatest weapon! We must refuse erasure aggressively, and that is what art can do. That is what film can do.”
Country Love is tentatively scheduled for release in December 2021 and will be screened at various international film festivals.
