Lesbian Nigerian Movie Set For Release With Filmmakers Risking 14-Years Jail Term

Lesbian Nigerian Movie Set For Release With Filmmakers Risking 14-Years Jail Term

Ekohotblog, September 17, 2020…

Pamela Adie and Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim, Film makers of a Nigerian movie fashioned to depict the story of two lesbians “Ife” risk being jailed over it’s launch.

According to report, the film makers have been issued a stern warning by the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB)

But the filmmakers are adamant about releasing the movie, and in a bid to bypass the laws, they have planned an online release of the film, BBC Reports

The Executive director of NFVCB, Adebayo Thomas, said all those involved in the movie risk jail term, which carries a sentence of 14 years imprisonment for promoting homosexuality in Nigeria, where the laws frown against it.

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He added, “There’s a standing law that prohibits homos*xuality, either in practice or in a movie or even in a theatre or on stage. If it’s content from Nigeria, it has to be censored,

“As long as it’s Nigerian content and it’s telling a Nigerian story, then we have a right to it.

“If it did not pass through NFVCB and it is released, the filmmakers will be prosecuted according to the law.

“As long as it’s Nigerian content, we will pull it down because we have collaborations with Google, YouTube and other key players.”

Despite risking jail terms, it was noted that the filmmakers plan a private screening of the movie in Lagos and also an international premiere in October this year.

The movie aims to show an accurate representation of LGBT women in Nigerian movies as against the possessed, influenced by bad friends and needing “saving” narrative often portrayed in standard Nollywood film, the producers echoed.

She said, “You rarely see stories about LGBT people, especially about queer women that speak to the realities of our lives.

“Ife was made to bridge the gap and to get the conversation going in Nigeria.

The movie director also added, “Before now, we have been told one-sided stories. What we are doing with this film is normalising the queer experience, we are normalising the LGBT romance.

“It will begin to erase that shame that LBQ [lesbian, bis*xual and queer] women face.”

About Ifé..

Ìfé also spelt as Ife (English: Love) is an upcoming Nigerian LGBT romantic film executive produced by prominent Nigerian LGBTQ rights activist Pamela Adie and directed by Uyai Ikpe-Etim.

The film is taunted to be the first full fledged lesbian film in the history of Nollywood. However some sources stated that it is also the first Nigerian LGBT film

The movie played by Uzoamaka Aniunoh and Cindy Amadi, tells the story of two women, falling in love after spending three days together, as they navigate the realities of a same-sex relationship in a country like Nigeria, where it is against the law.