Nigerian director Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim stars two women in love in her film entitled "Ife". The feature film aims to fight homophobia in his country.
"Ife " means "love"in Yoruba language, spoken in West Africa, and especially in southern Nigeria. With his new film, Nigerian director Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim wants to tackle the topic of homosexuality head-on to create space for LGBTQ characters in Nollywood, the country's prolific film industry. Indeed, Nigeria is the second cinematographic power in the world in number of films produced per year. However, LGBTQ characters are rare and often poorly described, which encourages violence or judgment from viewers. "I'm queer, so 'Ife' is close to my heart. I wanted to portray LGBTQ characters in a different light than how they've been shown in past stories, to change the way straight people see them, " explained the director.
The story centers on two women, Ife and Adaora, and the uncertainty surrounding their relationship. The film is produced in partnership with Equality hub, a Nigerian NGO specializing in the fight against social injustices against sexual minorities. "They run into problems when they are unsure of the future of their relationship as these two women live in Nigeria which is a homophobic country.", the director said of the script.
Homosexuality is frowned upon in Nigeria. Same-sex marriage law 2014 says anyone found guilty of same-sex marriage faces up to 14 years in prison. A 2019 survey by The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERS), a Nigerian human rights organization, found that 75% of the country's people support the continued enforcement of anti-gay laws.
Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim has engaged in a fierce battle with the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), the government body set up to regulate films and videos in Nigeria. "We are monitoring the progress of the film, and if it goes against the law by promoting homosexuality, at some point we will have to go after the director and executive producer."said Adedayo Thomas, executive director of NFVCB at CNN, specifying that it will depend on the end of the feature film.
Nollywood has always had a problematic relationship with its queer characters, portraying them as mentally ill, under the influence of witchcraft, or just plain struggling. The producer of "Ife", Pamela Adie, wants to challenge other filmmakers to create queer stories that are more nuanced and devoid of the usual stereotypes. The young woman emphasizes that "Ife " is one of the few movies to focus on lesbians in Nigeria, "Much of the representation has been geared towards gay men."
Nigeria isn't the only country with strict rules regarding films with high LGBTQ representation. In April 2018, Rafiki was banned by the Kenya Film and Classification Board (KFCB) due to its intention to "promote lesbianism".
However, the film "Ife" receives a wave of support from the Nigerian public according to Pamela Adie. “It's something revolutionary. We've had support from the poster release to the trailer. It feels like people didn't know they wanted this kind of content until present ", she concluded.