A surprise: This Nigerian drama portrays gay love positively
Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…
Amidst great hostility toward homosexuals, a new mainstream Nigerian online video series dares to portray love between two men.
The videos have been published on YouTube under the series title “With or Without.” The 46-minute episodes are labeled as Seasons 1 through 4 of the “Latest 2017 Nigerian Nollywood Movie”:
- SEASON 1 https://youtu.be/8KPjkl3lfPI
- SEASON 2 https://youtu.be/Pfmdtj7TvWk
- SEASON 3 https://youtu.be/g-O70a8z43A
- SEASON 4 https://youtu.be/Lvtxkrib0zs [not currently available]
The drama shows how two men in a homosexual relationship deeply love each other and find it difficult to hide what they feel.
If the story line followed the pattern of most Nigerian films, it would not present a positive portrayal of homosexuality, but so far the story seems to be heading in that unexpected direction.
Though the videos are far from perfect, their creators deserve credit for attempting to put the reality of gay men on screen.
Still, the characters are mostly exaggerated and poorly acted. The actors don’t seem to have done any proper research about gay reality before portraying the characters on screen.
Synopsis:
The film tells the story of David [Dave Ogbeni] and Henry [Chigozie Okafor] who appear as best friends who are deeply in love with each other.
David is a bisexual man who is currently in a relationship with Mabel [Ibiwari Etuk].
But everything changes when Henry visits. David and Henry try to keep their relationship flourishing while David battles to maintain the status quo.
Related articles:
- Will new Nigerian film change narrative about homosexuality?(June 2017, 76crimes.com)
- Under a hidden rainbow, Zimbabwean gays celebrate the power of film (March 2017, 76crimes.com)
- Ugandan bishop: Here’s why queer films are important (December 2016, 76crimes.com)
- Uganda will soon get an LGBTQ film festival (June 2016, 76crimes.com)
- Focus of gay-friendly Nigerian film: Tough facts of LGBT life (March 2016, 76crimes.com)
- Praise from honored director: ‘She broke the anti-gay wall’
(November 2015, 76crimes.com)
-
Botswana: Upcoming films will tell LGBTI stories (October 2015, 76crimes.com)
- ‘Veil of Silence’: When LGBTI Nigerians spoke out (September 2015, 76crimes.com)
- Uganda: Film on LGBT ‘outings’ heads to U.S. screening (June 2015, 76crimes.com)
- Ugandan film focuses on fatal effects of anti-gay media (April 2015, 76crimes.com)
- On film, the true story of trans Africans who are honored (January 2015, 76crimes.com)