There is very little that is pretty about malaria. The mosquito-borne disease that causes morbidity and mortality with aplomb was in 2019 alone, responsible for 409,000 deaths, most of them in the sub-Saharan Africa region. Endemic in regions of the global south including southeast Asia, an estimated 229 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide in the same year. This according to the World Health Organisation.

The 5-minute film, The Underestimated Villain directed by Comfort Arthur manages to find the fun in Malaria, despite being in service of combating the disease. The Underestimated Villain is one of three short films commissioned by Comic Relief, the UK-based charity organisation as part of the “Fighting Malaria…On Screen” initiative, the cinematic arm of a larger five-year partnership between Comic Relief and global healthcare company, GSK.

Arthur, an award-winning British born Ghanaian animator whose short, Black Barbie has screened at major film festivals in Rotterdam and London is one of the filmmakers tasked to creatively tell a story of malaria in ways that would resonate with audiences affected by the disease. Arthur worked with Poetra Asantewa, a Ghana-based poet and spoken word artist to distill reams and reams of literature concerning malaria into a 5-minute screenplay that manages to both inform and entertain in equal measure.

It must be stressed that the information part of the film may be redundant though, considering that there is hardly anyone in Arthur’s Ghana who isn’t aware of the clinical or economic significance of malaria. The more interesting challenge for Arthur and her team of collaborators thus becomes how to move the needle on the malaria advocacy such that beyond the entertainment; the pleasant visuals and the breezy animation, there is some compelling messaging that sticks the landing.

The Underestimated Villain goes about this by presenting the female Anopheles mosquito, the primary malaria causing vector as the femme fatale and star of her own movie- if only in her head. The film opens with a title card that hints at the filmmaker’s influences. Arthur’s title character is obviously imagined in the mode of the blood sucking Count Dracula, one of pop culture’s ultimate villains. The Underestimated Villain’s Anopheles is in full ownership of her power and the devastation that she leaves in her wake.

The short is centered around an interview that the Anopheles grants a clueless journalist in which she plays to her strengths, detailing basics like her life cycle, modes of transmission of the parasite and the clinical symptoms that follow. It’s all familiar information but presented in punchy, amusing bits with dark humor deployed effectively.

Making lyrical work out of scientific facts may seem undoable at first. And while Asantewa’s screenplay appears to struggle through the sheer volume of information on the disease – including with what to leave out and what to include- she manages to compress the basics into digestible byte size pieces. The Underestimated Villain is in English but upon release, will be made available in five different local languages.

In a cleverly executed scene, Arthur pays homage to the famous bathroom scene in Alfred Hithcock’s classic Psycho, connecting the Anopheles’ bloodlust with one of cinema’s most iconic villains. But perhaps the film’s most satisfying trick is its acute self-awareness.

The Anopheles stresses that one of her unique advantages is that even when human beings in the affected regions have the public health tools at their disposal to end malaria for good- since the year 2000, at least 12 countries have eliminated Malaria- they continue to dally and encourage her existence. A weakness she is all too happy to exploit.

This piece of knowledge embedded almost loosely in the film is a fine summary of Arthur’s objective with the “Fighting Malaria…On Screen” project. The film does not purport to talk down to its target audience. Years and years of public health campaigns have resulted in widespread education. People already have the knowledge and tools to combat malaria to a standstill. They just need to be inspired enough to act.

 This blog piece is commissioned by the Fighting Malaria, Improving Health Partnership but the views expressed are that of the author.

Wilfred Okiche

Wilfred Okiche is a medic, reader, writer, journalist, culture critic, and occasional ruffler of feathers. One of the most influential critics working in the Nigerian culture space, his writing has appeared extensively in platforms like YNaija.com and 360nobs.com. Okiche has provided editorial assistance to the UK Guardian and has had his work published in African Arguments, Africa is a Country and South Africa’s City Press. He has received trainings and acquired experience in multimedia and online journalism. He also appears on the culture television show, Africana Literati. He has participated at critic programs in Lagos, Durban and Rotterdam.