Queer cinema in Nigeria has been largely non-existent, and in most cases when LGBT stories are told, it’s done in a watered down or overblown caricature composition that does no justice to the joys and sorrows of the LGBT community. Thankfully, Ìfé the movie is set to change that. The story revolves around two women, Ife and Adaora, who fall in love and struggle through the challenges of being in a same-sex relationship in Nigeria.

In an interview with Premium times, Pamela Adie, the producer of the movie revealed that the movie was created to shatter stereotypes.

“We only see stories about LGBT people that condemn us, to say that we are people to be beaten, sometimes even killed. That is the kind of narrative that we get from Nollywood but that is not the reality. We are human beings too, just like everybody else.”

“The idea was just to show that we are normal people who fall in love, who have their hearts broken, who break hearts, who have troubles, who triumph. We also aim to increase the visibility of the community, to tell the lesbian story too and to drive social acceptance,” She revealed.

On the availability of the movie, she stated it would not be on mainstream platforms.”It’s not going to be on YouTube, we are building our own platform where people can pay to watch movies like an on-demand streaming platform. Maybe if Netflix decides to show it after a year of release, why not? For now, we don’t plan to release it on any other site.

“I intend to make more films that centre stories about LGBTQ people, particularly Nigerian lesbian, bisexual, and queer women,” she said.

This is the time for untold stories to be seen and heard. Watch the trailer below:

 

 

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