These Five Nigerian Short Films Confront Topics We Often Avoid Talking About

As they are implied, short films are like short stories; they explore many months or years of experiences within a short, limited period of time. Short films allow audiences to explore characters’ many little lives, and trust them to imagine the rest of their lives. In Nigerian film, probably due to the complexity of themes Nigerian films explore, short films are not as celebrated as feature-length films. However, there are short Nigerian films that have explored topics that are not often discussed, or not openly discussed.

Let’s look at these five Nigerian short films and what they touched on.

Japa

Japa, as a word, is most likely one of the most used words in Nigeria in the past decade. It means relocation abroad. The japa experience presents different realities to different people. In this short film, “Japa”, written by John Amarachi, we experience many experiences that many Nigerians experience with relocation from the spiritual perspective. Generally, it is often said that “don’t tell your dream to anyone.” But Nigerians, spiritually-induced, take that notion a step further. The person you chatted with yesterday or this morning could be relocating to Canada or Poland in the next hour. And you wouldn’t know.

This is what “Japa” explored from the angle of lovers. In the film, two lovers hide their japa dreams from each other because their parents told them not to inform anyone. While one feels bad for informing their partner just a day before their relocation, they have no idea their partner, too, is set for Germany.

This short film confronts and challenges us to ask: Should this norm continue?

A Japa Tale

Similar to “Japa” but from a different perspective. “A Japa Tale”, written by Dika Ofoma, tells the story of two lovers caught in entanglement. The boyfriend is set to relocate to the UK but doesn’t inform his partner until later time. Meanwhile, because they are lovers, of course, they are intimate. The girlfriend is pregnant. So they are caught in the web of abortion, breaking up, relocating abroad or not.

My Body, God’s Temple

This intimately personal short film explores what many Nigerian couples experience but keep mute about because it is “too personal” to be shared. This is a story about a newly married couple struggling to figure out their sex life. More than it is discussed, many newlywed (and “religious”) couples experience what the couple in the film experiences. Written by Uzoamaka Power, “My Body, God’s Temple” is relatively one of the best short films ever released in Nollywood.

Before We Fall Asleep

Stereotypically, Nigerian societies have defined roles based on gender, which has consequently ruined or hurt many relationships. In “Before We Fall Asleep”, written by Blessing Uzzi, we see how the stereotype almost manages to split a relationship. What this short film essentially hopes to achieve is to make people look in the mirror. Because the most obvious story is often ignored. The short film wants everyone to assess themselves and check if they have not been unconsciously falling into stereotypes.

What’s Left of Us

Written by Victor Daniel, “What’s Left of Us” is a short film about a wife, a woman, trying to exercise her agency after being pigeonholed by her husband and religion. It’s a story many Nigerians can relate to but rarely talk about.