Film Lab Africa, the British Council’s film and TV accelerator programme in Nigeria, hosted a preview screening of TABOO, a new seven-part Nigerian anthology series, during the London Film Festival.
The preview screening was held at EbonyLife Place London, a new African arts and cultural centre in south-west London. Comprising seven 20-minute episodes, TABOO is said to explore “cultural beliefs, societal expectations and contemporary African experiences.” The anthology addresses themes such as identity, tradition, gender, family and mental health.
The seven Nigerian producers presented teasers of their films to UK film industry professionals, including distributors, sales agents, production companies and talent reps. The event was held in collaboration with T A P E Collective.
The seven productions are:
They Will Teach You Silence
Emmanuel ‘Story Priest’ Adejo
After her brother’s suicide leads to his body being denied burial rites and her mother’s subsequent mental collapse, Ejura, a young woman, must commit the ultimate cultural taboo – stealing and wearing a sacred masquerade costume – to bury her brother and save her mother, but at a devastating cost.
Where’s The Gizzard?
Aghogho ‘Tega’ Onobrakpeya
An Urhobo wife sparks outrage in her village when she allegedly eats the chicken gizzard reserved for the male head of the household, forcing her to confront a patriarchal tradition built on oppression and control.
Generation to Generation
Setemi Ayodele Oni
During the Ife-Modakeke conflict, one of Nigeria’s longest running intra-tribal wars, an orphaned teen militia who lures vulnerable runaways to their deaths forms an unexpected bond with two brothers from the rival community, forcing him to choose between saving them or saving himself.
àzén! (Witch)
Enimien Aziegbe
Branded a witch for his vitiligo, a father must decide to risk facing the community that rejects him or miss the most important moment of his beloved daughter’s life.
Omorogun
Odaro Ehide Eguavoen
Through the eyes of four-year-old Adedayo, a household taboo about wooden cooking utensils unmaking a boy leads him to wonder whether it can unmake a man.
Hysteria
Dimeji Ogunranti
When a Nigerian woman chooses to end her painful cycle of hereditary fibroids and miscarriages by seeking a hysterectomy, she becomes haunted by a choir quartet exposing the taboo of a woman rejecting motherhood until her body and mind become a battleground over who controls her future.
Something in The Blood
Sally Kenneth Dadzie
When a prominent imam’s youngest son begins showing signs of mental illness, the father’s refusal to seek medical help, choosing instead to blame demons and confine the boy to rigorous deliverance sessions, leads to the son’s death. Afterward, the father begins experiencing the same symptoms, trapped in a haunting he cannot escape.