Changing the LGBTQI+ narrative in Nigeria

DW (English)

Despite facing a 14-year jail sentence for homosexuality, the nominee of BBC's 100 Women of 2020 is fearlessly taking a stance. Being queer herself, Uyaiedu aims to create more films centered on LGBTQI+ individuals in Nigeria.

Transcript

00:00 It's too soon to say I'm being over you.

00:04 We're lesbians. This is the perfect time.

00:12 There is a 14-year jail sentence for being gay in Nigeria.

00:16 But filmmaker Uyaydu is changing the narrative of being LGBTQI+ with the means of Nollywood.

00:22 Living in fear as a queer person in Nigeria is our normal.

00:29 I think every queer person lives in some degree of fear.

00:33 Your privilege can't change the degree of fear. Nonetheless, the fear is still there.

00:39 But this does not stop the nominee for the BBC 100 Women for 2020 from taking a stance.

00:46 I don't know that I had any big fears when I was making a fear.

00:51 For me when I was making a fear, I wasn't really thinking, you know.

00:54 I was just going head first without thinking about the possible consequences of what I was doing.

01:01 It was only until I had made the film, then I started to possibly have some fears based on the reception.

01:10 But beforehand I didn't have any fears. I thought I was making a film like any other filmmaker.

01:15 Uyaydu's directorial debut tells the story of two Nigerian women who fall in love over a three-day date.

01:22 But can their love withstand the realities of being lesbian in Nigeria?

01:26 Every day she asked me so many questions and I answered.

01:31 She wanted to know what that meant, if I would have kids and all.

01:36 At the end of each day she'd tell me how much she loved me.

01:41 The National Film and Video Central's Board of Nigeria criticized the film and tracked down those involved in it

01:47 because the laws of Nigeria prohibit certain things, things Uyaydu is well aware of.

01:52 In the casting call I said we're looking for people to play lesbian characters.

01:57 And I didn't have a wide range of choices to pick from.

02:04 So it was very limiting.

02:06 Even though eventually I feel like I still got the best I could have gotten.

02:10 Their chemistry was amazing, but it was still difficult just going through that casting process

02:15 and just looking for people who were good actors or who had acted before

02:21 and were not afraid to put a film like that in their resumes.

02:26 Being queer herself, Uyaydu aims to make more films that center on stories about LGBTQ people,

02:35 particularly Nigerian, lesbian, bisexual and queer women,

02:39 and has featured them again in her new movie, 14 Years and a Day.

02:44 You left me because I found out that I'm intersex.

02:46 But it isn't.

02:48 At least it doesn't feel like it.

02:51 This time, even the title indicates what exactly is at stake,

02:54 the length of the sentence that can be imposed in Nigeria for queer love.

02:58 I'm not afraid of going to jail because I don't think I'm breaking any laws by making queer films.

03:05 There's the SSMPA law, the same-sex marriage act,

03:12 which criminalizes same-sex marriages or same-sex civil unions.

03:19 And with a jail term up to 14 years, there's also some other things added to that law,

03:28 like gay organizations or public display of same-sex affection.

03:36 And I don't think I've broken any of those laws so far.

03:42 Queer women in Nigeria, where homophobia is taken seriously,

03:47 the backlash from the society bites hard.

03:50 We constantly have the fear when we go out and want to do couple-y things,

03:54 and just be a couple, do cute things, without the constant stares or questions.

04:05 When I came out as queer, I had mixed responses from my family.

04:10 I had siblings who just took it as their new normal, just ran with it, didn't act strange.

04:21 For some, it took longer to finally come to terms with it.

04:26 But I think I'm in a really great place now with my family, and I'm super grateful for that.

04:34 My partner's name is Ayo.

04:36 They sent me a message on Instagram sometime in 2021, I think.

04:42 It was very interesting because it just went straight to the point.

04:47 "Hey, if you're in Lagos, we should do drinks sometime."

04:50 I'm like, "Okay, who does this person think they are?"

04:52 "Okay, no, I didn't think that."

04:53 I thought, "Oh, who's this cute person texting me?"

04:55 I looked on their page, and I thought, "Oh, nice."

04:58 And we agreed to meet.

05:00 We went on a date.

05:03 It was a super cute date.

05:05 We went back home together, spent some time together.

05:08 We just started talking every day, spending a lot more time together.

05:15 Maybe eight months later, trying to see where we were going, we made it official.

05:23 I don't think film is the most effective way of talking about queer love.

05:27 I think it is an effective way.

05:29 I think it's a really good way.

05:31 There are many other ways of showing queer representation,

05:35 from documentaries to books to literature to reality shows, even social media.

05:42 Social media is one of my favorites because it's reality

05:46 and the actual real queer people living these lives and doing that work.

05:52 So I do think that film is a great way because a lot of people like film.

05:56 A lot of people watch film.

05:58 And film has been shaping cultures for centuries.

06:02 The motivation for me is representation.

06:05 The motivation is normalization.

06:08 I really wanted people to just see that love is love

06:14 and that love looks the same no matter who the people are,

06:18 no matter their gender, no matter their race, no matter their tribe or religion.

06:24 Love always looks the same.

06:26 The battle continues for acceptance and recognition for Uyaydu and other queer people in Nigeria.

06:32 But until then, Uyaydu with her fist full of films will continue to fight.

06:36 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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