Suffolk woman hopes new movie will change perception of Nigerian films

A woman hopes her film will redefine the perception of movies created by Nigerian nationals.

Tope Laguda, who is from Nigeria and lives in Kirton, Suffolk, wrote, produced and starred in her self-released film What No One Knows.

The movie is set in Lagos, Nigeria, and will have its UK premiere later this month at King Street Cinema in Ipswich.

"It's really made me appreciate the challenges that black filmmakers go through," said Mrs Laguda.

"If anyone had told me that this is what I would be going through, I probably wouldn't have gone into filmmaking at all."

Mrs Laguda was inspired to write the story following the birth of her first child.

The film follows two friends living in Lagos, whose lives are torn apart by a secret agreement.

"In the global film market, there has been a prevailing stereotype that associates quantity with films from our region, rather than quality," said Mrs Laguda.

"This misconception has made it challenging for us to showcase our work on a global platform through established distribution channels."

The movie was produced by I Have An Idea Entertainment - an independent film company owned by Mrs Laguda and her husband Leke Laguda.

Speaking on the company's formation, Mrs Laguda said: "We realised in order for the film itself to come out, it needed a platform."

The movie has picked up five awards since its debut, including Best Indie Feature Film at the 2022 World Film Festival in Cannes and the Spotlight Film Award at the 2023 Topaz Film Festival in the US.

Although it was filmed on location in 2022, with Nigerian actors, Mrs Laguda insisted it was not a "Nollywood" - the informal name for Nigerian cinema - movie.

"Just for the fact that it is a film that was shot in Lagos, Nigeria, doesn't actually make a Nigerian film," she said.

"[It] is a story about love [and] betrayal, that could happen to anybody, anywhere, regardless of race. It's just a global film."

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