Nigerian-made film, ‘Ijo’ has been confirmed to screen at ten international film festivals, including those in Ghana, Canada, Sweden, and the United States.
The movie with Charles Etubiebi and Genovevah Umeh won the Best Romance Film prize at the Couch Film Festival in Canada.
According to Fatimah Binta Gimsay, the Director and Founder of Hello Films, the film has gotten standing ovations in Nigeria, Ghana, Sweden and South Africa. This was revealed along with confirmation of the official selection.
“It’s currently in 10 film festivals, a great achievement for a Nollywood short film created by Nigerians for the world. A home-rooted cast and crew made this film with everything in our hearts, and we’re so proud to put it out there.”
‘Ijo’ explores performances that examines grief and love, and was written and directed by Gimsay. The short film tells the tale of a depressed man who turns to dancing for solace and recovery.
“Ijo matters right now because Nollywood matters and our audience matters. There’s talk about wanting stories that challenge us and show different sides of Nigerians.
“I believe this is one of those films. It’s a human story that’s Nigerian at heart, and works for any audience. If we can make Ijo with limited resources and page counts, imagine what we can do with a bigger project. The possibilities are endless, and there are many more stories waiting to be told.”