Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim

Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim (born 1989) is a Nigerian film producer, screenwriter and filmmaker, who creates works which tell the stories of Nigeria's marginalised LGBTQ communities. In 2020 the BBC included her in its list of the 100 Women of the Year.

Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim
Born1989 (age 33–34)
NationalityNigerian
Occupation(s)Film producer, screenwriter, filmmaker

Biography

Ikpe-Etim was born in 1989.[1] She is co-founder of the production company Hashtag Media House, and since 2011 she has worked to give voice to the Nigeria's minority communities, especially the LGBTQ community there.[2] The rights of the LGBT community in Africa are severely persecuted, and Nigeria and its film industry are no exception: in Nollywood homosexual characters are ridiculed and portrayed as predators, moved by economic interests or under the influence of cults and spells and often end up being punished for their actions or saved by the church.[3][4][5] Those films that feature the LGBTQ community in Nigeria, usually feature homosexual men.[6]

In 2020, Ikpe-Etim, along with film producer Pamela Adie came to prominence in Nigeria due to their production of the film Ìfé.[7] The film was Ikpe-Etim's directorial debut and tells a love story between two women.[1] Ìfé is not the first lesbian-themed film to be produced in Nigeria, but it is the first to show such a relationship normally, without prejudice or stereotypes.[4][7] Indeed the producer, director and actors in the lead roles are all members of Nigeria's LGBT community.[4] Ikpe-Etim identifies as queer.[2] However, the production had to face the National Board of Film and Video Censors, which went so far as to threaten its creators with prison sentences for "encouraging homosexuality" in a country where same-sex marriage was banned by law since 2014.[7] In fact, to avoid censorship, the film was released abroad in October 2020, at the Toronto LGBT Film Festival.[5][8][9] It was released ultimately on the streaming platform ehtvnetwork.com.[10] It was screened at the Leeds International Film Festival in November 2020.[11]

Speaking

In Uyaiedu's TEDx talk, "Becoming Free of the English Box" she questions where the desire for wanting to drop her African identity came from. In August 2017, Uyaiedu gave a talk at Eastern Mediterranean University on the importance of asking questions.

Awards

In 2020 Ikpe-Etim was listed as one of the BBC's 100 Women for 2020, recognising her contributions to women's rights in Nigeria.[12][13]

References
  1. "ÌFÉ, UNA CINTA LGTBQ DE 'NOLLYWOOD'". Cinemelodic (in Spanish). 22 August 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  2. "Ìfé Writer and Director Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim on Decolonizing Nigerian Storytelling and Queer Love Stories". Autostraddle. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  3. "Here is all you need about 'Ìfé', a lesbian love story directed by Uyai Ikpe-Etim". Pulse Nigeria. 4 July 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  4. Aisha Salaudeen. "A Nollywood film about two women in love faces an uphill battle in a country where homophobia is rampant". CNN. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  5. "A rare cinematic portrait of queer women's intimacy in Nigeria". africasacountry.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  6. "Producer of Nigeria's new history-making lesbian film has a cunning plan to beat homophobic censors". PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  7. "The Nigerian filmmakers risking jail with lesbian movie Ife". BBC News. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  8. Akwagyiram, Angela Ukomadu, Alexis (22 August 2020). "Película de amor lésbico de Nigeria se lanzará online para evitar la censura". Reuters (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Desmond, Vincent (6 August 2020). "Nigerian's First Lesbian Love Story Goes Online to Beat Film Censors". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  10. Lebret, Melusine (13 December 2020). ""Ife" Set To Become A Turning Point In Nollywood's History". The Organization for World Peace. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  11. "These Are The Best Nigerian Films of 2020". OkayAfrica. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  12. "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. "Aisha Yesufu, Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim and others make 2020 BBC's 100 women list". Pride Magazine Nigeria. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.


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