The 15-minute film, directed by renowned writer cum director Chris Ihidero, is based on real life events. Dike, a 23-year-old apprentice trader based in Abuja, is the leading light among the youths of his community somewhere in Eastern Nigeria. His long time girlfriend Sochima is the village belle. Sochima and her younger sister Ebere die within six months of each other and the community is convinced that their inexplicable deaths and those of a few others in the community are due to Ogbanje. However, Kene, Dike’s best friend and 3rd year student of Laboratory Science at the state university, is curious about his best friend’s sudden weight loss and convinced that Ogbanje has nothing to do with the recent deaths in the community.
“It Happened To Me”, shot in Umuada Community of Udi Local Government Area, Enugu State, where Amaka Igwe’s family hails from, was originally premiered at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in November 2013 and is now being premiered online in commemoration of the first anniversary of Amaka Igwe’s passing.
According to Ihidero,“This was a very personal film for Amaka Igwe. She based the story on actual events that happened in her community. We shot parts of the film in her family compound. Many of the actors, apart from the four lead characters, are her family members. Except for the DOP, she trained every single crewmember that worked on this film. This was the last film she produced and I feel honoured to have directed it”.
The film, which features upcoming acts like Tochukwu Okafor, Desmond Onunwa, Jane Obi and Chidinma Igweani was produced as part of the Unified Budget, Results and Accountability Framework (UBRAF) project of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) aimed at strengthening youth involvement with HIV and AIDS prevention activities in Nigeria using culturally appropriate strategies.
Watch “It Happened To Me” below: