The city of Abuja on Tuesday, 5th December witnessed a pleasant but ‘deafening silence’ as Nollywood leading lights stormed the venue of the United Nations (UN) headquarters to unveil a fascinating, instructive, and trailblazing trailer of the soon-to-be-released Gender-Based Violence (GBV) film. Deafening Silence.
Directed by Biodun Stephen, the film is a joint production by European Union-UN and Spotlight Initiative in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and in partnership with The Foundation for Resilient Empowerment and Development (FRED). It stars the best of Nollywood, including Toni Jones, Kate Henshaw, Femi Jacobs, Daniel Etim Effiong, Chidi Mokeme and Bimbo Akintola. Others in the blockbuster film include Debby Felix and Ekamma Etim-Inyang.
The film featured experienced and professional heavyweights in Nollywood industry whose pedigree found expression everywhere on its landscape. They include Abiodun Adebayo (editor), Biodun Stephen (director) and Emem Isong Misodi (producer). Joy Uduak Johnson handled the costume, Saaodiq Oyebami managed the sound, while Ladipo Abiola was the Director of Photography.
In addition, the film comes with a bumper Limited 8 Edition, with a rich cast of celebrity performers: Mary Lazarus (as Jane); Pere Ebi (Jane’s boyfriend); Femi Branch (CEO); Bimbo Akintola (Senator’s wife and top business executive); and Lord Frank (Senator).
The trailer highlights critical and important aspects of the movie that will keep Nigerians on edge, agitate their minds, and invoke important lessons about GBV in the society. It showed moments of reflection, sober mood, anger, and scenes that will stimulate unwavering resolution to join hands in the fight against the scourge.
In his opening address at the trailer reveal, UNDP’s Deputy Resident Representative, Mr. Blessed Chimrimuta said that the collaboration of the EU-UN, UNDP, and FRED with the Spotlight Initiative aligns seamlessly with the plans of the Nigerian government and the EU-UN Gender Action Points. “This intervention seeks to challenge and reshape prevailing gender norms, not only in Nigeria but beyond”, he explained.
He admonished the participants at the event to reflect on the significance of the transformative journey being embarking on. He reminded the audience that “Deafening Silence is not just a movie for entertainment. It is a movie in search to deliver a compelling and thought-provoking moments that will serve as a catalyst for sparking wider conversation around gender inequality, and gender violence, against women”.
UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mattias Schmale expressed satisfaction for being part of the intervention against GBV, which is a priority for his organisation. He emphasised the need to find better ways of communicating and engaging people on GBV. He said that there is need to produce more films based on tackling the issues of human rights, which is relevant today as it was 75 years ago. He reiterated that human rights of vulnerable people including women and children, particularly girls, should be protected.
The Deputy Head of Mission for EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Zissimos Vergos emphasised that GBV is a global problem. He said that there is evidence to show that one in every three women is subjected to physical, sexual, or any other form of violence. He affirmed that, in the 21st century gender inequality remains among the key drivers of poverty and this undermines cohesion and balance in our society.
The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Mr. Charles Ebuebe commended Spotlight Initiative, its partners and collaborators who joined forces to conceive and work on this project. He promised to stand behind the partners on the project and pledged to give all support within his jurisdiction.
He frowned at a situation where people who suffer GBV shy away from speaking up against abuse because of sociocultural reasons. He also spoke about the challenges of none or ineffective laws to tackle the problem frontally.
In her overview of the film, UNDP Gender and Human Rights Lead, Onyinye Belinda Ndubuisi said that “the title, Deafening Silence has been carefully chosen to encapsulate the profound paradox inherent in the issues, the movie and television series aim to address: Gender Equality, Gender Empowerment, and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)”.
She further said that this film is to showcase the transformative result chain intervention in Nigeria is capable of doing. “Anchoring on the UNDP Human Development Report on Gender and Social Norms, there is need to showcase what we are doing global. We know that there are different types of gender-based violence, and we also understand that to change norms requires time. So it is not an overnight venture. This is why we are starting with a five-year plan, and also to call on all our partners to come together for collaboration rather than fragmenting our efforts”.
Ndubuisi said that Deafening Silence is an exciting and captivating drama project that aims to deliver an immersive and compelling cinematic experience to its audience. The project story revolves around spotlighting the issues, challenges, and victories surrounding GBV survivors, and spotlighting all factors relating to it. According to her, the film is weaved “through a carefully crafted narrative and dynamic characters, as the project intends to engage viewers emotionally and intellectually, leaving a lasting impact”.
The aim, she said, is to capture the imagination and attention of the target audience, providing an enthralling and memorable viewing experience, while spotlighting the vices surrounding GBV”. She added that, “the project is committed to achieving a high level of artistic quality, utilising innovative storytelling techniques, exceptional cinematography, and engaging performances”.
Fielding questions from reporters at the event, Ndubuisi said: “The project is a splendid pointer to a public investment through meaningful storytelling that showcases various instances of abuse and injustice, such as rape, human trafficking, forced surrogacy, blackmail, and marital abandonment. It highlights the role of agencies in helping victims seek justice and support”.
The movie, which tells the horrible story of the social impact of GBV and its effects on people, families, and society in general, will be available in cinemas and selected TV stations as a series. The main objective is to inform, educate, and curb GBV in Nigeria.
