5/29/14

B for Boy

This wonderful, unpredictable film was submitted by Nigeria (English captions) for the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival. SIFF has also nominated it for our New Director's Showcase Award.

What does a 40-year-old Nigerian woman do when she MUST bear a male heir? This award-winning film (Breakthrough Award - AFI Film Festival 2013) marks Chika Anadu's debut as a director. We are subjected to a painful lesson in discrimination against women in the names of culture and religion. We come to understand the powerful influences brought into play by tribal traditions, family needs, education, evangelical religion and love.

We watch:
  • Uche Nwadili as Amaka, who will be somehow to blame if she has conceived a boy. She is understandably reluctant to have a sonogram; she's afraid of what she might learn.
  • Nonso Odogwu plays Nonso, the steadfast, successful son married to Amaka. Theirs is a love match, but he understands his mother's anguish.
  • Frances Okeke is Joy, an unwed mother whose situation triggers a series of unexpected complications.
  • Ngozi Nwaneto is Mama, a cruel source of unrelenting pressure, particularly after her younger (wastrel) son dies unexpectedly.
This film is runs almost two hours but I was never bored. I was pulled in deeper and deeper as Amaka's situation became more and more complex. And Amaka is definitely a person I could root for. If you see this film, let's talk about the ending, okay?