Ebose Ehi-Bello’s The Day We Met opens with a family of three—a couple, Anthony and Cynthia, and their daughter, Hannah—having their morning prayers. When the couple begins cracking jokes with one another, it occurs to Hannah that she has never heard the story behind how her parents met. This leads to the narration by Anthony and Cynthia, and the audience watches the events unfold in a flashback.
The Ayodeji Odunaike-directed short film does not just tell the story of two young adults meeting. The film also tells the story of a paradox: two Christians meeting in a nightclub, and having conversations that lead them out of the club and apparently, into marriage. It tells the story of how being in the wrong place can sometimes lead you to the right circumstances. Or, better put, being in the wrong place does not stop you from meeting the right people. The film suggests that life is not straightforward, and opportunities—including meeting your life partner—sometimes manifest themselves in the strangest ways.
The cinematography enhances the didactic nature of the sixteen-minute film. Most of the shots are static. The camera stays still just so you can hear (and watch, of course) the story that Anthony and Cynthia narrate.
The Day We Met is a faith-based film that aspires to stir questions of faith, trust, and hope. In doing so, it makes one reflect on the divinity or coincidence of certain events. It is commendable that, though the film touches on subjects of faith and God, there is nothing in-your-face about it. It tells the story in a way anybody, even a teenager, can relate to. Ebose’s film attempts to avoid the preachy stereotype ascribed to most films in the genre. The challenge, always, is in trying to tell a story about the Christian faith while also trying to appeal as cinema. Ebose, clearly, is on the right track and it can only get better from here.
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