CONVERSATIONS FROM THE PAST- Sara Forbes Bonetta & Efunorye Tinubu (CFTP-SFBAEF) imagine a conversation between two prominent women from Nigeria’s past: Efunroye Tinubu(Fadekemi Olumide Aluko), a wealthy merchant, aristocrat, and slave trader, and Sara Forbes Bonetta(Kuchi Chris), the Nigerian-born god-daughter to Queen Victoria of England and a former slave. The year is 1863 and the setting is the keep of Madam Tinubu where both women have a heated debate about the perspectives of the seller and the sold in the slave trade.
The short film which is set to premiere on the 7th of April 2024 at the Alliance Francaise, Ikoyi Lagos is written by Tunde Leye, author of the critically acclaimed historical fiction novels, Afonja The Rise and Afonja The Fall; Leye is also the executive producer on this project. Adesola Oni, whose film projects have won acclaim and inclusion in festivals around the world such as S16, AIHFF, FLICKFAIR, ATLANTIC BRIDGE, and AIIFF, serves as director. Damilola Aleje, with a filmmaking pedigree that boasts of projects with Multichoice Africa and Netflix Nigeria, is the producer.
The film presents a captivating picture that is produced by the eye of Ifan Michael, who handled production design on the project, that is captured in vibrant picture quality through the lens of Otitoola Oluwaseun who directed the photography of the picture. The 20-strong crew, managed by Assistant Director, Julio Duggan, who has production credits on the popular American Drama series, Ozark, and production manager, Yanmife behind the production of the short film, was housed under Ghost Media Productions, a film and video production company based in Lagos, Nigeria.
The film is an adaptation of an excerpt from Leye’s upcoming book Fireflies On The Lagoon, based on the 1851 British Bombardment of Lagos and scheduled for release later in 2024.