FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 September 2020
Rare Nigerian Art House Film Boldly Tackles Depression
The debut feature film, FOR MARIA EBUN PATAKI, by 28-year-old Director Damilola Orimogunje; powerfully charts a woman’s struggle with post-partum depression. It is one of only a handful of films that deal with this topic.
At a time when the world finds itself in crisis, grappling with the fall out from the COVID19 pandemic, FOR MARIA offers compelling insight into an individual’s struggle to keep themselves from the grip of mental decline.
FOR MARIA EBUN PATAKI, a deviation from the traditional Nollywood content that Nigeria is known for, gives an authentic presentation of a working-class family in Lagos. It is a rare treat and is a narrative of its time in the context of BLM.
After the complicated birth of her first child Maria, Derin (Meg Otanwa) becomes withdrawn from family life; unable to engage in the celebrations around her newborn. Struggling to come to terms with what it means to be a mother, Derin fails to bond with her baby and becomes a shadow of herself.
Director, Damilola presents a narrative with complexity and emotional depth striking for a filmmaker of his generation. He is part of a collective of BEYOND NOLLYWOOD filmmakers that Author and Curator Nadia Denton quotes as being poised to supersede the traditional Nollywood and make names for themselves in the canon of world cinema. She sees social advocacy as one of its key crossover appeals of this daring but little known film from Nigeria.
Speaking on the social advocacy element of the film Damilola says:
I hope [FOR MARIA] transcends beyond just a film and creates more awareness about mental health. I want audiences to feel the emotions of the characters, understanding the story beyond depression. I want people to see themselves and identify with this story as an aid to healing and introspection.
It is on this basis that the production team have embarked on a social impact campaign to bring about broader audience awareness of the issues that the film presents pertaining to mental health, depression and the challenges women face with childbearing and family life.
The title FOR MARIA EBUN PATAKI takes inspiration from the song Precious Gift (EBUN PATAKI) by Highlife maestro Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey typically played at West African naming ceremonies.
FOR MARIA EBUN PATAKI will have its world premiere as part of the BEYOND NOLLYWOOD strand at Film Africa (30 October – 8 November 2020) on the BFI Player.
In November it will feature at the 52 edition of the International Film Festival of India.
Notes to Editors
For Maria Ebun Pataki (Precious Gift)
After the complicated birth of her first child Maria, Derin (Meg Otunwa) becomes withdrawn from family life, unable to engage in the celebrations around her newborn. Her bewildered mother in law insists that she is not a good enough parent, while her increasingly worried husband Afolabi (Gabireil Afolayan) watches from the sidelines as she becomes a shadow of herself. Struggling to come to terms with what it means to be a mother, Derin fails to bond with her baby and ultimately loses the most precious gift of all. Made in a compelling art house style, For Maria Ebun Pataki is the first Nigerian film to confront the realities of post-partum depression. Dir: Damilola Orimogunje, 76min Nigeria/2020 Yoruba with English Subtitles
Damilola Orimogunje is a 28-year old Nigerian screenwriter and film director. He has a B.Sc. in Mass Communication from Caleb University, Lagos, Nigeria. His passion for writing began at a very tender age while he wrote columns for many Nigerian newspapers like The Punch and The Guardian. After his degree, he has worked with various production outlets like Lagos Television, Royal Roots, Mnet and FilmOne as a content producer or writer. In 2014, he won the United Nations sponsored Homevida Short Script competition. As a film director, his short films have been selected and screened in over 40 film festivals including Luxor African Film Festival, The African Film Festival, African International Film Festival, Lake International Pan African Film Festival, winning awards for Best Short and Best Actor. His films have majorly been surrounded around themes as Love, Betrayal, Depression, and Death. He is inspired by the works of Wong Kar-Wai and Ingmar Bergman. His last short film is titled Losing My Religion adapted from the short-story Losing My Religion from the book Bury Me Come Sunday Afternoon by Nigerian-American writer, Nike Campbell-Fatoki. Damilola sees himself as part of a new generation of Nigerian filmmakers making visually compelling and unconventional African content for social change.
Nadia Denton Impact Producer, Film Curator & Author
Nadia has worked in the film industry for 15 years primarily as an Impact Producer, Curator and Author. She specialises in Nigerian Cinema and coined the term BEYOND NOLLYWOOD to refer to art house, experimental, animation, documentary, shorts and music videos from Nigeria and its diaspora. She has curated programmes at leading UK film venues including the British Film Institute, Institute of Contemporary Arts and Rich Mix. Her two books include The Black British Filmmakers Guide to Success (2011) and The Nigerian Filmmaker’s Guide to Success: Beyond Nollywood (2014). In 2017, Nadia co-produced SHOOTING IT LIKE A WOMAN a BBC World Service radio documentary about women in the Nigerian film industry. She was also the Lead Curator for the British Council UK/Nigeria Film Connections Programme (2017/2018). She has acted as a judge for the BBC Arabic Film Festival and worked closely with the June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive. Currently, she is Impact Producer for the COMIC RELIEF Sema Stori film initiative as well as an Academic Supervisor for London Film School. In early 2020 she joined the British Film Institute delegation at the 70th edition of Berlinale. Nadia studied Modern History at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford and is a member of BAFTA. www.nadiadenton.com
BEYOND NOLLYWOOD is a term coined by the Curator and Author Nadia Denton to describe new wave audio-visual content from Nigeria. BEYOND NOLLYWOOD is a concept, curated event and collective of filmmakers. The programme has been showcased across venues and festivals which include the BFI Southbank, International Film Festival of Rotterdam and Berlinale Africa Hub. In Autumn/Winter 2020 it will feature at the Brazilian African Film Festival, Film Africa (UK) and the International Film Festival of India. www.beyondnollywood.com
Film Africa returns for its 9th edition from Friday 30 October to Sunday 8 November 2020.
Our mission at Film Africa remains the same – to offer a platform to showcase the best contemporary cinema from Africa and its Diaspora This year’s festival will be taking place primarily online on the BFI Player. We will also be hosting a reduced programme of socially distanced venue screenings in London. Our film programme will once again be accompanied by an exciting programme of events, including Director Q&As, panel discussions, industry sessions and masterclasses, which will also take place online and will be broadcast live on Facebook. The Film Africa full programme will be announced Wednesday 30 September.
For press interviews contact Nadia Denton
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