In Conversation with Wapah Ezeigwe on the making and reception of Country Love: a queer love story that is unashamed
Instead of asking you series of questions, I’ll rather we dance and scream over the success of Country Love. This is huge, Wapah. And despite being someone who is hard on youself, I know this must have made you very proud. So, tell, how do you feel about all of these?
Honestly Ada, this feels so surreal. Sometimes I remember the memories of making this film and all I can do is just to relish the significance of what I have done. There is nothing more fulfilling than creating a work of Art, of birthing something which you have only first imagined. I have always desired to make film. I have always admired that artistic power to create. I have watched films from Twelve Years a Slave by Steve McQueen to Babel by Alejandro Iñárritu and even Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine or Rebecca Hall’s Passing, Jane Campion The Power of the Dog down to a number of classics by Charlie Chaplin or the famous Robert Wise The Sound of Music and Chris Obi Rapu’s Living in Bondage. These films do not only get you to marvel at human ingenuity but also leave you speechless at the ability filmmakers have to summon a world and to create characters who would live in that very world and the circumstances that would surround their existence. That very ability is quintessential God-figure. So, when I was making Country Love, I was aware of my becoming a God-figure, I was summoning something, I was creating a world and the characters who would live in that world and what would transpire in their lives. There is nothing more superb!
The teaser of Country Love received over 5k views in less than 24 hours. That was huge. Why do you think that happened? Was it followed by wide acceptance or criticism?
I was shocked when a cast member sent me a twitter link to see the numbers of views we had amassed! Currently it’s more than 10,000 views. It was unexpected. I am someone who doubts themselves so much. I am always scared of imperfection especially when it comes to creating film. I always want it to be right, to be exactly how it is in my imagination. This actually caused some sort of altercation during filming between the film’s Director of Photography, Keny Basil and l. The thing is, I failed to realize that nothing comes perfect and exact when it comes to creating film! The much you can do is just to give your very best to the process. So, when we got that view on Twitter, I was elated! I couldn’t believe it. It’s a testament to a thorough process. The thing for me is not even the views we got, it’s the comments, the excitement that flooded all over the social media handles where the film trailer and teasers were posted. The Queer community was ecstatic and that was where I found profound happiness because Country Love is first for the Queer audience. I was happy they received it with utmost celebration. It felt like there has never been such like Country Love! (Laughing) I think the film is arguably the first of its kind in the Nigerian, ‘Queer’ cinema when we speak of mise-en-scene. There have been queer films but this one stands out in terms of visual representation, color palette, cinematography, visual composition and then the queer-themed story! All these were absolutely alluring, and I also think those are the very things that make up any film and drive it home to the hearts of its audience. Country Love deserves its flowers because it is absolutely a beautiful film!
With someone who is meticulous like you, everything is significant. I’ve also learnt over the years that even the tiniest things shouldn’t be overlooked. So, I want to know, why have you titled the film Country Love? Is there a symbol or metaphor hidden therein?
Well, if you have seen the film’s trailer which I am sure you have, you would know the film owns that title. This is the first time I am saying this, Country Love got its visual inspiration from Dee Rees Mud Bound. I don’t know if you have seen that film, so beautiful, so natural, so fresh and typical of Country Life. That was the sort of setting Country Love gave to me, a setting with so much scenery, landscapes, grasses, field (Laughing). All these attributes can be found nowhere except in the Countryside. I wanted my characters’ life to play out amidst the beauty of nature. The truth is there is no other location that would fit Country Love other than the countryside. That name came naturally, it was given me, and I don’t even know how to explain it. But what I can say is that the title chose the film and the visual representation is a testament to that!
I remember communicating with you closely during the making of Country Love. Even from a distance, I could feel how challenging the entire process was. However, it’s the characters that I want you to talk about. I feel they did a great job. What was the casting process like? And despite the limitations, how accurately did they represent the characters you wanted to birth?
The casting process was not easy. I didn’t have lot of options to pick from, obviously because of the film’s thematic preoccupation. The casting process delayed the film’s production, but I am grateful I took my time with the process, because the huge success of any film comes from the actors in that film. I am happy I got actors who were not just willing to star in the film but also saw the relevance of the story. The actors were exceptional artist who placed the story value over every other thing. For them, it’s not about making a queer-centric film, its about making a good story, a story they would look back at and be proud they played a role in its creation. I won’t be wrong if I say the story fetched me dedicated actors. I was in constant awe of their dedication and passion. I mean, you would see the actors demanding more shots because they felt they have not given the best in a scene. What more could a filmmaker desire if not such actors. At some point, I came to the realization that no other cast would have fit the film’s characters aside the ones I worked with. The originality, the talent was incomparable. The actors became the characters on set, there was an instant transformation that took place each time the camera starts rolling. They were no longer the actors I cast, they became the characters I imagined.
Country Love is about proper effeminate men representation: tenderness, passion, humanity, authenticity. Your debut film explores all these thoroughly, and I know this is one of the things you live for, unashamed by, because there is nothing about being male and feminine that anyone should be ashamed of. How does bringing the truth of the reality of Nigerian, effeminate men to international cinema make you feel?
I don’t even think it’s a feeling for me, I think it is more like an artist’s responsibility, who is aware of human diversity, to tell underrepresented story. Yes, I am grateful I told the story, but it is more about the fact that I recognized the importance of diversity and representation in cinema and less about my personal gratification. It is more about inclusion. Believe me when I say the story is not the overall reality of Femme Queer individuals, definitely it is not but then, there is a great sense of happiness when you see a character who is just like you up there on the big screen and passing through an experience which may or may not be similar to yours and you are drawn to that character because they resemble your identity, you resonate deeply with their own humanity and connect with empathy to their own individual experience. That is the sheer power of cinema! Kambili’s experience in Country Love will sure resonate with femme queer people but that is not to say it is our universal reality, else I would be consciously and offensively erasing the fact that our realities as Femme Queers and as humans in general are diverse, our experiences are different and eclectic. What I did is that I brought to the center the femme identity.
When is the official release date for Country Love? Will you be working on another project soon?
There is no official release date for the film. It won’t be out anytime soon because the film is just entering the festival circuit and most festivals are still accepting 2022 submissions. Hopefully, the film should be due for public view by late 2022 but I am looking to have it on a good platform which it deserves. As for a new project, it should be a short film but not anytime soon. I am running a film program at the moment, and it doesn’t permit me to engage in any other activity aside itself. However, I have written the screenplay for the short film and it’s already in its third draft.
I thoroughly enjoyed having this conversation with you. Thank you so much for the work you do for the community.
Thank you so much Arts Lounge for having me! The County love team can’t wait to grace your publication!
Watch a clip from Country Love.
Interviewer’s Bio
Adaeze M. Nwadike is the founder and chief editor of Arts Lounge Literary Magazine. She is a teacher by day, and a writer and editor by night. Her works have appeared or are forthcoming in Lolwe, Littlestone journal, State University of New York Journal of Gender and Cultural Studies, the Rising Phoenix, Brittle paper, Type/cast, Nipe Stories Podcast, e.t.c.
