#2017REWIND : Top 5 Short Films We Saw In 2017

LEAPS AND BOUNDS! Nollywood is growing in leaps and bounds and if it is not evident in our full length features, then it is the most evident in short films. Our short filmmakers are making bold moves and telling impactful stories in their films. They are leaving no stone untouched as they drive this bullet train right to your heart.

Here’s our list of the short films that made us crumble this year. It’s the TOP 5 SHORT FILMS WE SAW THIS YEAR:

#5 ROOM 315 

This short film is about Dr. Stone, a therapist, who along the way discovers the ties that he has with some of his other patients. The review for this one was called “Hope, Boredom & Frustration” because that was genuinely how we felt while watching this film. In the end the movie reveals itself… or should I say, it leaves all interpretations to the audience.

#4 HELL OR HIGH WATER

Hell or High Water tries to take on Homosexuality and the Church as it follows a youth pastor who was supposedly ‘delivered’ of his homosexuality. A few years later, he has a wife who feels unloved and he himself is still in love with his former lover. So he goes over to his lover’s house and the story unfolds. Hell or High Water is poignant and thought-provoking. At the end, you are left questioning a lot. Not so much about the storyline but about our society as a whole.

#3 GONE NINE MONTHS

From this point, I really wanted to rate all the following shorts (#1-3) as number one because in one way or another they manage to wrap you up and entangle you. Gone nine months calmly introduces an issue of sexism. It is set in the 90s with a married professor who is seeking opportunities outside the country but also has to overcome her unsupportive husband. In the future I might forget this short film, but I will never forget how great Najite Dede’s performance was

#2. THROUGH HER EYES

Oh goodness! If I had known how this short film was going to end, it might have lessened the barrage of emotions I felt at the end. At the end I felt a blow of sadness, alongside a slap of anger, with a sharp twist of denial. The short had so much packed in to such a small space. And it really was all that and a lot more.

#1 BARIGA SUGAR

Bariga Sugar is one that etches itself in your memory because it is such a basic story. It’s a story that nollywood has told a million times before but it is more poignant here. Here it is told from the eyes of children. As they live and they grow, we watch as their innocence disappears as they are violently accosted by the cold, harsh world.