‘Black Sands’ Dignifies Victims Of Violent Attacks In Benue

In Benue State, located in the middle-belt region of Nigeria, a decades-long conflict has graduated from farmer-herder violent clashes – to unprovoked attacks on indigenes by  herdsmen.

The consequence of  the now normalized attacks, is seen in the media, where victims of the deadly attacks have been reduced to mere statistics, with the occasional government speech “strongly condemning the attacks” with no serious efforts or mechanism put in place to curb and end the root cause of the conflict, and zero justice  done to the innocent victims.

‘Black Sands’, a short film, written and directed by Agatha Doowuese Akaahar, gives face to victims of the violent conflict, through the depiction of the sacrifices many of them have made to keep their loved ones alive in exchange for  their lives. And the  deafening silence after  the violent attack,forces viewers to review the loss experienced by the survivors, in addition to the resilience of humans even in the face of such cruelty to go on – spurred by love and familial sacrifice.

Commendation must go to the producers for the quality of shots and sound track, and the inclusiveness of the project, which gives representation to persons with disabilities, who are also affected by the conflict. The impact of providing subtitles to the sign language interpretation on screen, and presenting the person in disability,living a normal life and being treated equally with others. makes  a huge difference.

The fact that the film does not focus on the carnage  – but on the family bond, community life and environment disrupted by the attack and the sacrifice made by the family in-focus, brings home the message being passed.

However, contrary to its claim, viewers do not hear the muffled breathing of survivors Wuese (Kuturah Samuel) and the baby (Aondona Terlumun) from within the water drum where they were hidden. A much better shot would be a visual focus of both Wuese and the baby within the drum, and a projection of the fear and uneasiness they felt, via 360 degrees shot of her face, and muffled sounds of cries, shouts and gunshots.

Nevertheless, the film did achieve its purpose of humanising and dignifying victims of violence that had all but been turned into mere numbers.

A native of Benue State, Akaahar, a graduate of History and International Studies at the University of Ilorin, is a self-taught filmmaker who uses her storytelling craft as a means of promoting healing and connection.

She began her storytelling career via theatre writing. Her first step into the cinematic world was with her debut short film ‘OH’. ‘Black Sands’ her second film project is her most personal and ambitious work to date.

A project of Twenty Pounds, supported by Filmmakers Mart and Rollpay, ‘Black Sands’ is produced by Ogochukwu Umeadi who is also the production manager, Twamsan Danaan as DOP, Adams Peter as editor, and stars Kuturah Samuel as Wuese, Aondona Terlumun as Baby, David Ihongu as Kator, and Doofan Allam as Elder Sister.

It is scheduled to premiere by October end.