How Independent Short And Feature Filmmakers Signal Future Of Nigerian Film Industry – Sarah Juma

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Nigerian-born screenwriter and filmmaker, Sarah Juma is fresh off the high of a long festival run, which saw her short film, Trinket, about a housekeeper’s ordeal when a politician’s designer watch goes missing in a hotel room, screen and receive awards from the Richmond International Film Festival and West African Film Festival. A long journey, to say the least, she speaks on how we arrived here.

“I’m not a sociologist but I definitely pay attention to the dynamic of the society around me and how the struggle for limited resources fractures that society. I was always fascinated by those tragic stories of people being tortured to death via jungle justice for stealing easily-replaceable things, while the theft usually occurs on a larger scale in places of authority is overlooked by the same mobs. I first got the idea to write something in this vein, but explored through a woman’s eyes and taking place in the span of one day. This gave birth to a micro-fiction story which won a prize in the now-defunct 100 Words Africa contest back in February 2019. The reception from judges and other readers who found it heartbreaking, pushed me to consider turning it into a film and so I got to writing the screenplay, simply to put a phenomenon that bothered me on screen, not knowing where it would go.” This screenplay went on to win the Top 5 Prize in the Shore Scripts Film Fund 2020, where winners would be given cash prizes up to $10,000 to produce the script, as well as technical support during production.” The script, called previously called Precious Metal, Iron Bar, earned Sarah a selection by the admissions committee of the prestigious and highly-selective American Film Institute Conservatory. “Anytime I interviewed with a film school admissions committee, they would say I remember the story about “the watch”.” In the end, she chose Loyola Marymount’s School of Film & Television where she received her Master of Fine Arts in screenwriting after three years.

Filming for Trinket took place in Abuja, Nigeria in April 2021, with an ensemble production crew boasting impressive resumes and utmost professionalism. “Through networking, I had found Samuel Adebayo who had been the director of photography on Rita Dominic’s film The Therapist as well as Tems’ Crazy Tings music video. His reel was highly impressive and he brought aboard a team of heavyweights including Ismail Adewunmi whose 20-year resume in Nollywood spans TV and film credits like The Origin: Madam Koi Koi and Kambili, both on Netflix.” “I’m really grateful that I got to witness their talent firsthand and also work with a stellar cast whom I auditioned to bring the vision of this story to life.” Post-production was a one year process spanning Lagos and Los Angeles, with the help of one Nigerian and one American editor, as well as a Lagos-based color correction company, Stedi Color. 

“I feel like we’re starting to see a lot of young African filmmakers jump in headfirst to bringing the stories they picture in their heads to life on the big screen, whether it’s a short film, independent feature, podcast or web series, regardless of obstacles… One major obstacle is obviously financing, but if we see more residency programs such as the one run by Realness Institute in South Africa, with some sponsorship partners such as Netflix. I was a semifinalist for the Episodic Lab in 2021, and the idea of taking talented writers and incubating them, while they’re provided with education, mentorship and funding, so that their finished projects are the best they can be, is an incredible one. I would love to see more initiatives like this across the continent and others that bridge the gap between Nollywood and Hollywood.” Among such programs are the EbonyLife x Sony Pictures Television Alo Writers Initiative which Juma was also a finalist for in 2022 and the Netflix & UNESCO African Folktales Re-Imagined Project whose alumni’s films have debuted on the streaming platform. Before these opportunities open up, however, Juma encourages writers to “just keep writing, in the meantime.” Back in 2017, she wrote and co-produced one season and five episodes of the satirical “Africa Say, What?” on Apple Podcasts, with award-winning Zimbabwean singer, Joy Rukanza. The episodes are still available for streaming on the platform, and will be adapted into longer form television episodes.

As of now, Juma is a working writer in Los Angeles and has won several screenwriting awards and finalist placements, most notably Page International Screenwriting Award and the Disney DET Writing Program. She continues to write dramas that explore the moral dilemmas humans are often pushed to in these cutthroat worlds where resources are limited, and stakes high, just like in Trinket.