In Black Silhouette, a prostitute wins election

Joke Silva

Usually, it takes an opponent to dig into the past of other candidates. It is this practice that, for instance, procreated some controversial documentaries on some people playing major roles in the current elections.

Among such are the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; APC leader, Bola Tinubu, and wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience. But what happens when the candidate on her own decides to expose his or her dirty past?

This is the question the viewer faces in ‘Black Silhouette’, a new film produced by Okoro the Prince and directed by Charles Uwagbai.

Coming from the stable of Creative Minds Studios, the woman shedding light on her past is Joke Silva, who, playing the role of Senator Maro Oti, has just won the governorship election.

On the eve of her swearing- in, she decides to write her memoir that reveals a life of sexual abuse, prostitution and an unsolved murder. The movie that stars Femi Jacobs, Ivie Okujaye, IK Osakioduwa, Jude Orhorha, and Grace Ofre thrives on the intrigues that defined Oti’s past, confronts her future and that of the society.

Her story shocks even her internationally acclaimed biographer, Eric Mobumba, played by Osakioduwa.

When the movie was recently screened in Lagos, many viewers relished Oti’s story with passion and fervour. But part of the concern of some of them was that the film ended when they were still expecting more. That, however, is one of the traits Uwagbai considers as a feat. The man who also directed ‘Breathless’ feels that when the audience or viewers are asking for more at the end of a performance or movie, it means the cast and crew have done a good job.

“If the viewers spend some two hours without realising they have spent that much, and they are still asking for more, then that is a good film,” Uwagbai said.

He noted that the significance of the film was that the heroine had come out to tell her story which, he added, was a sign of rare courage.

He said, “If someone can come out and tell her story, it means she realises the need to change that story. Everybody has a story to tell. But people only use the stories of others to blackmail them.”

The director expressed delight at the way Silva handled the job, saying, “She interpreted the story brilliantly. She brought into it the passion of a mother, really.”