A man and a woman in Lagos want to escape their everyday lives, but extricating themselves is no easy task. Two stories narrated with tenderness and restraint that only fleetingly touch, the dream of migrating to Europe floating above them all the while.
An omnibus film featuring nine works by emerging filmmakers of color, Who Will Start Another Fire is the inaugural project of Dedza Films, a distribution initiative focused on showcasing underrepresented communities and the next wave of international storytellers.
Seyi, a 24-year-old Nigerian-American, works on Wall Street. Desperate to succeed because of his outsider status-due to class and race-he commits a crime, insider trading, which brings his entire world crashing down on him. Seyi's troubled circumstances force him finally to confront his tumultuous relationship with his ailing father, his romantic relationship with his privileged white girlfriend, and his racial and immigrant backgrounds-with nothing less at stake for him than his soul.
Bola Ogun is a dedicated counselor who facilitates reconciliation sessions between convicts and the victims of their crimes. When her own daughter goes missing, her belief in forgiveness is tested, and she decides to take matters into her own hands. This powerful film demonstrates the strength and determination of a mother's love.
Shuga, also known as MTV Shuga, is a television drama series that was first aired in November 2009 on MTV Base as part of an initiative dubbed "MTV Staying Alive Ignite!". Its first two seasons were commissioned by MTV Networks Africa in association with The MTV Staying Alive Foundation, PEPFAR (The US President's Emergency Fund for Aids Relief), the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation (HFG) and the Government of Kenya, as part of a multimedia campaign to spread the message about responsible sexual behaviour and tolerance. It later became a hit and was aired in 40 different African countries before it was aired internationally in over 70 television stations. It was thought to be a very controversial series by the senior generation of Kenyans because it contained some scenes that contained sexually explicit content.It received a Gold award in May 2010 at the World Media Festival in Hamburg, Germany in the Public Relations Health category for its focus on love, emotions, and sexual behavior amongst Kenyan youth.
In 2013, production of the series was moved to Nigeria, where the third and subsequent seasons are set. Dubbed "Shuga Naija",the new version is a multimedia campaign which educates youths on HIV, safe sex and teen pregnancy. It also touches on maternal and child health, family planning, gender-based violence, and women empowerment.It was produced in partnership with Nigeria's "National Agency for the Control of AIDS" (NACA). The season 3 of the series was broadcast via 88 television stations across the world, with estimated household viewers of over 550 million.