Mabel Benson
On 14th June 2017, seven formidable and distinguished Nigerian artists, of the Nigerian movie industry embarked on a 3-day script- conference in Lagos on the story – ‘Girls’ for Sale’. ‘Girls’ for Sale’ is a story written by Kehinde Omoru, a freelance journalist for THISDAY Newspaper, a UK registered and practising nurse, one of Nigeria’s upcoming story tellers and movie producers.
Conferring to critique, analyse and filter this great work of entertainment and advocacy were Fred Amata – story critique, actor and director , Kate Henshaw – actor, story critique and production designer, Aghogho Akpoyibo – medical adviser, CRS advocate , Abiola Tayo-Afolabi – story critique, script writer with romantic slant, Damijo Efe Young – script writer, director, casting director, Stanley Isokoh – script writer with comedy slant, Sikaa Udiak – film watcher and cinema goer and Opa Williams – conference convener. Production facilitator – Girls’ for Sale.
Omoru explains that this story is a “double whammy” in that it is firstly an entertainment work of art. Secondly, and not in the least less importantly, it burrows into the many ways our girls have long gone on sale!
The movie, Girls’ for Sale masterfully manipulates the plot to journey into some whys of this. It explores an increasingly common consequence of this “buy one get one free” sales phenomenon and gently intones the ways out, for posterity sake.
Several themes reverberate in this script. You might find yourself captivated by the throes of adolescence masterfully unravelled by the two lead characters, or by how severely power and wealth could reduce poverty to nonentity. Perhaps your memories of this movie would be the triumph (should you consider it so) of its protagonist – but not without the scars.
Cultural African thoughts about the Girl-child dominates this story and begs for immediate and sustained reorientations to begin individually, clannishly, tribally, nationally and indeed globally. The beauty of Girls’ for Sale came to the fore when an independent critique of it burst out in excitement after reading it saying “This story gives faces and voices to what has lived with us and in us for hundreds of years.”
