Vanessa Obioha
‘Elina’, a film spotlighting real-life accounts of parental neglect, child molestation, sexual abuse and trauma recently premiered at Silverbird Cinema, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Produced by Editha Chiewuzie, the movie features veteran Nollywood actor Eucharia Anunobi alongside Kalu Ikeagwu, Jibola Dabo, and Winner Edward, among others.
The over one-hour film tells the story of the eponymous character Elina, an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped after her mother carelessly left the car keys in the ignition with her in the car during an outing.
For several years, all efforts to find Elina proved abortive and her parents accepted that she must already be dead. However, Elina would return to their life but will it be the same girl they knew 16 years ago?
The film highlights the traumatic experiences victims go through at the hands of their abductors such as sexual abuse and the attendant results.
Speaking at the premiere, Chiewuzie disclosed that the movie was inspired by true-life experiences of parental neglect in Nigeria, where children weren’t properly kept safe and eventually kidnapped.
She, however, disclosed that the making of the movie was a tough one as it was shot while the #ENDSARS protest in October last year was equally ongoing. The sudden protest, according to her, made mobility and finding of locations harder than expected.
“When we produced the movie, it was during the #ENDSARS protest, so moving around was very hard and I was also acting in the movie.
“So sometimes when I am on set, they are calling me as the producer and sometimes I start crying in the hotel room, saying ‘God, what am I going to do?’, but I thank God because His grace saw me through and here is ELINA today.”
The movie is now in cinemas nationwide today, May 21.
