Funmi Iyanda Tackles Sexual Orientation In Debut Film, “Walking with Shadows”
If you are familiar with Nigerian daytime television, you have most likely heard of Funmi Iyanda, talk show host, broadcaster, journalist, and blogger. Famous for her passion for equal rights and human interest stories, Funmi Iyanda is taking her activism to the next level with “Walking With Shadows, which revolves around gay rights.
Walking With Shadows is the movie adaptation of a Jude Dibia novel of the same name. The story follows an accomplished family man named Adrian Njoko, whose life begins to fall apart when a secret from his past surfaces.
Buried deep in the yesteryears is Njoko’s true sexual orientation, which he has kept hidden from everyone around him. And now, he has to manage the ripple effects of his secrets coming to light. And with Nigeria being as it is, the ripple effects are more like a tempest.
Iyanda’s first run-in with LGBT rights
As this story maneuvers the dangers gay people face in Nigeria, we have to throw it back to a similar incident that took place 15 years ago, one also involving Funmi Iyanda. In 2004, on her TV show New Dawn with Funmi, Iyanda interviewed Bisi Alimi, a now prominent LGBT rights activist.
During the interview, Bisi Alimi unexpectedly used the platform to come out as gay. This made Alimi the first Nigerian to come out as openly gay on national television. The show was aired to millions of people and Funmi Iyanda received massive backlash for it. The incident gravely damaged her career and highlighted how deeply homophobic the entire state of Nigeria was.
“When I did that interview, I did not know how much punishment I would get,” she said years later. “I was more concerned for him than myself. I was punished severely in ways I will not talk about, even now, until I am ready. It’s ridiculous.”
Walking with Shadows
A year after the incident, Jude Dibia discreetly published “Walking with Shadows”; a book that for once did not demonize the gay character. It rather made the hero relatable and worthy of empathy. In the years following its release, the book spurred up conversation and controversy surrounding the topic of queerness in Nigeria.
Now, the conversations are getting louder and louder and what could not be uttered louder than a whisper is making its way to the silver screen. And who better to take the reins of production than Funmi Iyanda, a woman who stood for human rights when everyone else persecuted her? It is lovely to see that over a decade later, Iyanda is still consistent with her politics.
The movie stars Ozzy Agu, Zainab Balogun, Funlola Aifiyebi Raimi, Wale Ojo, and Adunni F. Ade. “Walking with Shadows” is produced by Funmi Iyanda via her production company, Oya Media, in partnership with The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERS).
