“Marked” Took me to 20 States Over Two Years- Nadine Ibrahim

Filmmaker, Nadine Ibrahim is almost done with her new and intriguing documentary titled Marked. Marked is a cultural project based on the origin and reasons for tribal markings in traditional Nigerian societies.

Nadine who announced the documentary on Instagram last week, said that she and her team have been working on the project for over two years.

We caught up with Nadine to talk about the documentary, her inspiration, her process and more.

What is the idea behind your upcoming film Marked, what inspired it? 

When I was younger I had an aunty that had bold facial marks, I was very curious about them and often asked her why she did it.  She told me it was for beauty back then; everyone was doing it. As I grew older I started noticing facial marks everywhere, different designs and different depths in the cuts. I got so engrossed in the idea that I began researching about it. When I realised there were so many reasons behind it and each tribe had peculiar ones I knew there was a story there. So I chased it.

Give us an idea of the kind of things we will be seeing in this film. 

The documentary was shot over two years and in about 20 different states. You will be getting an insight into the different cultures around Nigeria and highlights of the beautiful landscapes we came across but most importantly you will hear the most fascinating real life stories behind scarification and how they intertwine with beauty identity and spirituality

What’s the attraction to documentary, is it a genre that Nigerians warm up to?

Documentary for me is an opportunity to be real, it doesn’t get any more transparent than that. Being able to tell and show real factual content that people can look at and find insightful. There are many documentaries out there but I wouldn’t say it is a celebrated genre mostly because of the subjects being documented and the educational ‘boring’ stigma attached to it. But if you find a story or subject that is interesting enough and relatable, then you can find an audience.

What was it like sourcing for subjects and getting them to speak and share their experiences?

Very hard. A lot of people have trust issues when it comes to being on camera so there was a lot of convincing that had to be done. A lot of the time we needed to find fixers that would source people for us and guide us, that way even if we were strangers walking into unknown grounds we would be trusted because of the fixer and his links. Some people were genuinely just happy to talk about themselves and get the attention. The south was a lot harder than the north in terms of convincing though. More spiritual connotations attached to the idea of a stranger going away with a picture of you.

Who are the other people involved in this project?  

The Associate Producer is Ishaya Bako.

Cinematography Ibidunni Oladayo.

Editor Taiye Shittu.

Sounds and Design Rekricketts,

Production manager: @real_ibrahimdaddy

Photographers @dr_khalidz @victoradewale_graphics safiya MKY ,

Fixers @aishaaugiekuta @ebun

Any other thing in the works from your stable at the moment?

Right now I’m focused on the promotion of this documentary but I will get back to writing my feature film very soon.

Watch out for the documentary Marked! It will be out in a few months.