Film Screening: Blood and Henna

Kenneth Gyang’s movie was premiered. The movie was a realistic depiction of the backlash of Pfizer experiments on children in Kano on one level. It had as a subplot an inspiring love story between two couples who have to fight for their love in spite of the social and economic tension around them. It is also a movie about the bloody days of military regime and the hardship people faced especially thinkers, writers and musicians. The movie alludes to notable historical figures like the musician Fela Kuti, writers like Ken Saro-Wiwa and annulment of the June 12 presidential election by the Babaginda regime.

Kenneth’s movie was praised for his fidelity to details, which was clearly a product of intensive research. The moderator was curious about how he was able to execute such grand project with limited funding. Kenneth appreciated the support of notable northern actors like Nuhu Ali,Ibrahim Daddy and Salihu Bappa for sacrificing their time and energy without compensation. He spoke passionately about the evils of multinational corporations in Nigeria.
He said he was inspired to write the script after reading a book and watching a movie that gave a narrative that he disagreed with. He decided to retell this story by humanising the major actors and depicting how this singular event changed their lives. Some of them lost everything: wives, children and even their purpose for existence.
The audience during the question session queried the movie for possessing a mosaic plot. A question Gyang clarified. He said the movie was like that to avoid making it a documentary.

Written by Katung Kwasu