The recently released trailer of Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s ‘Farming’ may be suggesting that your favourite actress Genevieve Nnaji is playing a less engaging role. We get the grieving part as seen from the trailer, but we are concerned she did not get a lot of lines to deliver. We saw this happen in the 2013 movie ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’.
When movies with foreign blueprints tell Nigerian stories and insert Nigerian actors as with Genevieve into a character, they are almost invisible. In ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ she only appeared in one scene and played an embarrassing role rather than the lead role she is known for. It makes us uncomfortable seeing her play one of the least characters with just one appearance. That would have been better called a cameo.
‘Farming’
‘Farming‘, tells tales from Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s life and he had previously made a short film of the same name. It outlines the extraordinary journey of his life as a young fostered Nigerian boy. While he is still struggling to find himself, he falls in with a skinhead gang in 1980’s England. The story is a powerful and informative tool which opens our eyes to an uneasy and unusual reality. It is totally worth watching.
Once more, in ‘Farming’ Genevieve Nnaji meets Gugu Mbatha-Raw her co-star in ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’. Other actors featuring in the movie include Damson Idris, Kate Beckinsale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, John Dagleish and Jaime Winstone.
Farming first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year. This year played at the Edinburgh Film Festival where it was awarded for telling an important disturbing story. Farming keeps you invested in its brutal world. Damson Idris for his role in ‘Farming’ got the award of the Best Performance in a British Feature. Farming will open in select UK cinemas starting on October 11, however, there is no US release date set yet.
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Ms. Nnaji is an excellent and beautiful actress. Unfortunately she is in a catch 22 situation in this industry. They have a certain image of black women, especially dark skin women they want to project (poor, uneducated, welfare, etc all the negative stereotypes) and this is what we see the majority of the time in films outside of Nollywood. I am sure she is aware of this and that is why she keeps saying we need to tell our stories in our way. Then Nollywood itself is very one dimensional it is basically the same storylines being repeated to infinity the only difference is the cast. They need to stop burying their head in the sand and cover more relevant topics. Movies are an escape but they can also help deal with real life issues. When you have an intelligent, fast learner, and artist like Ms. Nnaji you have to challenge them otherwise they get bored quickly. Yes, she will continue to act because it is her passion. But eventually she will move on to other creative things, when she is no longer fulfilled. It is already happening she is doing fewer roles. The best thing she has done for herself in my opinion is create and tell her own stories.