Private Project

Grief!

Dede loses her fiancé just as they're planning their wedding, she is forced to go through the different emotions that comes with stages of grief.

  • Onokemi Onojobi
    Director
    Regba, The Cycle, A Little Thought, Kechi
  • Onokemi Onojobi
    Writer
    Regba, The Cycle, A Little Thought, Kechi
  • Onoyomi Onojobi
    Producer
    Regba
  • Nene Nwanyo
    Key Cast
    "Dede"
    Adjoche, First Time Mum, Hertitude, Riona, Charge and Bail, BlaqOut, The Origin etc
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Thriller
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 30, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Nigeria
  • Country of Filming:
    Nigeria
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Onokemi Onojobi

Onokemi is a multi-disciplinary and multi-hyphenate creative. A highly motivated and conscious filmmaker with years of visual storytelling experience as a production designer and art director, and more recently as a writer, producer and director. Onokemi has an extensive portfolio that demonstrates originality and unique creativity as she seeks to deliver stories that not only challenge the norm but also addresses pertinent social issues. Onokemi is also an ardent advocate against the sexual abuse of children.

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Director Statement

On June 30, 2004, I had my firsthand experience with grief. I lost my older brother. He was my best friend, my personal knight in shining armour. The loss hit me terribly. I would wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats, checking and rechecking on my kids for fear that they’d disappear. It was difficult, my world was upturned, but none of that could be seen on the outside. I put up a brave front but inside, I was dying.

So many people, not unlike myself have had this terrible introduction to loss. We react, respond and express not based on what we’re experiencing on the outside, but rather on the pain we so desperately hold inside. Silently screaming for help but pushing it away when it is offered. Dreading to be awake, not wanting to experience another day knowing the loved one would no longer be a part of it. Looking very much alive but slowly dying inside. “Get over it some say”, but there is no textbook timeline as to when the pain would ebb… if it ever does.

This is a narrative that needs to be shared, an issue that needs to be addressed, and that is what I attempt to achieve with this short film, employing purposeful ways to drive the message home and elicit empathy. Grief is real! In fact, prolonged grief is the newest disorder to be added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).