Private Project

State Of Emergency

A young man is troubled by nightmare about his wife's health and this turns into hallucination until he's not sure of the difference.

  • Mao
    Director
    Shoot Day,
  • Mao
    Writer
    Shoot Day
  • Mao
    Producer
    Shoot Day
  • Ope Falegan
    Producer
  • Tola Bolaji
    Key Cast
    "Deji"
  • Adejoke Aderibigbe
    Key Cast
    "Nikki"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Thriller
  • Runtime:
    12 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    360 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 - Mao

Mao, born, Matthew Adeboye is an independent filmmaker, that hails from Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. He is a Scriptwriter and Director with a desire to improve on his craft.
He is a graduate of Building from Obafemi Awolowo University. He made the decision to tell visual stories from 2017 and has taught himself how to write and direct films by reading books, watching others and making his own films.He wrote and directed films like: Shoot Day (which screened at Africa International Horror Film Festival), Scorned (which screened at Kwara Film Festival), Sunset, and NO.
He has directed films like; Cry Like Rain Cry, Bridges and Blinkered. He has worked on several other projects that have screened in Nigeria and abroad.He is part of the Preliminary Jury for 2021 edition of Don Bosco International Youth Film Festival.

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Director Statement

Mental health is one thing that we hardly talk about deeply and affectionately in Nigeria and other part of Africa. There are outlet that are created for the purpose of mental health awareness but how many people are ready to truly talk and how effective are these outlets.

The pandemic lockdown created a lot of retrospection in the affairs of many. Couples that avoided each other in the name of working are forced to deal with each other longer than they would have if there’s no lockdown. The fear of loosing beloved ones to COVID-19 create panic among people.

In Nigeria, the lockdown caused reflections among Youth and concerned elder citizen of the nation. The result is the widespread nationwide END SARS protest. The protest ended on an inglorious manner because of the Lekki Massacre but the effect is long lasting and as an artist I predicted it.

The script was written in February 2020, where I predicted a revolution that will cause a crackdown on bad political leaders in Africa but this will start in Nigeria. The writer -director personal experiences from lockdown were brought into play when thinking of a lockdown caused by political revolution.

State of Emergency is a work of art that has it backdrop has Ibadan, which is representation of the current state of Nigeria. Deji is a citizen affected by the lack of a stable working system in the nation. His fear is reflected in his hallucination and nightmare. He believes in the reform of the nation, hence the END SARS pictures beside his bed.

From the title, mental health awareness and treatment in developing countries should be declared state of emergency. Bad governance in Nigeria and other affected countries needs emergency solution.