In a world where reality and virtuality have blurred into one, one unlikely pairing dares to break the norms.
With Halima's Choice, Nigerian storyteller Korede Azeez skillfully paints a thought-provoking picture of a futuristic world where tradition and technology meet. Set in a world where most of the population migrated to virtual worlds, the story follows a young girl from a remote Fulani village who must choose between following the tradition of marrying the man chosen for her, or eloping to escape the arranged marriage.
Azeez's vivid storytelling captures the intricate and nuanced nature of a society grappling with the consequences of its technological advancements.
According to This Day, Azeez was first introduced to filmmaking in 2018 when she joined the BBC Media action as an assistant technical producer. She worked as a sound recordist and camera operator on several TV spots before she co-founded Hive Film Collective and directed her first short film Tip of The Edge in 2019.
Her short film, Halima's Choice, was created with support from Netflix's partnership with Unesco, which aims to encourage aspiring filmmakers to create stories from their own cultural backgrounds and to incorporate personal experiences and identity into storytelling.
During her conversation with Melody Chironda from allAfrica, Azeez shared what motivated her to become a master storyteller.
Azeez discovered her passion for storytelling at the age of 10 when her mother gifted her with numerous storybooks. She was particularly fascinated by stories containing magical elements that allowed her to escape from reality and explore different worlds.
"I read a lot of storybooks as a child, particularly those with magic in them. They allowed me to escape reality and fuel my imagination," she said.
Although she initially planned to study science, and later considering law, she found theatre arts intriguing. She worked at campus radio station Caritas FM as a student, and later as a full-time staff member. And while she was there, she was exposed to a BBC production radio drama called Story Story. She then created radio drama with other campus actors, which led her to learn more about drama and filmmaking.
Azeez encourages aspiring filmmakers to take the initiative to create stories from their own cultural backgrounds and not wait for large production companies to notice them or provide funding. She said the importance of incorporating personal experiences and identity into storytelling to create content that resonates with a diverse audience.
During the filming process, Azeez had a memorable experience working with the actors, particularly the younger ones, who brought great energy to the set. However, there were also challenges such as filming in the rain and working within a tight schedule. During the filming of the Napata scene in Patek garden, Azeez remembers encountering challenges due to the rain. Initially, they waited to see what would happen but eventually decided to shoot with the rain, which required adjusting the setup. The night scene also presented difficulties as they had a lot to film in a short period of time which made the experience quite hectic.
Azeez hopes that audiences outside the continent will see Africa in a different light through her work and get excited about the possibilities of hearing stories from Africa. She believes that reimagining traditional stories delves into the minds of Africans and showcases the creativity and intelligence of Africans. She said the anthology series is an opportunity to showcase their diverse cultures and languages, and hopes that viewers understand that Africa is not a country, but a continent with many different cultures and languages.
Regarding her film specifically, Azeez wants viewers to take away the message that everyone has the right to choose, but every choice comes with consequences. She said all the characters in the film, including Halima's parents, made choices that had consequences.
"Yes, Halima made a choice. But her parents also made a choice. Her mom made a choice. Her father made a choice. And they all saw the consequences of their choices. So that is definitely the major thing," she said.
Azeez believes technology and tradition should not have to clash and that they can co-exist in a natural and authentic way.
"If anything, we should create technologies and adopt technologies to work with us as we are with our culture and with our traditions. When you look at the virtual world, for instance, with the costumes, I tried to retain our sense of culture. So you find different African cultures represented in that space with the costumes. I was asking myself, what would sci-fi look like if it was authentically African? And as Africans, what you notice is that they're very close to nature. I wanted to reflect that, again, in saying that technology and tradition don't have to be contrasting."
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In this way, Azeez's work offers a unique perspective on the intersection of technology and tradition. She emphasizes the importance of exploring the theme of freedom of choice and the consequences of one's choices in a world where technology and tradition coexist.
In a world where technology and tradition collide, exploring themes of freedom and choice can be a complex task. This was the challenge that faced the creators of a futuristic story that delves into these themes.
How did they approach exploring these concepts in a world that is both advanced - especially with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT - and deeply rooted in tradition?
"I am a bit bothered by how AI seems to be taking over everything. It's almost like as human beings, the more these technologies advance, the more we're giving them power over us, right?" she said, adding that the virtual world of social media is symbolic of how technology can absorb and distance us from the real world.
It all comes down to choice.
