Nicole Asinugo’s directorial debut short film, God Knows Best is one of the Nigerian films that made history at Cannes Film Festival this year. Anchored on the story of Simi (played with quiet yet forceful relish by Wini Efon in her first lead role), God Knows Best tells the nuanced and layered story of a Nigerian widow who has to quickly respond to her new reality. The short film presents a strong narrative on the need for women empowerment and agency.
In this interview with Culture Custodian, Asinugo, Efon and Fedworks, the film’s cinematographer discuss the film, filmmakers’ cultural and political responsibilities and the need to make an impact with the film.
The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Congratulations on having the film’s first private screening at Cannes. Has Cannes always been the destination? And what does the screening mean to you and the film?
Asinugo: Cannes Film Festival, as one of the most prestigious festivals in the world, is, for me, an aspirational festival. But, as a first-time director, I didn’t see myself there. The idea of wanting to screen my film at Cannes came from the desire to show my film in a space that feels worthy of it. And I could be proud to be affiliated with.
The Festival caught my attention more when Akinola Davies’s My Father’s Shadow was announced as being part of official selection. That selection and my closeness to the producer, Fumbi Ogunbanwo made the dream of screening my film at Cannes tangible, real and achievable.
The film is dedicated to Ele and her boys. Who is Ele and how did she inspire the story?
Asinugo: Ele is a close friend of mine who unfortunately lost her husband two years ago. Although the story is not directly inspired by her, while writing the story, Ele’s grief and the way she assuredly and fearlessly walked that path while taking care of her two boys further inspired the character. I don’t think I really understood women empowerment, especially that of a young widow, until Ele. And that’s why God Knows Best carries not just the theme of grief but that of women empowerment.
There is a paucity of positive narrative around women and widows in Nollywood. As a storyteller, what do you make of this? And, why was it important for you to tell this story as your directorial debut film?
Asinugo: Nollywood’s stereotypical storytelling tropes are actually accurate. The problem is that they’re just not the whole story. We all have the overbearing mother-in-laws, misogynistic uncles and relatives who will disinherit a widow in our families. So, yes, those stereotypical and negative portrayals do exist. But, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said, that’s the danger of a single story. They don’t give room for other stories to be reflected.
But, with God Knows Best, it was important to show a different reality which is that women are strong and they don’t necessarily crumble under the weight of grief. In doing this, I also wanted to pay homage to those aunties who represent Nollywood stereotypes too.
Efon: It’s important to tell full stories. And, with regards to Nicole’s response about stereotypes, it’s true that these harmful cultural practices exist and are true to our society and our communities. But, what Write Good Stories and God Knows Best is doing and has done is to showcase a different reality that needs to be shown more. As storytellers, it’s important we’re able to capture and speak to different angles of a story. This presents us with a fuller picture.
How important is the place of positive narrative and films and media in reframing Nigerians and Africans perception of women and widows?
Efon: As filmmakers and storytellers, it’s important that we tell stories from a different and multi-dimensional lens. And with God Knows Best it’s that we are championing and showcasing women. We are having a conversation about the necessity of gender equity and women’s empowerment because it, on a larger scale, makes a woman’s life better. Gender equity and women empowerment, on a broader scale, helps the community and society at large.
Also, these stories are so important for the younger generation especially with how conditioning the media is. And, as storytellers, we have to find creative ways, which is what we do at Write Good Stories, to instill positive images and ideas into people’s minds. This allows us to directly and indirectly teach them values and know what to defend and disallow. It makes them challenge outdated, unbeneficial and harmful societal norms. Yes, as filmmakers, we need to find creative ways to speak about these harmful practices in order to shift paradigms.
Asinugo: I completely agree with Winnie’s take on our role as storytellers, writers, directors in telling and pushing positive and balanced narratives. Filmmakers don’t really, on an intuitive and visceral level, understand the power of storytelling. This has made us approach storytelling as just entertainment. Thus, as a filmmaker you’re concerned about the plot and inciting as opposed to the cultural and political impact of your story. Premium attention isn’t placed on the ability of that story to change a young person’s worldview and opinion or cause a change of harmful law and stopping harmful cultural and religious practices. As filmmakers, we need to understand our authority and power to create impactful change. This understanding will make us aware of the kind of narrative we push and constantly question what you write and act in as a performer.
One of the conversations I had with Wini is her wanting us to connect and partner with organizations that shed light on widows’ realities. We didn’t just want to talk about how great the film is. We were equally interested in making an impact. And, I think that kind of intentionality is important when marketing films. They shouldn’t just be praised for creative excellence sake and seen as entertainment tools because they are much more. Films are powerful mediums for social change.
Efon: This isn’t to suggest that we should dim light in discussing the creative and technical aspects of filmmaking. What we are saying is that filmmakers have a responsibility to champion and shed light on certain narratives. You never know what can change or who will be affected by the stories you tell.
Fedworks: With God Knows Best, I didn’t want people to watch just another Nigerian widow story because we have a lot of that in Nollywood. I wanted them to be emotionally connected to the story and leave the film with something tangible.
Media and films are very important. If we have a lot of films and media to tell good and positive stories, Nigeria and the world will be a better place. People use film and media to pass negative narratives. That means, as a filmmaker, I can use that same medium to tell related narratives. The importance of this can’t be emphasized.
Simi’s strength lies in her silence and unusual display of strength. As a performer, what drew you to this character?
Efon: Simi’s silent resolve and ability to survive an unfavorable situation are qualities that drew me to the character. Simi’s courage, grit and undefeated pose despite the challenges and societal expectations placed on her made me love the character. Also, that she was able to embrace unfamiliar paths, is also a value and quality that further drew me in.
Learning empathy as a filmmaker. How important is empathy to you as a filmmaker especially as you addressed and played the role of an everyday Nigeria woman?
Efon: From an actor’s perspective, empathy is important character building. In Literature class and during Drama school, my teachers and lectures emphasize the importance of not judging a character. This has guided me in all the roles I take. Each role has deepened my understanding and appreciation of the complexities of human connection.
Asinugo: You can’t be a good storyteller without having empathy for people. Empathy is about seeing and acknowledging another person’s reality. And that’s what storytelling is and should aim for. When you watch a film and can relate, on an emotional level, to a character’s story, that’s you, as a viewer, being empathetic.
As a human being and Nigerian storyteller, being empathetic makes you a better storyteller. As Nigerians, we have been desensitized to poverty and pain of everyday Nigerians which is understandable because of the heavy emotional burden of consistently thinking about suffering. But, I think it’s important to take moments to acknowledge other people’s realities and offer support when we can. As an empathetic filmmaker, you start to see stories everywhere. Thus, instead of just telling stories of affluent people, we start seeing and telling stories of everyday Nigeria lives which feels more grounded. These kinds will be compelling because they’re our reality.
Visual storytelling is important when framing stories. How was it working with the cinematographer? And, how did you ensure the film was shot from a distinctively feminine lens?
Asinugo: As a first-time director, choosing a DOP with credible proof of work and a quiet and patient approach to storytelling was important. I wanted the camera to stay on the characters a lot and that was one of the criteria for choosing to work with Fedworks.
When I created and shared a shortlist with him, he looked through it and gave a helpful interpretation. He adds his ideas and opinions too to it. We wanted the film’s visual language to be emotional and intimate. These were all what we spoke about.
Fedworks: I already have an experience of what it means for a woman to lose her husband. After losing my dad while growing up, my mom took up a lot of responsibilities. This shaped my understanding of the realities of widows. Thus, when God Knows Best came, I was able to use this personal experience as a reference point in telling the story and choosing a visual language. I saw Simi as my mom. Additionally, films like If Baale Street Could Talk, Mother of George and The Woman With the Knife were helpful guides in navigating God Knows Best’s visuals, camera angles and characters’ portrayal.
What was the writing, directing and post-production process? How did you ensure amidst the chaos you stayed true to the film’s vision and intent?
Asinugo: I wrote the story in a day. But, as good writers know, writing is in rewriting. There were several rewrites that further shaped the story. The writing process came easily because it was based on the story of someone I have heard of a woman who decided to start driving her husband’s bus after his death. But the first draft, I should say, was written in a day.
When I spoke with Wini, she asked questions about Simi’s backstory that further benefited the story. These questions prompted us to visit a bus park to speak with drivers to have an understanding of the kind of jobs that wives of drivers do.
Efon: Yes. We visited a bus park to learn about the typical jobs that wives of bus drivers would do. That visit gave us about six to seven page backstory. As an actor, I wanted to know more about Simi to be able to create Simi’s world. And these questions were helpful for my performance. This is an approach I take with every character I have had the privilege and opportunity to play.
Asinugo: These questions and research made it easier for me to direct Wini because of the work she has done. The questions made me understand the characters more on an emotional level. Thus, even when there were concerns of my ability to direct a film in a language I don’t speak, because I know and understand what each scene is to emotionally communicate, it made directing easier. This made me discover that my approach to directing is being able to communicate the emotional depth of a scene.
Post production was really interesting. After watching the first cut, I cried because I wasn’t impressed with the film. It took sitting with the editor and communicating the importance of each scene,frame and camera angles before I started getting satisfied.
Working with KALINE, the film’s composer, was interesting too. Initially, I brief her about wanting the score to be quiet so as not to overpower the dialogues. And she delivered that. But, I felt something was missing when I watched the film with the score. During this period I saw She Said and was captivated by the film due to its bumpy score. After watching the film, I returned to God Knows Best and suggested that, since it’s a festival film, we can experiment with the score. And I was happy with the result.
How did you settle into the mindset of carrying this heavy role and story? What was the preparation process like?
Efon: I prepared for the role like I will do for other roles. As I previously mentioned, this means asking a lot of questions just to understand the character and their backstory. For Simi, I wanted to know who she was before marrying her husband. What does she like?What does she want? What does she like to wear? Does she read? Does she know how to read? Answering these questions are important to playing the character because it arms me with a better grasp of the character. I do a lot of backstory and I pull from resources wherever I can to help feed this character. That’s typically my process.
Fun fact: I had to learn how to drive on set.
What is next for the film after the Cannes private screening?
Asinugo: Wini mentioned wanting us to take the film to organizations that can connect us with Nigerian widows. This is because she wants the film to have a real impact and correct people’s perception of widowhood. As we tour with the film, I am really hoping we do that. We want to screen the film in as many worthy festivals as possible. So for what’s next, God knows best.
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