Lagos Fringe Festival 2025: Kolade Mann’s “Ovisa” Laughs At Society Without Minding Its Own Specks 

Ovisa, a satirical drama written by Nwaru Favour Ikechukwu and directed by Korede Mann (Best Director nominee for The FilmJoint Awards 2026) is one of the seven films chosen for The Accelerate Filmmaker Project (AFP) 2024, the others being Loveth Ogbene’s The Boy from the Window, Samuel Ajirebi’s Egbeji, Ashimedua Odiachi’s Mofe, Rotipin Tobiloba’s Purgatory, Tega Obahor’s Nightmare and Iyke Osoka’s Mi Yi Dima. The AFP is one of the Nigerian film industry’s structured efforts geared towards training, empowering and celebrating emerging filmmakers. Mann’s Ovisa was available for screening on November 20th at the 2025 Lagos Fringe Festival, presenting a story of identity crisis and the ordinary Nigerian’s struggle for survival in a dysfunctional society. The title, a corrupt blend of  “officer” and “visa”, hints at the film’s purport.

Ovisa follows Seyi Martins, a fashion stylist who finds it difficult securing a visa with which she can relocate to join her boyfriend in Europe. After numerous failed visa-seeking attempts, she impersonates a law enforcement officer and succeeds in outsmarting the embassy officials. On the surface, the short film feels highly relatable, exposing moral corruption within state institutions and agencies, everyday crimes such as theft and armed robbery, and the dog-eat-dog chaos that defines Lagos life.

Seyi becomes morally compromised and even commits a crime by falsifying her identity. The female visa officer, who represents the state, conducts herself unprofessionally in her dealings with Seyi. The quarreling young men on the streets create a nuisance and pose a public disturbance that threatens the safety of the environment. The armed robbers, meanwhile, are disillusioned products of a society that has failed its citizens. Ultimately, Seyi’s determination to leave the country by any means reflects the japa syndrome, the growing trend of Nigerians migrating in search of greener pastures, with America and Europe as choice destinations. At every juncture, Ovisa reminds viewers of the moral complexities and dilemmas that affect both individuals and institutions in the country.

Ovisa, for the jibes it hurls at a disappointing society, lacks self-awareness. We learn about Seyi assuming the uniform of a law enforcement officer scheduled to attend a symposium in Europe, to advance her own visa-seeking interest. But the film largely overlooks fine details of the application process. If Seyi intends to travel to join a prospective husband in Europe, she would likely need a long-term visa. Conversely, the law enforcement officer whose uniform she uses would typically apply for a short-term business or official visa, requiring, among other documents, an official employment confirmation and an invitation from the symposium organizers. The film shows no effort on Seyi’s part to obtain the necessary paperwork to legitimize her assumed identity, which exaggeratedly undermines the credibility of the visa process. This oversight renders the film guilty of a certain hypocrisy: critiquing societal flaws while neglecting the critical details within its own narrative.