Michael Omonua’s The Man Who Cuts Tattoo is an unusual love story that explores the pain and sacrifices of two women—from different generations—in their relationships. The film is one of the Nigerian films that’s been courted in the festival circuit this year.
Across two crucial periods in Nigerian history, two young women must ponder the painful sacrifices they are forced to make for love.
Director and producer, Mike Omonua dissects his vision for the film on Guardian’s The Process, from the deliberate use of local language and portraying Nigerian ancient cultural practice in a positive light to the understated performances from his actors.
“I think I’m gonna start with describing our Surreal 16 manifesto which details that we are encouraged to use more local languages and deal with specific Nigerian cultural issues,” he says. “So, I was motivated by the manifesto to focus on a very specific Edo cultural practice which deals with scarification and my approach was to unpack why those practices were done and detail that in a story of love, pain and suffering.”