Olisa Eloka Revisits The Road To “Loose Cannon” Ahead of TNC Africa Distribution 

The producers of Loose Cannon, a short film set against the backdrop of the aftermath of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970,  have struck a year-long partnership deal with TNC Africa, a platform known for spotlighting and empowering the next generation of African filmmakers. The deal will enable the exclusive distribution of the short film on TNC Africa’s YouTube channel from this month, opening the history-rooted production to more audiences across the continent.

Loose Cannon is directed by Olisa Eloka, co-written with Kene Ibeneme, and  co-produced with Ebuka Njoku and Nkeoma Umudu. It follows the story of an ex-Biafran soldier who becomes guilt-stricken after losing his wife and daughter to the war. The film is set in Eastern Nigeria, with Keezyto (Yahoo+, Uno: The F In Family) portraying the protagonist who barely talks throughout.

Asked about the terms of the contract, Eloka mentioned that his producing partner,  Njoku, with his legal team,  initiated and took charge of the  entire negotiation with TNC Africa. While he could not disclose the nitty-gritty of the arrangement, he expressed admiration for the Afrocentric platform, which he said he knew “before Ebuka first brought it to my attention.”.

A few distinguishing features of Loose Cannon are its use of a silent protagonist, historical backdrop, and reliance on black-and-white monochrome. Eloka traced the inspiration behind the construct of the protagonist to his profound interest in African history and liaison with co-writer Kene Ibineme, the original architect of the story.

In 2021, Eloka had encountered his friend Ibineme’s short script for the first time. Back then, it was the story of a man who has to deal with guilt after his reckless driving causes the death of his family. Eloka had fallen in love with the premise and hoped to make it into a film. Three years later, he began reworking the script together with Ibineme, changing the identity of the protagonist and shelving his dialogue for silence, before embarking on production with Njoku.

“It was a modern story that had cell phones and all that, but I told him I wanted to make it about the aftermath of the civil war where we had somebody who lost his family to the war,” Eloka said. “So I had to do some rewrites, with his permission of course,  threw away the lead character’s dialogue, brought in the sister—because the sister wasn’t in the first draft— and then sent it to him.”

Eloka’s preference for silence  in the film is also informed by his encounters with war veterans and understanding of the experiences of those who fought on the Biafran side—most of whom experienced unprecedented tragedy they hardly talked about afterwards. A few years before the idea of a film dawned on him, Eloka had maintained contact with General Alexander Madiebo, a renowned military leader who served as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Biafran Armed Forces and writer of famous memoir The Nigerian Revolution and the Biafran War (1980), through whom he learnt about how much trauma the war had bestowed on all its combatants.

For the optical quality of the film, Eloka was convinced that shooting in black-and-white would allow him to play with light and shadows effectively, better contextualise the period in which the story is set, and hopefully circumvent the distraction of colour while maintaining artistic focus. This is a virtue he observed and learnt from exposure to Russian classics like  Mikhail Kalatozov’s The Cranes Are Flying (1957), and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker (1979) and Ivan’s Childhood (1962).

On the journey to making the film, the producers worked with a measly million-naira budget, leveraging relationships with friends and associates  to cut costs. Filming took two days in Enugu, with the director casting lesser-known actors to enhance realism and audience connection. These actors are  Nkeoma Umudu, Dabeluchukwu Ibik, Rejoice Ozioko and Godwin Ogaga.

Prior to production, there were also concerns about accessing direct audiovisual memories of the civil war. At a certain time, repulsed by the sparseness of information from the domestic media, Eloka had written to  Reuters, an international media powerhouse, requesting access to their archive for a number of years. Reuters responded with rates the production team were unable to afford; and when he tried negotiating a discount, he received no further response.

Even in mainstream Nigerian cinema, filmmakers often poorly represent history. Eloka believes it’s insufficient to merely use historical details; filmmakers must also provide thorough and accurate coverage in their biopics and period films. He noted the significant underrepresentation of Eastern Nigeria’s history in mainstream cinema, hoping that with Loose Cannon, he would be inspiring local filmmakers to revisit historical events, as he briefly did, despite working with a much smaller budget than typical Nollywood films.

Growing up, Olisa Eloka developed a book-reading culture. His mother, a well-trained teacher, had an archive of historical books which he often pored over as a child even though he struggled to grasp the knowledge. He was particularly drawn to African history and soon realized there were missing, untold aspects of this history he wanted to explore. While he nurtured this seed, he bagged a degree in Mass Communication and had a journalistic stint. At age 16, spurred by curiosity, he interviewed a World War 2 veteran from his village who recounted his experience on the frontlines till the veteran’s uneventful return in 1945. With this information, Eloka wrote a manuscript about African participation in WW2, which was long-listed for the Saraba Manuscript prize in 2015. Over time, his artistic inclinations became a filmmaking odyssey.

Last year, Loose Cannon was first screened at the Umuofia Book and Arts Festival after which it was screened at the Eastern Nigerian International Film Festival (ENIFF), Enugu and Ibadan Film Festival. Eloka missed out on the ENIFF but received feedback from Njoku and Keezyto who were in attendance. “I was told the response was positive and there were conversations about language,” Eloka said. For him, it was important to know how his people in Enugu, where the film is set, reacted to the film.

Olisa Eloka is the writer of 77: The FESTAC Conspiracy, the anticipated sequel to 76, a film directed by Izu Ojukwu and starring Ramsey Nouah and Rita Dominic in lead roles. The budding filmmaker also has film projects with Play Network Studios, Sozo Films, Ramsey Films.

“One thing I’ve come to realize is that the best stories are the ones that were not written,” Eloka said, reiterating his commitment to exploring underrepresented aspects of history through a perennial  scriptwriting expedition. “When you pick up a book about an event, you find it moving. But there are always stories that are left out.”

Loose Cannon premieres on TNC Africa YouTube channel on 26th June, 2025.