The Nigerian activist Pamela Adie was the first person in Nigeria to make a documentary about coming out as a lesbian. Under the Rainbow, from 2018, follows her discovery of herself, her coming out to her family and friends, and the consequent alienation that followed.

The documentary is an honest portrayal of her experience in a country where people still face homophobia. Since then, Adie produced the short Ifé, about a lesbian couple’s love story amid prejudice. She is currently working on a feature film sequel.

Pamela Adie was born in Calabar, Nigeria, in a Christian. She was raised by staunch Catholic parents. At 17 she left for the United States, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a Minor in Personal and Professional Communication. Today, she is a filmmaker, artist, and activist. Pamela Adie spoke to the HFPA from her home in Lagos.

You wrote, directed, and produced the documentary film about your own experience as a Nigerian individual who experienced homophobia in her native country. What made you want to do this film?

Under the Rainbow is a visual memoir of my coming-out story. After I came out, I realized that there were not a lot of lesbian role models for Nigerian women. There were not many who were out publicly. I did not really have any reference or blueprint. There was nothing. I felt that telling my story was a great way to create visibility because I knew that there were people like me who were probably in the same position. Like me, they did not have role models and they did not know how to navigate the type of situations I talk about in the film.

 

How did you start the project?

I actually started by writing my personal blog, where I wrote about my experiences and things that happened in my family. I got a lot of followers but, at the end of the day, I thought my story had more potential and that a documentary would be a more powerful way to reach people. There is a certain power in visual storytelling that reading does not have.

Given the homophobic climate in Nigeria, was it a big challenge for you to do the film?

Frankly, I did not think about it. If I had thought too much about it, I would probably have had many reasons not to follow through with the project. I just decided that I wanted to do it. And I did.

What was the reaction to the film? Did the authorities react in any way?

It was not released publicly until 2020 — on the EhTV Network platform, which is not free. So, it was not easily accessible. We did have a few screenings in Nigeria, the US, and South Africa. The reception was good. A lot of people reached out to me and said they were very inspired by my story. People came out to their families after having seen the film. But the most important thing for me was that we start to tell our stories. The story of a Nigerian woman coming out had not yet been told and I wanted to tell it.

What are the biggest challenges for a Nigerian woman who wants to come out?

Nigeria is still very largely homophobic. You still have to deal with family rejection. If you are young and living with your parents, you need to consider that they might kick you out. This happens many times. You can lose your job. If you are not privileged and living in a safe area, you can get mugged or you can lose your life. You cannot go to the doctor and tell him or her that you are a woman who has sex with women because they can out you to the police. There is also the mental health issue because they carry this burden and depend on other people for their livelihood. They are not able to be honest. They carry a secret and pretend to live a normal life. It takes a toll on people.

Why do you think Nigeria is so homophobic?

When Nigeria was colonized by the British, they brought all the homophobic laws with them. They have not been reformed and the attitudes still prevail. There is also the religious aspect. Both Christianity and Islam, which were both imports, share homophobic sentiments. So, instead of society creating an open and free society for all, we are intensifying these conditions by creating new laws like the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act in 2014. Those are the roots of it and it is holding us ransom. The state is very aggressive towards LGBT people. There is a lot of mug justice in the streets. You can walk down the road and be harassed as a gay person. There is social, political, economic, and religious violence. It makes a whole society a lot more closed to LGBT people.

You are a filmmaker and LGBT rights advocate currently living in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos. What is being done to change the situation?

In the past 10 years we have been more organized. There are a lot of organizations in Nigeria that work to promote LGBTQ+ people and their issues. There are more public forums. There are more films being made. There are people who challenge the system in court. There are people creating enlightenment programs. There are people doing training for health workers, who need to know how to care for LGBTQ+ people. There are many people seeking to change the situation.

And what are you personally involved with?

The road I have chosen for the cause is visual storytelling and using my skill and passion to make sure we amplify the voices of lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. Apart from Under the Rainbow we made a film called Ifé. We are working on the sequel. The script is ready. We are going to shoot it later this year, we hope. I am also proactive in court. In 2018 I tried to register an organization and the Corporate Affairs Commission refused to register it because it had the word ‘lesbian’ in it. So, we went to the high court. The court decided that, because of section 10 in the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, even though my right to association was violated they could not rule in my favor – that’s the section of the law that says that you cannot have gay organizations. That is the reason the court gives to side with the Federal Government. Now we are in the Appeal Court. We are praying that they strike this section of the law because it violates my freedom of association. If we are able to win this, it means that LGBTQ+ organizations in Nigeria can register. We can be open about the work that we do. This will be a big victory for the community. It will also show other people that you can take the government to court. We should be testing our legal systems because these laws are very discriminatory. They violate human rights laws that Nigeria has ratified.

 

Have there been any changes in Nigerian society since then when it comes to these issues?

The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs) conducts a social perception survey every two years. In 2015, when they did the first one, about 80% of Nigerians polled from across the country said that they would disown a family member who is homosexual. In 2019 that number dropped to around 70%. So, things are changing. We are doing the work and measuring the results and seeing where we need to work harder. It is happening slowly. But things are changing.

Your short film Ifé is a love story about Ifé and Adaora, two women who fall in love. Why did you want to produce this particular piece?

I am all about telling stories that are relatable and real. I would like to tell stories that people can connect to. If people don’t see themselves or a part of themselves in your story, if they don’t have anything that they can connect to, you have not achieved your goal as a storyteller. We wanted to make a short film about a lesbian couple because there were no Nigerian films showing this in a positive light. We thought that this was highly problematic. There are films that feature lesbians — I have seen, maybe, one or two — but they portrayed them as an issue that should be cured or as if they are in need of being rescued. We wanted to change that narrative and show what love is like between two Nigerian women, the struggles that we have to overcome or go through in order to sustain our love. In the movie you see them struggling with their families’ expectations and society’s expectations. We wanted to take hold of our own story because we, as lesbians, have the power to tell our stories. We wanted women to see themselves accurately portrayed.

You said you would like to change hearts and minds. Have your own family and friends changed their hearts and minds after seeing your work?

My siblings and I are cool. They are accepting. I don’t know whether my parents have changed their views or not. We did not speak for a while and have just reconnected. I have not had a chance to test. They have really struggled with it for a while. I did lose a few friends. But I also made new ones that are accepting and loving.