The 82nd Venice International Film Festival, scheduled for August 27 to September 6, has announced its official line-up, with One Woman One Bra set to premiere in the Biennale College Cinema section. Written and directed by Kenyan filmmaker Vincho Nchogu in her feature debut and produced by Nigerian producer Josh Olaoluwa (GRIND), the film marks a significant moment of a cross-continental partnership coming to life.
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Shot entirely in Kenya by Nigerian cinematographer Muhammad Atta Ahmed (Freedom Way), the project is one of four features worldwide to advance from the Biennale College Cinema programme into production this year, each receiving funding and mentorship before premiering at Venice.
Starring Sarah Karei, Norng’aruani Kipuker and Amos Leuka, One Woman One Bra explores themes of ambition, cultural reclamation and. feminist identity. In her director’s statement, Nchogu describes it as “a story of a woman fighting for recognition despite lacking family, husband, or children,” adding that what began as a political commentary “evolved into a feminist narrative.”
The synopsis reads: the villagers of Sayit are about to receive their title deeds based on kinship ties. As an unmarried woman with an unknown parentage, 38-year-old Star is desperate: she risks losing her home. A mysterious photo of her young self seems to be the key to turn things around: will she be able to find a way to maintain her claim to the land?
Nchogu and Olaoluwa have previously built a partnership through the Red Sea Lodge in 2023 and the Torino Film Lab, where they developed Fantastic Tale, another project which won the Red Sea Souk Production Prize.
The selection of One Woman One Bra adds to the growing Nigerian presence at Venice. In 2019, Joel Kachi Benson’s VR documentary Daughters of Chibok premiered at the festival and won the Best Virtual Reality Story Award, becoming the first Nigerian film to screen at Venice. This year, Nigeria is also represented by Olubunmi Ogunsola’s short film Saint Simeon, starring Kanayo O. Kanayo, Ego Ihenacho and Victor Obioha, which will compete in the Orizzonti Short Films section. Set in 1997 Enugu, the short film follows a young seminarian who finds himself torn between feelings of guilt and carnal desires as he navigates the realities of a repressed environment in the wake of the passing of his roommate Simeon, and his controversial suicide.
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Update (21.08.2025): Plot details of Saint Simeon was added.
