Film screenings and discussions are already commonplace in Lagos. The city is a Nigerian cinephile’s dream place to live. We documented the work of a couple of initiatives in our 2023 The Tentmakers series. At the same time, the city has its downsides, which is why many would rather stay away despite its many cultural offerings. So, how do cinephiles in other cities, like Port Harcourt, engage with their own cultural spaces?
Enter Nigerian indie filmmaker Olohije Oyakhire, a passionate cinephile and trained filmmaker from the London Film Academy, who is building Visions, a film society for film lovers, professionals, and creatives in the Port Harcourt film community.
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What sets Visions apart, beyond laying its roots outside Lagos, is its unique programming and curation of films made by and about Africans and Latin Americans, two Global South regions who, as Oyakhire has come to understand, share post-colonial history and cinema. Their often-overlooked films struggle to reach their intended audiences. By bringing these films to audiences in Nigeria, the experiences portrayed will also be discussed amongst attendees.
The first edition of Visions’ screenings will take place on 15 November 2025 at 3pm at Alliance Française Port Harcourt. Under the theme Narratives of Journeys, the films slated for the inaugural event are Tomisin Adepeju’s Journey Mercies and Rosine Mbakam’s Chez Jolie Coiffure.
Journey Mercies is a short drama about Bade’s last day at work, he’s finally ready to go home. So reads the widely shared synopsis that gives little away. The film has screened at BAFTA-qualifying international film festivals.
Chez Jolie Coiffure is a 2018 feature documentary that intimately portrays the lives of African migrant women in Brussels through the lens of a Cameroonian hairdressing salon. The film has previously screened at FESPACO, New York African Film Festival, AFI Docs and AFI Fest.
Both films offer unique and timely perspectives on migration journeys for their respective societies. “There are far too many African and Latin American films that people have not heard of, let alone seen, and if Visions can get even one person to see and discuss these films, that is a major win for me,” said Oyakhire in a statement. “Having the first screening in Port Harcourt is significant. It is where I’ve called home for almost two decades. There’s untapped potential in this city that I hope to unearth through this film society.”
Passionate about the overall experience, partly shaped by her BFI screening experiences during her studies, Oyakhire will provide attendees at each screening with thematic screening notes, a reading list and a watchlist of other African and Latin American films that touch on the edition’s themes.
Oyakhire, who’s organised Nollywood-themed game nights in the past, hopes to take Visions to other cities over the coming years.
The first edition of Visions’ screenings will be a collaboration between Art in the Garden City (known for DocuScreen Nigeria, a monthly screening of documentaries across Nigeria) and Alliance Française Port Harcourt.
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