Steve Chuks and Onyinye Odokoro play siblings in Home and Away, a character-driven story about family, distance and the difficult choices that come with loving someone.
Written and directed by Mannie Oiseomaye, known for his writing in Introducing The Kujus, the short film follows two siblings, Obi and Uloma (played by Odokoro and Chuks, who were envisioned for the roles very early in his scripting), trying to navigate very different lives in different countries as their family faces an unexpected crisis.
Home and Away is told in Igbo and English, inspired by the director’s personal experiences, exploring the emotional distance that can exist between people who remain connected across borders and the complicated nature of familial love.
Principal photography on Home and Away took place in Lagos, with Ashiaku Best Chukwuma serving as the Director of Photography. The film is a joint production between Pear Pressure Productions and Steve Chuks Media Production, with Chuks and Oiseomaye serving as producers.
Emmanuel ‘Mannie’ Oiseomaye’s extensive writing credits spans titles such as The Smart Money Woman, AMAA-nominated Anjola, Africa Magic’s Unscripted, Sin, Showmax’s Under the Influence, All of Us and Makemation. He won an AMVCA for writing Introducing the Kujus alongside Donald Tombia and Biodun Stephen. He began his career in 2017 as a winner of the Accelerate Filmmaker Project, writing and producing his student short film, Goodwill, which premiered at AFRIFF. Home and Away marks his post film school debut.
It is the second project of Pear Pressure Productions, the fledgling company founded by Oiseomaye and Don Ekama, following marriage drama Secondhand. They are also developing a political mockumentary series, with a pilot in view.
Odokoro was most recently seen in Phoenix Fury, Netflix’s Baby Farm and AFRIFF Audience Choice winner Adanne. She received a 2026 AMAA nomination for Best Young/Promising Actor in Oblation.
Steve Chuks is a two-time AMVCA nominee, recognised in the Best Digital Content Creator category, including August Meeting Election (2026). His screen credits include Dwindle, Dr. Love and Sister Nkechi (On My Wedding Day).
Home and Away is currently in post-production and is scheduled to premiere on YouTube this December.
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