Nollywood Film ‘Why We Never Were’ Wins Best Short Drama at Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF)

Nollywood Film ‘Why We Never Were’ Wins Best Short Drama at Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF), The festival which began on September 8, and rounded off on September 15, 2024, had programs lined up including conferences, screenings with QandA live music performances, stage plays, workshops, and mentorship programs.

In an official statement by the executive producer and writer of the film, Roberta Orioma, she expressed her immense gratitude to the team with whom she worked throughout the project.

“We are so excited that our beautiful film won the Best Short Drama- African category at @tinffestival Big congratulations to everyone who worked and contributed to this project! Y’all are stars!” she said.

Orioma is a TV producer, actress, and writer with several works to her credit including the Prime Video series, Grind, No Way Through, and Love and Seclusion.

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Speaking on her short film project, she stated that Why We Never Were was initially going to be in poetry form but she became motivated to write it as a story that eventually became a film.

“WHY WE NEVER WERE came to me as a series of poems/letters. I was going to make it into a book of poetry. Then I got inspired and wrote this story in a couple of hours because when I started, I couldn’t stop,” she said.

According to the director, Olumense Omanjahio, before directing the short film, he had not directed a film he didn’t write. However, reading Orioma’s story made him want to jump on the project.

“Somehow, so far before WHY WE NEVER WERE, I have never directed a film that I didn’t write. One Evening @robertaorioma sent me a Script and I totally fell in love with it. I dropped my Pride and asked to direct it. A few years later, we won the Best Short Drama – Africa @tinffestival. WHY WE NEVER WERE was such a technical film to make. Complex Characters with Complex Perspectives. The character Ajoke was such an Enigma not just in Behavior but in our cinematic display of who she is. Would be fun to get your Feedback when this Film is out!” he said.