© Polymath Pictures
With his daring debut feature, ´All The Colours of the World Are Between Black and White´, Nigerian director Babatunde Apalowo manages to create an organic tale of forbidden love where a gaze speaks louder than words.
Directed by: Babatunde Apalowo
Year: 2023
Country: Nigeria
Length: 92 minutes
Present-day Lagos: the cultural, financial, and entertainment capital of Africa. A beautiful city filled with stunning architecture and wonderful beaches. A place with many great elements, but unfortunately also a society in which marginalized people face several serious challenges. Homosexuality is punishable by a prison sentence, the level of urban poverty is high, and women have to defend themselves from misogyny stemming from a patriarchal system. Director Babatunde Apalowo explores these topics through three protagonists while paying homage to the story’s setting.
Bambino is a young delivery man from Lagos. He is shown to be a sympathetic person with bigger dreams, as he often lends money to people in need and hopes for a promotion himself so that he can work as a manager instead of working on the streets. He regularly meets up with his friend Ifeyinwa, a playful woman who is engaged to another man but is clearly displeased with the situation, suggesting that this marriage might not fully be her own decision. She tries to persuade Bambino into going to bed with her, as she wants him to be his first, but little does she know that Bambino is struggling with his sexual identity, as he has grown up in an environment that doesn’t allow him to express himself as a gay man. One day Bambino enters a betting shop, a place where Lagosians try to win money to improve their financial situation. Here Bambino meets the charming Bawa, who works at the shop but dreams of making it as a photographer. The two quickly form a bond, as Bambino takes Bawa on a trip through some of the most beautiful places in Lagos so that Bawa can photograph them. However, as the two grow closer and their feelings for each other develop, a homophobic environment holds them back from expressing and embracing their emotions.
The directing of All The Colours of the World Are Between Black and White is full of visual flair, reminiscent of the works of masters of cinema Wong Kar-wai and Barry Jenkins. Apalowo´s greatest achievement with All the Colours is his ability to establish connections between characters and depict certain moods through his imagery. While many sequences in the film are rather silent, Apalowo´s camera manages to tell a story of its own. One specific element that the director centers on is his characters´ gaze. Not only does this allow for the excellent performances by Tope Tedela and Riyo David to shine during non-verbal interactions, it also guides the viewer through their characters´ relationship. In one key scene, Bambino and Bawa are eating dinner together. When Bambino notices Bawa has food on his face, he grabs a cloth and gently wipes it off. What may seem like a small, polite gesture at first sight actually becomes a turning point for the relationship between these two characters. During this scene, Apalowos’s decision to focus on Bawa´s face, emphasizing his reaction as his eyes widen in awe of what just happened, shows the power of touch between two men who are unable to come to terms with their sexuality. Here Apalowo subtly manages to establish an organic kind of chemistry between the two characters.
Babatunde Apalowo´s screenplay is commendable for the way it views its character´s issues through an intersectional lens, all while tackling various taboo topics. As many other filmmakers do, the filmmaker could have easily focused on just the homophobic aspect within society, but instead by giving a voice to Ifeyinwa´s character he also points out the way women are mistreated and not listened to in a patriarchal society. By linking these two issues together, Apalowo highlights a connection between the oppression of various marginalized groups and emphasizes the need for mutual support between them to stand stronger. Apalowo makes the case for radical empathy by platforming people whose stories are rarely represented. If seen by enough people, All The Colours of the World are Between Black and White might alter how people view and treat the outcasts of society, as the former group is now finally being presented a work from the point-of-view of the underrepresented.
All The Colours of the World Are Between Black and White premiered at the 2023 Berlinale film Festival as part of the Panorama selection.
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