Logline
A victim of child trafficking is confronted with the reality of her complicity in the cycle of abuse, as someone form her past becomes the newest target.
SYNOPSIS
Trapped in the cycles of sex trafficking,
Baby has learned that the only way to survive is to be a perpetrator, recruiting 'fresh meat' through her social media. However, the arrival of her younger sister triggers a crisis of conscience. Baby is forced to confront her roots, her family, and the exploitation she has been subjected to and participated in. This inner turmoil causes her to unravel on and off-screen.
Baby is a gripping tale that delves into the harrowing realities of the sex trafficking of Nigerian women, intertwining these of trauma, identity, and the search for redemption.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Growing up in Nigeria, there was one goal and one goal alone: to leave by any means necessary.
"Ilo Oyinbo" or "Abroad" was painted as a land of milk and honey, where we must pilgrimage to, in order to reap its bounties and send them back to our loved ones at home.
Baby's story is tragically familiar: desperate families willingly handing their daughters - some as young as 13 - to traffickers like cargo. Only half knowing the unspeakable horrors awaiting them upon arrival.
With a h estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Nigerian women doing sex work in mainland Europe, Nigeria has been internationally recognised as a hub for sex trafficking.
For Baby, the promised paradise of 'llo Oyinbo' gives way to a nondescript town in the Midlands, where the terrors of trafficked girls blend into the faceless landscape
Baby's story is powerful and poignant. I not only want to expose the horrors of trafficking but to humanise the victims of this modern day by providing nuance and complexity to their experiences. We witness not only the tragedy of her circumstances but also the decay of sisterly love. Ultimately, Baby's story is a call for empathy towards some of the most vulnerable members of society.
Simisolaoluwa Akande
Simisolaoluwa Akande's storytelling journey spans continents, from Nigeria to England, shaping her into a multi-award-winning filmmaker known for amplifying black narratives. Akande is fascinated with the intersections of film and therapy, seeing filmmaking as a therapeutic practice. Notably her BFIxDoc Society short documentary, The Archive:
Queer Nigerians, garnered critical acclaim, winning Best Short at the London Film Festival, Best Documentary at Norwich Film Festival, and Best Experimental Film at Urban World. Further, the film was BIFA longlisted, had its international premiere at IDFA and has since been screened all over the globe. Her earlier works, Ojumo Ti Mo and her debut film Dudu won Best Experimental Film at the BFI Future Film Festival, Best Documentary and Film of the Year at Watersprite Film Festival. Akande has also sat on the jury of some of the country's most prestigious institutions including the BF London Film Festival and the Royal Television Society Award.
Baby will be her non-fiction directorial debut.
DIRECTOR
Maxine Gordon
Maxine Gordon is a BAFTA-nominated Producer and a co-founder/Head of Devlopment at Marauder Pictures, renowned for observational documentaries in the U.K. and USA, as well as prolific music documentary series for the BBC (The Story of Jamaican Music - won Screen Nation Award) and Channel 4 (Pump Up The Volume - voted Best Music Doc, Guardian newspaper and Dazed & Confused; and The Hip Hop Years - BAFTA nominated). Notably,her collaboration with Simisolaoluwa Akande on the BFI Doc Society funded short documentary, The Archive: Queer Nigerians garnered critical acclaim, winning Best Short Film at the BFI London Film Festival; also nominated for Best Short Documentary at Raindance and was Longlisted for BIFA. The Archive: Queer Nigerians also won Best Documentary at Norwich Film Festival and Best Experimental Short at Urbanworld. The Archive: Queer Nigerians has been screened at film festivals all over the globe, including India, Hawaii, Canada, USA, Spain, Italy, Poland and Nigeria. Maxine Gordon co-founded Marauder Pictures, where she has responsibilities in all areas from development to production to delivery. Baby is one such project, securing funding from BFI Network and Eleven and re-collaborating with Director, Simisolaoluwa Akande to produce a short film on the harrowing tale of sex trafficked sisters.
