‘Black Harvest’ will Tackle Misconceptions About Organ Harvesting, Says James Amuta
Entertainment
Stories by Vanessa Obioha
Recently, there has been a surge of storylines revolving around illegal organ harvesting in Nollywood. For award-winning screenwriter and director James Amuta, whose upcoming film ‘Black Harvest,’ revolves around illegal practice, it is about time people understood the real nature of the heinous crime.
“Illegal organ transplants; organ harvesting, and even transplant tourism have been around for a while, but these occurrences are conveniently mislabeled “money rituals”, perhaps to throw the public off the scent of the perpetrators,” explained Amuta in a recent chat.
“Think about it, we’ve been reading in the papers and seeing in the news, bodies recovered by the roadside and other places, missing vital organs. Where do you think those organs went?”
While clarifying that the film had nothing to do with the latest real-life case of Nigerian politician Ike Ekeweremadu, Amuta stated that the film development started in the first quarter of 2022. “This film draws from the silenced voices yearning to be heard from the grave. And I started researching organ harvesting before I worked on a film about human trafficking. I’m drawn to subjects that speak to humanity and man’s inhumanity towards his fellow man.”
Amuta is so keen on correcting the misconceptions about illegal organ harvesting that he is irritated when people believe that victims of organ harvesting are victims of ‘money rituals.’
“The ignorance is what has made this illicit trade thrive internationally. It’s about time we unmasked the true nature of this heinous crime.”
He added “I discovered during my research that the culprits have successfully peddled the ‘money rituals’ narrative to keep the public ignorant of their true source of illicit wealth. Think about it. Some discoveries are not even morally responsible to share here, because we just don’t know how people will interact with such data. But if you independently conduct your research on the Black market prices of these organs, then you’d begin to see just how ridiculous the money rituals narrative is.
“Nobody is taking out an organ from someone to go and boil it and eat for ritual purposes – wait, some sick people might, but criminals definitely would prefer to sell this organ on the black market and get cash in hand rather than wait on one Babalawo to conjure magic money. And it’s time the public is made aware.”
Providing more details about the film, Amuta said he and his crew had to employ hyperrealism so as not to offend audience sensibilities. He further disclosed that the actors had to learn how to perform surgery and other stunts to make the film as authentic as possible.
The film starring Elvina Ibru, Zack Orji, Kelechi Udegbe, and Gregory Ojefua among other actors has completed post-production and will begin its festival run soon.
