Behind Kofa’s Metaphor of Closed Doors

Okechukwu Uwaezuoke

It is possible that a sensitive viewer’s initial experiences of Kofa’s early sequences will swirl around dread, trepidation, and—who knows?—claustraphobia. And, of course, these do not exhaust the gamut of other emotional responses that a lengthy, harrowing scene showing eight adults in the prime of their lives sporting only their underwear, waking up to find themselves in captivity in a close room, and apparently remembering nothing other than their names can elicit in a viewer.

This award-winning feature film, which is a ThinkingMan Media production in association with Creoternity Films and C-Blunt Films, was written, directed, and produced by Jude Idada, with the support of a production team that includes Chibuzo Okoye and Femi Ogunsanwo. Its star-studded cast, unarguably drawn from the industry’s best, features names like Daniel Etim Effiong, Kate Henshaw, Ijeoma Grace Agu, Beverly Naya, Zainab Balogun, Enyinna Nwigwe, Shawn Faqua, Charles Etubiebi, Gina Castel, Udoka Oyeka, Bucci Franklin, Lucy Ameh, Carol King, Afeez Oyetoro, Achalugo Chioma Ilozumba, Paul Utomi, Femi Olayiwole, Folu Ogunkoya, Kiki Omelli, Wale Ojo, Eucharia Okoye, and Kola “Aderopoko” Olaiya.

The nightmare deepens with the intermittent appearance of a ruthless, armed man (played by Udoka Oyeka), who picks them up one by one. Although it is obvious that they will fail, their anticipated attempt to overpower the armed man and flee further heightens the suspense. Meanwhile, the viewer should ignore the fact that the captives are never seen eating, nor do they seem to have a need to answer nature’s call. Perhaps the idea is to look beyond the nightmarish scenario and the obvious discomfort of the captives to the inner recesses of the mind for solutions.

Daniel Etim Effiong with Carol King in the movie

Indeed, the whole narrative of this psychological movie pivots not on its deeply troubling scenes —captives held against their will by psychopaths—but on providing, or rather, proposing, solutions. Its plot, motivated by the scourge of terror in the country, seems contrived to make the viewers see things differently. “Psychological movies do just that,” Idada says. “They open your mind and make you see things differently. They imprint on your spirit and stay with you longer. They are vehicles that inspire change. They add the values that truly matter, especially as we are a society that is growing in so many ways and suffers the onslaught of so many attacks from other societies, both seen and unseen, known and unknown.”

Kofa, the first feature film and directorial debut of the Lagos-born-and-bred Edo State native, is, by all standards, a first-rate offering. Take its title, which is a Hausa word for “door” and which anchors the film’s Nigerianness even when it is also made for an international audience, for instance. It is a veiled allusion to the metaphorical “closed doors” encountered by humans in this dense material sphere. The efforts at opening these doors against all odds strengthen the inner man, maturing him for higher experiences.

However, its overt portrayal of semi-nudity, unrestrained use of foul language, and violence undercut many of its sublime messages, repeatedly reminding the viewer of the vileness of his immediate surroundings. None of these, in any case, prevented the high-budget film, which gulped a lot of money—both in naira and dollars—from conception to the exhibition stage, from clinching a handful of respectable awards and being positioned for more. For instance, besides winning the award for the Best Film at the Globe Awards of the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF), one of the actors (Daniel Etim-Effiong) won the Best Actor Award, while the writer Jude Idada won the Best Screenplay Award at the event. This is in addition to receiving two AMVCA nominations for Best Actor in a Drama and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for Daniel Etim-Effiong and Gina Castel, respectively.

For its mantra of solution-offering and adroit handling of the central theme, Kofa can count on the acclamation of cinema buffs. Its technical depth, a testament to the proficiency of its production team, namely Kagho Idhebor (cinematography), Ola’Kazeem Agboola (colour), Kazeem Idris (editing), Ava Momoh (score composition), and George Flores (sound mix and design), ups the ante even among the industry’s best. 

Meanwhile, for Idada as a filmmaker, who is focused on creating value-adding films on topical issues bordering on the pressing concerns and challenges of the human experience, psychological films are considered the way to go. “The scourge of kidnappings, insurgency, and terrorism and what seemed like the Nigerian security operatives seemingly being unable to deal with it and bring relative peace to the country made me decide to proffer a solution to the security dilemma by making a film that shows a solution. Hence my inspiration was to add solution-driven value through film to the lingering security crisis bedevilling the nation.”

The recent laureate of the Nigeria Literature Prize, recognises the worsening climate of insecurity in Nigeria as hydraheaded and therefore calls for a multifaceted approach to resolving it. Of course, it acknowledges and lauds the efforts made so far by the different security agencies, but it also tries to point out ways that suggest thinking outside the box. For instance, as shown in the concluding part of the film, it is a “Trojan horse” or an “insider” that eventually eliminates a terror kingpin.