Against the weight of generational expectation, director Justyna Obasi challenges inherited definitions of manhood from the outer reaches of Lagos for the short film Ritual. Told through the inner transformation of its young protagonist, the visual poem explores the power of spiritual practice, and the quiet potential held by daily rituals to redefine masculinity. Observing a group of boys living on the edge of society in Owerri, Obasi was drawn to the distinctly masculine environment she saw in their movements and routines, and the tension of freedom and stagnation found away from family rules. Translated to her character’s world from the skeleton of an unfinished building, Obasi holds a mirror to the masculine form with the raw, concrete structure as a metaphor – open, tender, and suspended in mid-construction...
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