All the colours of the world are between black and white

All the colours film tells the story of Bambino and Bawa, two Nigerian men, navigating their new found affection for each other in a country that considers homosexuality a taboo. Directed by Tunde Apalowo and produced by Damilola Orimogunje, the film stars Tope Tedela, Riyo David, and Martha Ehinome Orhiere.

First of all, I want to congratulate Tunde Apalowo for daring to tell a story like this in a country like Nigeria, and with a fully heterosexual cast I must add!

Story

The story was told beautifully. The pacing was perfect.

Bambino had his own personal struggles. This was why, when he met Bawa, it was refreshing to see the beauty of Lagos through his lens. What he didn’t know was that he would develop real feelings for this man, feelings which he would try to fight, to no avail! You could tell there was genuine love between Bambino and Bawa, genuine love that unfortunately could not be explored.

Bawa had already accepted his fate. He was gay. Bambino on the other hand could not believe that this was his fate, and so he tried to give in to the advances of a young woman, Ifeyinwa, who had been yearning for his attention for a little while.

Scenes

Three scenes stood out to me:

1. The scene where Bambino and Ifeyinwa tried to have sex. It was the most awkward scene ever. Bambino really struggled to kiss her and even when they got under the sheets, he wasn’t aroused by her so of course she became embarrassed, got offended and left. He was trying to prove to himself that he liked women but unfortunately the situation only proved what he already knew; he was in love with a man. Ifeyinwa made him uncomfortable, but Bawa made him feel at ease.

1. When Bambino finally allowed Bawa to visit him, and he started adding his little touches around the house and buying him gifts. To add salt to injury, after they locked eyes, he tried to kiss him. This made Bambino very uncomfortable. It was as if the world was crashing down on him.

1. After Bambino had chased Bawa away from his house, he gathered all his gifts and went to return to him. Bawa got really upset about this and began shouting, asking Bambino to leave him alone and telling the people around that he was gay. Of course the community gathered to beat him up for being gay — the same fate he tried to avoid.

Cinematography

The film’s colour scheme was really beautiful, followed by captivating shots of both the people and the city.

The colour blue was very prominent in the film, symbolizing a sense of friendship, calm, and melancholy. We also see a snippet of red at Ifeyinwa’s wedding, symbolizing underlying fear with a glimmer of hope.

One of my favorite shots is the one of Ifeyinwa waiting for this man she loves even when she knows deep down that the feeling isn’t mutual. We later find out that she’s trying to avoid marrying a man that her parents have arranged for her, and so she attempts to give her body as a gift to a man she’s attracted to, before getting locked up in a loveless marriage. Here, we see the struggles that the two individuals have to go through in a society that has set rules and boundaries for human relationships.

Cast

I loved that there were three main people to focus on in this film, three great actors who invited us into their world with their strong performances, allowing us to resonate with the internal struggles of the characters. We could only hear the voices of other people, or see their backs/features, so we weren’t distracted by their presence and wouldn’t miss their absence. But there’s enough activity to show that there are other people to consider when making decisions, even for your own self. In the wedding scene for example, we see a blurred version of people in the background, and the focus is only on Ifeyinwa.

The film’s title is very clear. It’s literally the opposite of the bright rainbow dawned by the LGBTQ+ community. There are people who are bright rainbows and feel like they can be anything they want, however, there are also others who are stuck between black and white, mostly because of their culture and/or the society they live in.

All the colours film is a 7/10 for me and unfortunately is not currently available on streaming (I watched it at Nollywood Week Paris, May 2024).