ISOKEN, a movie written and produced by Jade Osiberu, has set out to address the issue of marriage pressures in the Nigerian society.
The movie which stars Dakore Akande, Funke Akindele, Patrick Doyle, Joseph Benjamin, among others, will hit the cinemas on June 16.
Speaking at the private screening of Isoken at the Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Thursday, the lead actress, Dakore Akande detailed the theme of the movie.
“Isoken’s story is very timely; a lot of things are being done against women, and not only women but men too. Indeed, the pressure we go through as women, men also go through their own pressure but no one is really talking about that. However, this film is able to bring out that issue in our society and how judgmental it can be and trying to put everyone in a box instead of being allowed to just naturally grow and thrive and go through your own part. Just because ‘lagbaja’ got married at 30 doesn’t mean that if Segun gets married at 35 it’s going to work for him. They may even be from the same tribe, it won’t work, so we need to break down all those things.
“The film touches on so many things like relationship, tolerance, the colors, our cultures; the Edo culture for instance which is heavily showcased in the film,” said Dakore.
Corroborating Akande’s position on the movie, Osiberu said “Even men too are under pressure to get married once they reach a certain age.
“I think that as Nigerians we like to see our culture on screen so it’s very important for me to show our culture, how we dress, how we talk, our aunties, our mommies and those kinds of things so I think that it’s relatable to anybody who has a mom and dad in Nigeria.”
On how the cast of the movie were selected, Osiberu said, “when I was writing the story, I knew that I wouldn’t want to produce a movie and spend so much and not get as much attention as you can get. So, I wanted experienced hands, I wanted Nollywood stars that people are familiar with.
“For Isoken for instance, I wanted someone who is not associated with a particular character you know. There are some people that when you see them, you will know that this is the only role that they play. I didn’t want that for this production. I feel that Dakore has basically created a brand for herself because she has been very selective in the kind of work that she’s done and so she was an excellent choice,” she said.