My Property Till Death Do Us Part – A Bride Price Movie Date With Victor Viyuoh

Long after money became the currency of preference for conducting business, many parents in rural Africa still see their daughters as commodities to be traded for building materials such as zinc to roof their dream house, or cement to lay the floor. Victor Viyuoh’s multi-award winning film Ninah’s Dowry, is set in rural Cameroon and captures in compelling fashion, the true cost and consequences – to the individual, the family and the community at large – of auctioning off a daughter for short term gains. The candor of the film is what hits home hardest, leaving no grown man in the room indifferent to spousal abuse, be it here or there, be it by a friend or to a stranger.

DUNIA Magazine’s Editor-in-chief caught up with the screen writer and producer of Ninah’s Dowry on transit in France. Victor Viyuoh was on his way to Cameroon for the grand release of the movie in select theaters in the country from March 14th through the 28th.

Ninah's Dowry

DUNIA Magazine: What a joy and a privilege to have this moment with you, Victor… Ninah’s Dowry…wow!

Victor ViyuohVictor Viyuoh: The feeling is mutual. It isn’t often that one can say we were all there at the beginning. DUNIA Magazine was there when we were putting together the film [DUNIA Gives Back: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, Cameroon] and its esteemed editor has been there from the very beginning when we took those first baby yet loud steps with the super actors of CPC. Remember “The Undesirable Element?” But, wait … the SUPER ACTORS?!

Hahaha…I sure remember the Super Actors in CPC Bali hahahaha. Did you ever expect such a streak and such a reception across audiences and across the globe?

Victor Viyuoh: Not at all. As a story teller, one dreams a lot. But those dreams make way for reality when one actually embarks on the journey. By the end of the creative process one is just praying that the work is not greeted with utter rejection or worse, apathy.

Let me share with you a “Lifetime movies channel” moment that men never ever want to admit – I swiped a tear on occasion as I was watching Ninah’s Dowry – whew! Why do you suppose it is eliciting such strong reactions?

Victor Viyuoh: It means a lot to hear that the movie touched you. I would imagine it’s because the whole crew was sincere and we worked hard to convey the emotions we felt when we first heard the real life story. The vision was to tell a story with our limited resources that was not short on truth, emotion, or craft.

Another reaction from a friend who watched the movie – “Innocent, this movie should be included in all school curriculums in Cameroon, countries where brides are carted off as goods, the NFL, as well as other sports leagues should have it as part of the orientation for players on spousal abuse”. Did you factor all of these facets in the writing and production of the movie?

Victor Viyuoh: I just knew it was a story that needed to be told. It has been humbling that it could find a life serving in all these circles that had not been factored into the making. I guess if one focuses on telling a story that is politically relevant and irrevocably true, the story has the chance to take on a life of its own. Currently, activists in Swaziland are using the movie in their grassroots efforts to educate women and men in the area of domestic abuse. How amazing would it be if one life were positively touched because of a movie?

Ninah’s Dowry is a true story, is it not, that actually happened close to home in your family in Cameroon? Were there parts of the script that were enhanced for the screen?

Victor Viyuoh: Yes, it unfortunately, is based on true events that happened to my cousin in the village. We used dramatic license on a number of occasions but for unexpected reasons. While storytellers often embellish stories to make them more dramatic and entertaining, we went the opposite route. I chose to tone down real events because they were often too graphic and the scale too epic for what I could tell on a shoestring budget. I am surprised when people recoil at the depicted violence because the actual beatings and abuse my cousin suffered were just brutal. I worked hard to avoid alienating the audience with the reality of the violence. It was important that we kept audiences in the moment and not distance them by what some might consider gratuitous violence.

When you went back to shoot the movie, did you get the protagonist, who may have been your relative, to validate your story and take a step back to reevaluate the trials and tribulations she experienced?

Victor Viyuoh: Yes, I did. I, initially, shot a documentary which I tried to edit but I always wanted to tell a narrative. But the documentary helped me get first hand accounts from most of the key figures in the story. Eve was and has always been very open about her story and that is one of the reasons I felt compelled to tell it the way I thought would best do justice to her experience.

Ninah’s Dowry will be having its first premiere in Cameroon in movie theaters in Yaounde, Douala and Buea. Will you be there as you have been at most premieres across the US and Europe?

Victor Viyuoh: I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I am actually at Charles DeGaule airport right now, on my way to Cameroon. Our lead actress, Vivian, is already in Cameroon so we will show it to as many people as possible.

As one with intimate knowledge of Cameroon and your origins, I am surprised that “Ninah’s Dowry” will not be showing in Bamenda, which is closest to where you shot the scenes, is home to the first movie theaters you went to at Roxi and Rota, and probably where the dream was born. How do you explain that?

Victor Viyuoh: It really is unconscionable that Bamenda does not have a single venue suitable for screening movies. And I was not at peace that the film will not screen there. So, with the help of Dr. Ndiforchu, we will secure the Congress Hall and adapt it for the Bamenda launch. So, the movie will be seen in Bamenda, and in Sabga, Babanki where the events took place and where it was shot. I am planning an outdoor night screening on the football pitch. We will set up chairs and a projector and just have a go at it.

The French Institute has also stepped in big time. It is with their help that Garoua is now on board and we are trying to add more cities.

Shooting any movie can be a capital intensive project. Can we say it was especially so with Ninah’s Dowry?

Victor Viyuoh: It was a financial nightmare. You know you have encountered some real obstacles when you start out a budget for a movie and end up shooting a no-budget movie. Unfortunately, while I must accept blame for all disasters that befall this or any project I helm, I have to ask what our country is doing to support filmmakers, artists, and business people who want to make the country their base. If the country cannot support these ventures, it should at the very least, not put obstacles in their way. I am not the first person to complain but corrupt individuals and institutions are costing us gravely. My heart aches.

Given all that, can enough ever be said of the cast that you worked with? Little is known about most of them. But they were stellar, were they not?

Victor Viyuoh: Great question. No, enough can never be said of the job the cast did. They carried the movie. They were besieged on all fronts by the worst possible working conditions: a director with a tunnel vision, delays that stretched into months through no fault of theirs, forcefully recruited to help rebuild burned down sets, monotony in the daily menu because of a lack of finances … the list is endless. Yet, they delivered when the camera rolled, effortlessly inhabiting their characters and taking on some grueling physical demands that came with their performances. They did all of their own stunts. I take a bow to the cast.

Was there a time when you just about folded everything to come back to your family in the US, or it was never an option?

Victor Viyuoh: It was not an option in 2010 because I had been forced to fold things up and return several times before. Our dear friend Dr. Ndumu “Zico” Alberto is the primary reason we shot in 2010. He provided the funds. And when things went terribly wrong, again, I was of the opinion that I would rather shoot on a cell phone than return without shooting. This was before cell phones had good video quality, mind you.

What were the advantages of shooting in Cameroon, particularly in Sabga, as opposed to recreating those scenes somewhere in the United States?

Victor Viyuoh: Authenticity. Hollywood creates magic. But they can’t recreate a village like Babanki in Los Angeles. Plus, we didn’t have the budget to even consider that. The mountain could not come to Muhammed, SO, Muhammed had to go to the mountain.

At one of the earliest awards for “Ninah’s Dowry” there was a healthy well of tears flowing down your cheeks. I suppose you have since lost count of how many awards the movie has won. What were those tears for?

Victor Viyuoh: It was gratitude. It was relief. It was humility. This was a movie that, given all the obstacles, should not have come to fruition. But through faith, it happened. It was a testament that one should trust the work and the work ethic. The rest will follow.

On the one hand I know you as this private family person, married to your beautiful wife Jacky and father of three wonderful boys (including a set of twins). But you are also this public figure: an emerging, award winning screen writer and producer. How easy is it to separate the two, or do you?

Victor Viyuoh: Increasingly difficult. But almost no one in my household knows I am known outside of the house. My oldest son was shocked when he and his friends searched his name online and my name popped up instead. Almost no one at my day job is aware of this other side. I am always surprised when I run into anyone who’s heard about me or the work. I very much prefer if they know about the work.

I know this cannot be a one and out project for you. What’s in store and how can readers who wish to view Ninah’s Dowry lay their hands on a copy?

Victor Viyuoh: We have North American distribution for Ninah’s Dowry. So sometime this year I believe the film will be available on Netflix, on DVD and on other platforms. We are working toward a worldwide distribution. But for those in Cameroon, give us a shout out and we will bring it to your town or village. We want people to watch it.

I have a couple of projects in the pipeline. Njangi (aka FIFTY-FIFTY) tells the story of a US-educated woman who returns to her village to find that when her dad died her mom’s house was taken away because women can’t inherit property. In trying to recover the house, she ends up organizing a women’s rebellion against the chief and the village men.

There are two documentaries I have been working on: The Photograph which looks at a time when my mom was pronounced a witch and we were outcasts in the village. My father had died in a car accident but she was accused of killing him through witchcraft. These were formative years for me. We were embraced by a Muslim community. And I use a photo my sister took with these Muslim girls as a doorway to those times. The second documentary is called The Thieves of Babanki and it is about the real-life story of how a high ranking government official bought our land from crooks and has managed to secure a land certificate and block our attempts to recover it through his connections in Yaounde.

Thank you so much for this invaluable opportunity!

MOVIE TRAILER

Ninah’s Dowry is available on Amazon

More about Ninah’s Dowry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ninahs-Dowry/254973774557964
Website: www.ninahsdowry.com


Innocent is on Twitter: @InnoChia. Blog: www.chiareport.com

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