Bíìjà (2023 Film)
| Bíìjà | |
|---|---|
 Worldwide theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Silver Somayina |
| Written by | Ngutor Laazis Farzad Alfa |
| Screenplay by | Guillermo Adesanya Ndidi Dike |
| Produced by | Chioma Asiegbu Ezekiel Amaka |
| Starring | Marco Smith Amachea Jaja Ayotunde Oyo Tari Fasingha |
| Cinematography | Abba Indimi |
| Edited by | Lou Emeke |
| Music by | Carl Singh |
Production company | Sunrise Films |
| Distributed by | North Bahia Film Company |
Release dates |
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Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | Tiwura |
| Language | Estmerish |
Bíìjà is a 2023 Tiwuran epic historical action film directed by Silver Samoyina and produced by Sunrise Films. The film is currently set to be the most expensive film in Tiwuran film history, surpassing the previous record held by the 2007 film The Brotherhood. Bíìjà takes place in the historic event known as the dikebilie, to which the film primarily uses the Zamga Codex story as its inspiration as well as the Gundaya tale of Ogun Jagunjagun, one of the most popular oral traditions passed down regarding the dikebilie. The plot centers around the semi-historical warrior king and eponymous protagonist Bíìjà.
The film is set to premier at the 84th Montecara Film Festival.
Plot
The movie begins with a brief explanatory prologue about the Kingdom of Adilun and how it was able to defeat Zamga Empire and unite an empire. The scene then flashes foward through images of different kings on the throne, and in each flash more and more gold accumulates by his side until it stops at King Toyin (Ayotunde Oyo). Toyin is cleaning his sword of blood and admiring the gold reflected behind him as the blood wipes away. He in interrupted by an advisor (Sotirian Owono), who tells him that another village in the south had been overrun by rebellious forces. Toyin, panicked as it this news became more common, left the walled city to speak with Kitu the Oracle (Kofoworola Momodu). He demands Kitu to give him an answer as to the fate of the empire. Kitu, after performing a ritual, then tells him that "the empire's fate is sealed, and the lands of your rule and rule of your vassals will soon be under the rule of the sword and smoke." Toyin returns back to his palace, pondering what the oracle was meaning by her statement.
The scene then shifts towards a battleground, with houses burning in the background and screaming filling the air. Here Bíìjà (Marco Smith) is leading a group of soldiers in a raid on a Sira village. Bíìjà and his fellow men pillage all the valuables they could find and also search for the village's Oba, who had been disloyal to Toyin. Bíìjà's second-in-command, Alagbato (Tari Fasingha), finds the leader and hands him over to Bíìjà, who kills him and then the scene cuts to a short montage of the warriors returning to Adilun. Here Toyin sees the celebration as they return and the cheers that Bíìjà and the warriors recieve, and he comes to the epiphany that the oracle meant a warrior, and Toyin believed this to be Bíìjà as he was one of the most successful and popular of the warriors.
That night, Bíìjà goes to the home of Alagbato where he sees Binẹwa (Amachea Jaja). Alagbato introduced the two, and they eat together with Alagbato and the other members of his family. Binẹwa talks about her life among the warriors, and her training that her father had given her. Bíìjà asks why, to which she says that her father, a spiritual man, saw trouble was rising across the empire and that she should know how to fight if something comes to Adilun. The two continue to converse, but Toyin enters the building with his guards and orders that everyone inside be restrained. Bolanle (Michael Adetiba), Alagbato's brother, attempts to fight Toyin, and is killed. Alagbato and Bíìjà fight off some of the guards, but are eventually knocked out. Toyin takes them to the wilderness and banishes the two, ties them to a horse, and sends the horse across the Cogoday.
After a day of travel the horse is stopped by a group of Mwo warriors who untie the two warrios and take them to their leader, an agheze named Ndịda (Theophilus Greene). They are forced to kneel to Ndịda. Bíìjà demands to know who this ruler was, since he did not recognize him. The agheze tells them that he is a warrior like them based on their clothing and explains to the two that he was one of the rebellious warriors that had been creating havok for Toyin in the south. Bíìjà questions his legitimacy, but that leads to Ndịda explaining his belief power is fought for, not inherited. He asks why the two came in bonds, to which they explain that they were warriors of Toyin and were banished for reasons they do not know. Ndịda tells them that they are welcome to stay as fellow warriors, but warns that his hospitality only goes so far. The two see a society ruled by warriors, and the head of the old eze on a spike. Bíìjà then goes to sleep.
As Bíìjà drifts off, he is awoken by dream. In this dream he sees a waterfall, and immediately gets up and goes outside to breath, and sees the waterfall in the distance. He immediately is drawn to it, and when he gets there he is enveloped by a light and out from behind the falls comes a man (Eze Chidike). Bíìjà asks who he was, to which he tells Bíìjà he was his Chi, his guardian spirit. Bíìjà kneels before him, fearing what news he brings. The Chi lifts him up and tells him that he has been woven into the fate of the world. Bíìjà asks what he means, to which the Chi tells him that he must return to Adilun and seal the fate of the city and oust Toyin. The Chi then tells him he is always with him and that together, they will fulfill Bíìjà's destiny. Bíìjà returns to Alagbato, and tells him they must return to Adilun. Ndịda catches the two leaving, and asks that if they overthrow Toyin and bring down the empire, that Ndịda and his warriors will be given protection in whatever new empire reigns. The two make the agreement, and the pair are given horses by the villagers to ride off back to Adilun. Alagbato asks Bíìjà how they can do this, to which Bíìjà does not answer. On the first night of rest before they cross the Cogoday, Bíìjà goes down to a small tree and meets with his Chi. The two converse and the Chi says that he will need to find help if he is to fulfill his destiny.
The film cuts to Binẹwa, imprisoned by Toyin. Binẹwa sits alone and convinces the guard to let her out by telling him what happened to Bíìjà, and the two find the other warriors who were told Bíìjà abandoned them. Binẹwa and the warriors escape Toyin's loyal forces. Binẹwa and the warriors arrive in the nearby village of Lorodo, where she the other warriors are welcomed by the leader of the warriors of Lorodo, who fought alongside her father before she was born. Binẹwa asks to see the Oba, to which the leader, Iranṣẹ (Hector Balogun), tells her that their ruler died a week ago due to an unexpected accident. Since then, he has reluctantly taken charge, stating that his purpose was not meant to rule but to serve. Binẹwa tells the Iranṣẹ about what had happened in Adilun, to which he says that his soldiers are more than capable of fighting Toyin, but he is not capable of leading such an assault.
Bíìjà and Alagbato are on their way to Adilun when Bíìjà falls off his horse as it suddenly stops, throwing him down through a wooded hill. Here he sees the village of Lorodo, and in the distance Binẹwa. Alagbato comes down and joins him as they enter the village. Binẹwa embraces Bíìjà and Alagbato and brings them to Iranṣẹ to corroborate her story and tell him about his experience in Mwoland where he saw one of the rebel villages and that if he were to join him he will be to serve him as his second in command. Iranṣẹ, conflicted, tells him that he can't, and that Bíìjà will have to fight alone but will offer him food and supplies for his campaign and that he can stay here indefinitely. Bíìjà, Alagbato, Binẹwa, and the Adilun warriors spend a night and prepare to attack the next morning. As the group prepares to move on the Adilun, Iranṣẹ and the large Lorodo army comes up to him and tells him he will be honored to serve the future king. The scene cuts as the group goes off to Adilun.
The film culminates into a final battle scene as the attacking warrior army faces off against Toyin's loyal forces. Iranṣẹ realizes that Toyin called loyal Obas near him to reinforce him. Alagbato, worried that they are now outnumbered, tries to call the attack off. Bíìjà, also worried, thinks about agreeing him, but overcomes his worry and orders to attack, stating that "If not now, the hourege will come to us, and we won't be behind great walls like he is." Bíìjà's army begins the assault on the city, he calls upon the warriors of the city to join their side and gain the spoils of war they rightfully earn. The battle begins to go against Bíìjà as another Oba arrives with his army, attacking from the flank. Alagbato is killed during the flanking attack, Bíìjà goes to side and looks around, believing the war is lost. Suddenly, the gates of the city open and he and his army forces their way into the city. Bíìjà, enraged by Alagbato's death, begins slaughtering the Oba and their families, along with the wife of Toyin as well as and others who were friends of Toyin. He sees Kitu, and as he is about kill her, he realized that she was the one who opened the gate. Bíìjà storms the inner walls and finds Toyin by his throne, sitting alone amongst his riches. Outside some of the warriors join Bíìjà's army and switch sides, Iranṣẹ and the warriors begin to cheer as the city falls to their control. Meanwhile, Bíìjà asks why Toyin banished him, to which Toyin replied that he does not understand, and that a lowly warrior should know his place. Toyin then begins to fight Bíìjà, where he loses and is killed. Bíìjà is then visited by the Chi one last time, who tells him that he has one more thing to do to fulfill the foreseen destiny of Adilun, and takes Bíìjà outside to see an army of cheering warriors and burning walls as Adilun is sacked. The film then cuts to one final scene of Bíìjà walking away from a cloud of smoke and raising his sword in the air, joining his army in chant.
Cast
- Marco Smith as Bíìjà, a high-ranking member of the warrior caste who had been banished by his king for suspicion that he was plotting a revolt.
- Amachea Jaja as Binẹwa, a wealthy woman who is the daughter of another warrior but had been imprisoned due to her proximity to the warrior caste.
- Ayotunde Oyo as King Toyin, ruler of the Adilun Kingdom who had become suspicious of the warrior caste and worried that the rumored uprisings across the empire may soon reach the central city of Adilun.
- Tari Fasingha as Alagbato, a fellow warrior banished alongside Bíìjà, cousin of Binẹwa.
- Eze Chidike as The Chi, Bíìjà's guardian spirit who has come to guide him on his path and protect him from spirits that wish to do him harm.
- Theophilus Greene as Ndịda, a Mwo warrior king(agheze) who helps convince Bíìjà and his fellow soldiers to revolt against Toyin.
- Kofoworola Momodu as Kitu the Oracle, Toyin's spiritual advisor.
- Hector Balogun as Iranṣẹ, respected warrior of the village of Lorodo.
- Ozioma Ihejirika as Young Bíìjà, Bíìjà as a child.
Production
Development
Silver Samoyina had stated in interviews that the idea of transforming the story of Bíìjà has been a dream of Tiwuran cinema for decades. In 2005, Samoyina along with his friend August Nnamani would together propose the idea to Sunrise Films, who agreed and hired up and coming writer Jerome Olateru to begin work on a script. The film fell through when Nnamani and Olateru would leave to work on another project in 2007, leaving the project, then designated Warrior Epic, to be abandoned after it became clear the ambitious project was too much for the studio to handle without excessive downsizing. Samoyina would go on to direct three films, until, in 2018, scriptwriter Farzad Alfa was hired by Sunrise Films and learned about the dead project. Alfa proposed reviving it to Sunrise Films, and they agreed, reaching out to Samoyina to direct. Production for the film began in 2019 once it was finally decided Bíìjà would be the principle character, and Marco Smith was picked up to play him. It soon became apparent to the studio that the film would be incredibly expensive, but these strains were alleviated once producer Chioma Asiegbu got involved into the project.
Casting
In 2019, Marco Smith was the first actor casted for the film due to his exceptional interest in the idea, and by 2020 the script was complete. A short hiatus came in production in 2020, but by the end of the year the casting calls were sent out to several actresses. Amachea Jaja was the first to answer, and she was immediately hired as scheduling problems seemed non-existent. For the character of Toyin the casting took a little longer, but well-renowned Tiwuran actor Ayotunde Oyo would eventually be chosen. By 2021 the other major cast members were in.
Filming
Filming began in 2021 on location in Koriko. The most difficult and expensive aspect of filming was the construction of an outdoor set for the scenes set in Adilun. Most other scenes were filmed on location in nearby rural areas. Filming would wrap up in early 2023.
Themes
Fate and Destiny
One of the constant recurring motifs of the film is the idea of fate. The theme is recurring since the first scene.
Soundtrack
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dida-ṣubu" | tbd |
| 2. | "The Prophecy" | tbd |
| 3. | "Ogun" | tbd |
| 4. | "The Epiphany" | tbd |
| 5. | "Ebi" | tbd |
| 6. | "The Betrayal" | tbd |
| 7. | "Agheze" | tbd |
| 8. | "Who Are You?" | tbd |
| 9. | "Chi" | tbd |
| 10. | "Destiny's Path" | tbd |
| 11. | "Away to Home" | tbd |
| 12. | "Ona Abayo" | tbd |
| 13. | "Iranṣẹ and Lorodo's Theme" | tbd |
| 14. | "Fate Weaves" | tbd |
| 15. | "Ogun ti Ayanmọ" | tbd |
| 16. | "The Warrior and the King" | tbd |
| 17. | "Ipari (The End)" | tbd |
| 18. | "Destiny Fulfiled (Credits Theme)" | tbd |