Winner of Best Cinematography (David Wyte) and Nominated for Discovery Award
Q&A with Babatunde Apalowo
Bambino and Bawa’s relationship is tested as they navigate their feelings for each other while riding around Lagos for a photo competition. Grappling with self-doubt and uncertainty, Bambino suffers an accident and is forced to rely on Bawa’s assistance and begins to question his own sexuality.
Deliveryman Bambino strikes up a friendship with a betting shop owner, Bawa. While being romantically pursued by his young neighbour Ifeyinwa, and rejecting her advances at every turn, Bambino gets closer to Bawa. Indulging the latter’s hobby of photography, Bambino takes Bawa around Lagos on his bike, only too happy to let him take pictures of the city or be photographed himself. The two start a tentative romantic relationship which everyone, including Bambino, considers taboo as it goes against societal norms.
Taking a leaf out of Italian neorealism’s book, the film places emphasis on situations lived on the margins of society, where one could be torched for stealing from a shop. The only way out of his miserable existence is for Bambino to let in someone he has come to care about. This is visually represented when Bambino opens up his routine, previously confined to local amenities, to take in the bigger sites of the city, a peripatetic novelty that could signify his escape.
Winner of the prestigious Teddy Award for Best LGBTQ+ Feature at the Berlinale earlier this year, Babatunde Apalowo’s debut is a hopeful indication of where African queer cinema is headed. It still has a long way to go, but this film shows it has legs.
Mickey La Rosa
