Dry is a 2014 Nigerian drama film directed by Stephanie Linus and starring Stephanie Okereke, Liz Benson, William McNamara, Darwin Shaw and Paul Sambo. On 20 July 2013, a teaser trailer for the film was released, in response to the Child marriage controversy ongoing in Nigeria at the time.
The film's theme focuses on Vesicovaginal fistula condition and underaged marriage among young women, narrating the story of a thirteen-year-old girl, Halima (Zubaida Ibrahim Fagge), whose poor uneducated parents marry her off to Sani (Tijjani Faraga), a 60-year-old man, who constantly rapes her. Halima gets pregnant and suffers Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) after child delivery; she's consequently abandoned by her husband and discriminated against in the society. Zara (Stephanie Okereke), a medical doctor who also suffered a horrific childhood meets Halima; she tries to help her get through her situation and also save other young women under such circumstance.
Plot
Cast
Zubaida Ibrahim Fagge as Halima
Stephanie Okereke as Dr Zara
Liz Benson as Matron
William McNamara as Dr Brown
Darwin Shaw as Dr Alex
Paul Sambo
Olu Jacobs as Speaker
Rahama Hassan as Fatima
Hauwa Maina as Hadiza
Rekiya Ibrahim Atta as Sani's Mother
Hakeem Hassan as Honourable Musa
Tijjani Faraga as Sani
Klint da Drunk as Dr. Mutanga
Vineeta Pathak
Production
Okereke had been disturbed with child marriage issue since she was in College and had been thinking on how to tackle the topic. The making of Dry was inspired by a true life story of a lady Okereke met in Northern Nigeria. She stated: "I have been to the North and to other parts of the country, and I have seen first-hand how this health issue defies normal living for girls and women of different ages. I have decided to share their stories through DRY" "The issue might seem controversial, but if it will set one girl free and open the minds of the people, and also instruct different bodies and individuals to take action, then the movie would have served its purpose". According to Linus, the film was in production for three years; it was reported in September 2012 that Stephanie Okereke just hit location for the film. The film marked the return of Liz Benzon to the big screen after a long time of absence from films. The opening scenes which were initially meant to be shot in Los Angeles were later moved to Aberystwyth, Wales by the line producers, Akanimo Odon and Murtza Ali Ghaznavi. The film was also shot in Aberystwyth University campus, in which the university acted as a production partner. Students from the University's Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies were present on set to gain practical experience and to also help with the film shoot, and several University staff had minor acting roles, in addition to the professional cast.
Release
The film's teaser trailer was released on 20 July 2013. This was around the time of "Child marriage controversy in Nigeria", when the senate was unable to remove a clause of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which states that "any woman that is married in Nigeria is of full age" due to shortage of votes from members of senate. This however was misconstrued by the general public as a bill for underaged marriage, which drew a lot of media attention at the time. Stephanie Okereke coincidentally just concluded the principal photography of the film at the time, so she released a RAW footage teaser trailer to lend her voice against the "alleged bill". The official trailer was released on 3 September 2014.
Dry premiered on 29 November 2014 at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wales. Behind the Scenes documentary video for the film was uploaded on "NextPage" YouTube channel on 30 July 2015, and the film premiered at the Silverbird Galleria in Lagos on 3 August 2015. The film also premiered in Abuja on 13 August 2015, before going on a general release the next day, on 14 August.