Òlòtūré is a realistic and sour reflection of the horrors of prostitution and trafficking. Prostitution, rape and human trafficking are issues the society often turns a blind eye to. So, the story of the victims of these horrors are often never told. Òlòtūré reveals the complex realities women face in the horrific world of pimps, sex work, rape, and human trafficking.
The Movie
Set in Lagos, “Òlòturé” is the story of a naive and young journalist (Sharon Ooja), Ehi, who goes undercover to expose the brutal underworld of human trafficking. She is caught off-guard by the dangerous environment she finds. Ehi ultimately bonds with a group of prostitutes and becomes deeply buried in their world. Yet in her unrelenting pursuit to tell their stories, she’s so successful in inserting herself inside the trade that she doesn’t know how to get back out again, or whether she even wants to.
The movie is the first of a multi-title partnership that Netflix and Abudu’s EbonyLife entered earlier this year, as the Netflix continues to make inroads into the African continent. Under this partnership, Abudu is producing Netflix Original series and will license them to Netflix. The movie draws on the true story of Tobore Ovuorie, an investigative reporter with Nigeria’s Premium Times, who went undercover in the country’s human trafficking underworld and penned a report on her experience. Her report won her the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting.
Accoriding to Ovuorie, “six out of every trafficked persons arriving in the West are Nigerian”. Also, she noted that many women willingly go into prostitution hoping to escape from impoverishment. Sex work in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe, seems like a much more promising proposition than staying home.
The movie concludes on a very bleak note, with Òlòtūré’s fate uncertain. It is not quite the happy ending that audiences might be hoping for.
Brutal To Watch
While “Òlòturé” is brutal to watch, it explores a world few know anything about in unflinching detail. So, if you don’t watch ugly and gruesome content you may not be able to stomach Òlòturé. It is not for the faint of heart. However, if you are curious about what the dark side of Lagos looks like I recommend it as a realistic yet sour depiction of the horrors that never see the light.
