When Ny Nana’s Okeoghene earned 21 nominations at the 2026 Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival, it marked a milestone not only for the filmmaker but also for Urhobo-language cinema. The 14-minute supernatural drama explores womanhood, spirituality and ancestral memory through the story of Ejiro, whose repeated miscarriages uncover a forgotten bond between her family and an ancient river deity.
The film received nominations across several categories, including Best Nollywood Narrative Film, Best African Indigenous Film, Best Short Drama, Best Photography, Best Female Filmmaker and Best Experimental Short Film. For Nana, a London-based Nigerian filmmaker and Treasurer of the Directors Guild of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, the recognition is both humbling and affirming.
The journey to Okeoghene began with a personal experience.
“Growing up, whenever I told people I wasn’t Yoruba, the next assumption was usually that I was Igbo,” Nana tells The Nollywood Reporter. “I would always find myself having to explain that I’m Urhobo. That experience made me realize how little people know about the Urhobo people and our culture.”
That experience inspired her to tell a story rooted in her heritage, and she knew it had to be told in Urhobo.
“Urhobo carries the emotions, expressions, and cultural nuances in a way that English or Pidgin simply can’t,” she says. “It allowed me to tell the story from an authentic place.”
She also hopes the film encourages more creatives from the region to tell their own stories.
“We don’t have enough filmmakers telling stories from Urhobo land, so I wanted to contribute to changing that.”
At the centre of Okeoghene is a river deity inspired by traditional Urhobo beliefs, particularly the Igbe religion. Igbe, which means “dance” in Urhobo, is a spiritual movement with a deep connection to water and nature.
“Growing up, I was fascinated by the Igbe worshippers in my community,” Nana recalls. “Their dances, ceremonies, clothing, and way of expressing their faith were very distinctive and left a lasting impression on me.”
While the film is fictional, its visual language and spiritual atmosphere draw heavily from those childhood memories.
“I wanted to draw from those traditions respectfully and bring a part of Urhobo culture and history to the screen.”
Beyond celebrating culture, Okeoghene also addresses repeated miscarriage, a subject that remains difficult to discuss in many communities.
“One of the things I wanted to do was acknowledge the pain that many women and families go through in silence,” she says. “Miscarriage is something that affects a lot of people, but in many communities it’s not openly discussed, so the grief can be very lonely.”
Although the film contains supernatural elements, Nana says its emotional core is universal.
“It’s about love, hope, grief, and the resilience of people trying to make sense of difficult circumstances.”
For her, using supernatural drama to explore womanhood and spirituality felt like the most natural storytelling approach.
“For me, spirituality and culture are deeply connected to everyday life. Growing up, I was surrounded by stories and beliefs about the spiritual world, so a supernatural drama felt like the natural way to tell this story.”
The genre also gave her an opportunity to reconnect with traditions she grew up around. Dreams, the river deity and the film’s spiritual atmosphere all draw inspiration from the Igbe tradition.
“I was inspired by how dreams are seen as a real point of connection with the water deity,” she says. “So I used that as a foundation for how the spiritual world enters the story.”
Working with the cast was one of the smoother parts of the production because they shared the same cultural background.
“Working with the actors was very easy, especially Caroline. We grew up together in Delta State, and as soon as I wrote the script, she came to mind.”
Nana says she spoke with each actor individually to guide them through their roles, but their shared understanding of the culture helped them balance the emotional weight of grief with the film’s supernatural elements.
Producing a story rooted in the Niger Delta while living in London presented its own challenges.
“Producing the film wasn’t easy at all. Being based in London meant I had to do a lot of research to make sure everything felt authentic, from the costumes to the music and the cultural details.”
She also had numerous conversations to ensure the Urhobo spoken in the film was accessible.
“There are different ways it’s spoken, so I had to choose the simplest and clearest form for the film.”
Distance also required a high level of trust in her team.
“I couldn’t always be on the ground, so I had to rely on communication and trust with the team back home. But it also pushed me to be very intentional about every detail and make sure nothing was lost in translation.”
As Okeoghene continues its festival run, Nana hopes international audiences connect first with the story’s emotional themes.
“I hope they first connect with the emotions in the story, grief, love, faith, and resilience, because those are universal.”
She also hopes viewers, particularly Africans in the diaspora, become more curious about their heritage.
“A lot of people don’t really know their heritage in detail anymore, so I want this film to spark that interest.”
Ultimately, she wants audiences to recognize the richness of Indigenous storytelling and the possibilities that come with telling stories in their original languages.
Looking ahead, Ny Nana Productions has already begun pre-production on several new short films, all of which will be produced in Urhobo. The company is also developing documentary projects.
“For us, this is just the beginning,” she says. “We want to keep building Urhobo language cinema and telling more stories from our culture in different formats and genres.”
As for Okeoghene, Nana confirms that plans are underway for Nigerian screenings once the festival circuit concludes.
“We’ve applied to several film festivals in Nigeria and are excited about the possibility of screening the film at home. Once the festival run is complete, we plan to have a Nigerian premiere.”
