Director Taiwo Egunjobi’s “A Green Fever” Uses Title as Metaphor for Greed

The title of Taiwo Egunjobi’s new neo-noir thriller “A Green Fever” carries symbolic meaning beyond just referring to the rare medical condition impacting a character’s daughter in the film.

In a recent interview with the TNR team, Egunjobi explained that the evocative phrase “A green fever” is employed as a metaphor representing the pervasive human condition of greed – an unrestrained desire for wealth and power that can manifest as an obsessive “sickness.”

While, on the surface, the term “green fever” refers to the rare medical affliction impacting the daughter of the protagonist, architect Kunmi., Egunjobi uses layered visual metaphors and character motivations driven by greed to imbue the film’s title with deeper conceptual significance.

“Green is a symbolic color of greed, it’s also the color of money,” Egunjobi stated, noting “it means people sickened in their haste for inordinate wealth.”

Set against the backdrop of 1980s Nigeria, the lush opulence of the mansion setting embodies excessive materialism fueling desires. Other characters like Colonel Bashiru represent institutional greed for power.

As tensions escalate within the confined mansion setting, each character’s greed literally consumes them, with the narrative reaching a crescendo in an unraveling of morality and loyalty – visualizing how the metaphorical “green fever” of greed can corrupt.

Through his symbolic use of the title concept, Egunjobi explores universal human frailties and how the mania of greed can have far-reaching consequences across individuals, families and power structures.

The director’s deft handling of this layered metaphorical meaning elevates “A Green Fever” as a psychological study on the intoxicating effects of greed provoking deeper philosophical questions.