Dreamers

Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor’s first feature is both a drama about the plight of immigrants in the UK and an affecting love story.

Image courtesy of We Are Parable.

Imperfect though it is, Dreamers is a film which deserves a warm welcome. It marks the feature debut as both writer and director of Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor and immediately reveals that she has skills that are very special indeed. One is the ability to obtain deeply felt performances from her leading players, but no less striking is the deep humanity which pervades the film. An additional feature of this work lies in the fact that, in so far as I can judge such matters, it comes across as a film rooted in the female sensibility.

When I first heard of Dreamers it seemed likely that it would be a companion piece to one of this year's most memorable films, Souleymane's Story. Both works invite the viewer to witness - and indeed to share in - an immigrant’s situation at a time when it is uncertain whether or not asylum in the country of choice will be forthcoming. However, Souleymane was from Guinea and was living in France whereas the central character in Dreamers, Isio (Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo), is a Nigerian who wants to be allowed to settle in England. Nevertheless, both films stress the pressures experienced by deserving migrants and the way in which the legal procedures involved often function harshly. But, despite these common concerns, Souleymane's Story was notable for its vivid portrayal of its Paris setting and, in total contrast to that, Dreamers takes place throughout inside a woman's detention centre for asylum seekers, one to which Isio has been sent and a place which may provide shelter but can feel like a prison.

By presenting this portrait of the system Dreamers is certainly a film that can properly be described as having the immigration experience as a central issue, but the filmmaker has another aim too which is hardly less important to the film. Isio has fled Nigeria due to the fact that she is lesbian and on arrival at the centre she finds that she has a helpful room-mate in Farah (Ann Akinjirin). A key feature of the film is the love that develops between them. Although one of the women there, Afia (Dolapo Oni), has her gang of three and likes to bully, Isio soon finds herself forming a rapport with Farah and her two close friends, Atefeh (Aiysha Hart) and Nana (Diana Yekinni). Farah is one of the women awaiting the result of an appeal and all too aware that that right is limited. As is shown in the film’s later scenes it becomes for some a case of believing that their best bet is to seek an opportunity to make an escape bid from the centre.

Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor has acknowledged that this first feature is a semi-autobiographical work and there is sometimes a sense that she is trying to pack in too much just in case it should be her only chance to say it all. It is certainly the case that, in spite of the technical quality of the work including the look of the piece with its avoidance of darkness and considered use of colour, one senses that Dreamers may have been affected by budgetary considerations, a factor possibly reflected in its modest running length of 78 minutes. While the setting is convincingly realised, there are times when the story development feels rushed. This is particularly so when it comes to the speed with which Isio and Farah become lovers. But, if that is less than wholly convincing, the actual portrayal of their emotional and sexual bond is handled with real distinction. Adékoluẹjo and Akinjirin play this with total conviction and with the filmmaker being both writer and director there is a deep sense of her sensitivity guiding these scenes so that they come from the heart. The feeling conveyed here is a credit both to the filmmaker and to the two actresses concerned and renders this one of the most mature and expressive depictions of lesbian love on the cinema screen, even though it is only part of what the film is focused on.

The uneven nature of the film comes out in two ways. One may reflect the desire to incorporate an element particular to Nigeria. I had never heard of Mmanwu but I saw a review of Dreamers which usefully mentioned it and that led me to look up its meaning. I learnt that the word refers to an Igbo masquerade, a ritual which seeks to evoke ancestral spirits. Although the images relevant to this are not really explained, the fact that Isio is Nigerian would justify shots of this kind presented as something that she dreams. However, such episodes although very brief are intercut quite frequently and often not when Isio is about to wake up but in the middle of scenes involving her and others. This happens quite enough to be distracting when one is not really sure what to make of them.

The other weakness stems from the fact that, although Dreamers ends as it had begun in a decidedly individual way by quoting from the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy, the last quarter of the film devotes much of its time to preparations leading up to an escape bid. These scenes feel somewhat contrived and overfamiliar in contrast to what has been seen earlier. Nevertheless, flawed as it is, Dreamers is a film that deserves attention. The emotional engagement that Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor has with her characters is too rare in cinema today and suggests that her debut here is a significant one. Equally the two lead actresses are exceptionally fine and one is encouraged to hope that all three artists will have the opportunity in the future to build on the special qualities they possess and which are already revealed here.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo, Ann Akinjirin, Diana Yekinni, Aiysha Hart, Harriet Webb, Dolapo Oni, Lucy Ware, Jamie Bacon, Kerry Howard, Antonia Layiwola, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Kemi Adekoya.

Dir Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Pro Emily Morgan, Screenplay Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Ph Anna Patarakina, Pro Des Gini Godwin, Ed Arttu Salmi and Victoria Boydell, Music Ré Olunuga, Costumes Cynthia Lawrence-John.

Quiddity Films/Joi Productions/BBC Film/Finite Films-We Are Parable.
78 mins. UK. 2025. UK Rel: 5 December 2025. Cert. 15.