OSAS E LE DONNE DI BENIN CITY

In the city of Palermo, Sicily, between 2011 and 2014 three young Nigerian girls were killed within a short time. Public opinion says that they were just prostitutes, but the woman who tells us this story reminds us that Loveth, Favour and Bose were human beings. Osas Egbon is the president of the first Italian association against the exploitation of prostitution, formed entirely by Nigerian women, former victims of trafficking. They are the “Women of Benin City,” named after the city from which they all come. Osas has experienced first-hand what prostitution and violence mean. In a direct interview, she recounts us how she managed to rebel. A story that starts in the present and proceeds to the roots of her courage that make her a heroine pervaded by a precise need of justice and legality.

“The personal story of Osas Egbon is exemplary and embodies the battle against violence against women. Resisting the exploitation of prostitution, exposing one’s oppressors, and publicly standing up as Osas has done and continues to do in a city like Palermo is heroic. She herself tells us her story, looking directly into the viewer’s eyes. There are no distracting elements; fiction and reconstructions are minimized because I wanted it to be immediately clear that the focus of the narrative is Osas and everything that emerges from her thoughts and memories. Her voice is the film’s first true soundtrack. Her gaze is the only possible scenography.”

DIRECTOR: Gabriele Gravagna. SCREEMPLAY: Gabriele Gravagna, Marta Bellingreri, Sara Lorenzini. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Martina Cocco. EDITING: Irene Vecchio. PRODUCERS: Peppe Toia, Giulia Rosa D’amico. PRODUCTION: Map to the stars. COPRODUCTION: Rosa Film, On The Road Again Pictures.