Radio Amina

At the first sigh, a manifesto. About condition of women in Nigeria, about education, social protection, about care for children condition. In essence- a portrait. The portrait of young Amina and her price for survive. About her dreams and need to say the truth. More than a touching short film, it is a testimony. About realities of an African country, off course. But, in same measure, about the essence of a life style . And pledge for the truth , with the honesty defining only the young people looking for be more than propose their social condition. So, a great, profound useful film. The eyes of Amina are the best word for this opinion.

Amina Dibir is a young girl living in Nigera who works each day selling goods on the side of the road. While she sits in boredom she dreams of her own radio station where she can play music and say what she likes to her audience. In using this fantasy the film is able to show the reality of Nigeria via pictures while also have Amina narrate and raise issues such as inequality which women struggle with in Nigeria and in particular those that limit the potential of girls. As a concept it is a nice one for a short film because, although not very detailed, it is only a short film so it is more about the spirit than the full detail.

Amina herself makes a good narrator even if there is nothing specific that she says that you will not already know or have assumed about her situation. Although it would have reduce the natural feel of her narration, it may have been a good idea to have fed her some stats (or at least to have put some on the screen as text) to help make the points in a more convincing manner. The choice of shots under her voice are mixed but again lack that killer delivery. Shots of busy life and normal people are fine but I thought more time could have been spent following Amina or others in a more structured way.

It is hard to fault the film for its message and its spirit but it does feel a bit general and soft in its delivery across the board.