“A witch does not kill her own grandchild, their rib will get stuck in her throat like a Fish bone.” – Ibibio proverb.
Fishbone is a short film written and directed by Etim Effiong (Skin), that gets its title from the above proverb. The quality of the film is immediately clear from the start and it doesn’t disappoint throughout. i suppose, being a short film I there isn’t much time for long drawn out scenes. It is action packed and I totally loved it.
The Director Of Photography (DOP), Femi Awojide, seems to be making bold colors and creative aerial shots in unique places his trademark sign. He used a very similar shot in the 2019 music video Jaiye by Ladipoe, such as the colorful canoe in between water houses and the aerial shot showing a character walking or running through tight buildings spaces in the slums.
Shooting between roofing and cutting to different shots in order to give the viewer a feeling of walking or running through the scene with the focal character is a very clever technique.
Etim Effiong plays the dogged Inspector Folarin, determined to capture the mastermind behind the production of counterfeit drugs originating from the slums of Lagos. Meanwhile Shaffy Bello doubles as an upright citizen, Mrs Thomas by day and counterfeit drug producer Mama T at night. Supported by her errand boy aptly named ‘Schoolboy’, played by Moshood Fattah (who also plays Thiny in the Bolanle Austen-Peters stage play, ‘Man enough’).
Overall this is a great short film from start to finish. The acting and cinematograpy is superb and there is a moral to the story. Although I’m not sure why they chose to include a public service announcement about film piracy at the end?? Even though delivered by Nollywood film and music superstar Banky Wellington, viewers are still left scratching their heads because there just isn’t any correlation to the film.
Anyway, be on the lookout for more from this great cast and possibly a feature length film to build on the storyline in the future.
You can watch the full movie below
