…highlights challenges faced by youth corps members in rural communities
‘Praey’ a gospel thriller, co-produced by John Oguntuase and Damilola Fasesan has premiered in Lagos after eight years of planning, highlighting the difficulties faced by youth corps members posted to rural communities across Nigeria.
The movie was produced by 2nd Touch Production in conjunction with Impact Global Ministries, to address issues corps members experience at the place of primary assignment during the national youth service.
John Oguntuase, who directed the movie, said that ‘Praey’ generally was about telling people that God is supreme when help is beyond reach as seen in the movie. “And then, of course, Praey generally is telling us that God is supreme. God is powerful; you need God and everyone needs God for redemption, salvation.”
According to him, Praey is a movie about some certain medical students, and addresses the poor behaviour of some public health workers. He said further that the movie addresses the issue of absentee fathers in the family setup.
“Young doctors that were posted to a remote village to serve, you know, of course the haunted village. And then, because the village is haunted now, they were caught under that particular fire and there’s no way to escape. And so they became the next target, victims, basically. It’s a thriller, crime, mystery story,” Oguntuase said.
Damilola Fasesan, co-producer, said that the movie is a new dawn for gospel movies in the country. According to her, more viewers downloaded the thriller long before coming to the cinema to view it.
“We have thousands of views on the thriller; a lot of people are even sharing and reposting and have been saying great things about the movie. It’s a new dawn. It’s just telling the story in a different way. It’s epic. It’s very rich and cultural. It’s beautiful.
“You’re going to see lots of things you haven’t seen in Christian gospel movies before. Expect the unexpected in the thriller, which we don’t usually do in Gospel movies. But it has a strong message,” Fasesan said.
Tomiwa Samson Bobade, one of the lead characters in Praey said that the movie is about the life of corps members and their relationships with God, and how God eventually saves them from evil. According to her, Praey is a whole bag of emotion, disclosing that putting the movie together required a huge investment, especially being gospel content.
“So, imagine people’s children leaving their comforts for the service of the country and going to a place where they have zero amenities. It is actually an eyesore. And I believe this movie is going to change that narrative and it’s going to encourage the government to do better and to do more,” she said.
