Baby Factory, a short film by Nigerian filmmaker Gbenga Adeoti, received the award for Best Film on Human Trafficking and Migration at the 2024 Africa Films for Impact Festival (AFFIF). This was made known in an Instagram post as Adeoti expressed his hesitation to release the film publicly after its run at several film festivals.
“I’ve been very stubborn about releasing this short film ‘Baby Factory’ since 2022, but I’m very glad it won the category for Best Film on Human Trafficking and Migration at the Africa Films for Impact Festival AFFIF2024. Congratulations to all the nominees and the Baby Factory team,” he said.
Adeoti, an alumnus of the EbonyLife Creative Academy and founder of Filmjoint, is a trained theatre practitioner. He is also a screenwriter, cinematographer, video editor, and events and production manager. His other works include Bruised, If Only, and Sidi.
Written by Benita Imohimoh, Baby Factory features a cast that includes Mercy Aghedo, Onaopemipo Olatunde, Victoria Odoyi, Oluwabunmi Awolowo, Crystal Claudius, and Ezekiel Abayomi. The African Film for Impact Festival is dedicated to showcasing and empowering films and filmmakers who focus on social change themes. Baby Factory addresses the issue of human trafficking in Nigeria, depicting the lives of young women who seek refuge with a madame who exploits them for baby-making, selling their babies on the black market for profit. Adeoti has yet to announce when the short film will be publicly available.