Film Screening: Enyo (Reflection)
In collaboration with June Creative Advisory & No Parking Lagos
September 21, 2025 | Lianna Foundation, Lagos
overview
Lianna Foundation & Gallery, in partnership with June Creative Advisory and No Parking Lagos, hosted a screening of Enyo (Reflection)—a poetic short film by Nigerian filmmaker Nneoha Ann Aligwe.
Enyo traces the quiet unraveling of a relationship, asking what happens when silence speaks louder than love. Through soft, evocative imagery and sparse dialogue, the film meditates on grief, intimacy, and the spaces between connection and loss. In a final, unexpected moment, the story shifts—reminding us that reflection can lead to clarity, and sometimes, to healing.
This event marked the launch of Lianna’s film screening series, an initiative built around using film as a tool for shared learning, storytelling, and conversation. Following the screening, the audience was invited into an open dialogue with the director, creating a space for reflection on both the film’s process and its emotional weight.
It was an evening of cinema, silence, and shared witnessing—anchored by collaboration and guided by care.
film review & directors info
Critical Review:
Enyo (2024), is a delicately layered short film that explores the fraying threads of a romantic relationship plagued by distrust, emotional violence, and the silence that often replaces intimacy. Set within the confined space of a hotel—a liminal zone neither home nor fully public—the film stages a moment of rupture and revelation. Ebuka and Kosi’s deteriorating relationship is rendered with striking emotional realism, capturing how love can devolve into a standoff of grievances.
What makes Enyo remarkable is its pivot. The chance meeting with the enigmatic couple, Nnamdi and Adaugo, shifts the emotional tone from confrontation to reflection. The “mirror couple” acts not only as a narrative device but also as a metaphor for self-confrontation—how sometimes we need the reflection of others to see ourselves clearly. The film’s cinematography makes effective use of confined spaces and shifting perspectives, underlining the psychological entrapment of the protagonists.
The director’s intention to portray the power of spontaneous connection emerges gracefully without forced sentimentality. In just sixteen minutes, Enyo captures the subtle alchemy of human relationship: how healing sometimes arrives unannounced, and how proximity does not equate emotional closeness.
It is a film that insists on introspection, even after credits roll.
Director’s Bio:
Nneoha Ann Aligwe is a multifaceted creative professional, dedicated to telling stories that mirror her realities and experiences as an African. She has written and directed several short films and documentaries, including “Facebook Friend”, a finalist in the 2019 #IAmAfrica Short Film Competition, and “Born Different,” which was a finalist at the 2021 Durban International Film Festival and the Africa Film for Impact Film Festival. Her recent film, “Enyo (Reflection),” won the Viewers' Choice Award at the 2024 S16 Film Festival.
An alumnus of the 14th Talents Durban in 2021, Nneoha also studied Film Directing and Cinematography at EbonyLife Creative Academy. Beyond her work as a filmmaker, she’s the Executive Director of the Africa International Horror Film Festival. She owns OnwaTales Pictures, an independent Film Production Company based in Lagos, Nigeria.
