Lagos, Nigeria and Mombasa, Kenya, come together in East West Love, a romantic comedy that opened in Nigerian cinemas on October 9. It arrives seven years after Plan B, the 2019 Nigerian-Kenyan romantic comedy featuring Daniel Etim-Effiong and Sarah Hassan as love interests.
“What was supposed to be a getaway turns into an unexpected journey of love, secrets, and second chances,” when Bolatito of Lagos, played by Sunshine Rosman, unexpectedly crosses paths with Juma of Mombasa, played by Brian Abajah, on a holiday trip from Lagos to Mombasa.
The cast also includes Elma Mbadiwe, Emmanuel Mugo, and Efa Iwara, who plays Chude, Bolatito’s Nigerian boyfriend.
Folashayo Oke Sobo, who produced East West Love alongside Dolapo ‘Lowladee’ Adeleke through Suss Productions, speaks to OYA Magazine on the story, the production, and the collaboration.
How did the collaboration on East West Love come about?
My partner, Abiola, and I had been thinking about how we could expand our storytelling to include Africa, because Africa is a beautiful market.
We wanted to tell a simple story that opens the conversation about cross-country filmmaking in Africa, and the best place to start was a simple boy-meets-girl story, and, honestly, that’s how East West Love was born.
We hoped it would pave the way and open people’s eyes to more cross-country or Pan-African collaborations. Africa is beautiful, and as African filmmakers, we should be PR companies for Africa.
As opposed to stories that showcase Africa as an unsafe place or a starving place, we wanted to show its beauty and the places where good things happen.
What was it like shooting two different countries, Nigeria and Kenya?
It was hard. Production is typically hard, and shooting in different countries made it a bit harder. But I was excited I had Dolapo ‘Lowladee’ Adeleke as a co-producer. We’d worked together a couple of times, and I could lean on her experience and knowledge.
We had the best team in Lagos, the best team in Kenya, and an amazing director, Seko Shamte (SSS), who understood the continent and could bring the story together. So yes, it was a hard task, but the process was full of fun and excitement.
How did Lowladee’s work on Plan B influence your approach to East West Love?
I absolutely loved what Lowladee did with Plan B. When I started thinking about this, she came to mind right away. I thought, “Yeah, we can do this because she has gone ahead and paved the way.”
Plan B is an exceptional movie. It opened the door to see the potential and the possibility, and East West Love is taking a step forward to say, ‘Hey, don’t forget that.’
We can make films across Africa. That is what the East West Love story is about. A simple love story, straight to the point, and it also makes a statement: ‘You can step outside of where you are and make good films.’
East West Love is now showing in cinemas nationwide.
