Akwụna: Stella Damasus features in new short film

Nollywood star actress Stella Damasus is set to thrill fans with her latest role in 'Akwụna', a forthcoming short film that explores the tragic side to immigration.

'Akwuna' short film directed by Oluyinka Davids [Nnamdi Kanaga] Pulse Nigeria

Pulse recently gathered that principal photography recently wrapped up in Dallas, Texas for the short film directed and executive produced by Oluyinka Davids.

In 'Akwụna', Damasus stars as the gritty protagonist Ebere, a Nigerian immigrant who turns to prostitution following a tragic experience.

'Akwuna' short film directed by Oluyinka Davids [Nnamdi Kanaga] Pulse Nigeria

Speaking on why she took on the daring new role, Damasus who doubles as Associate Producer revealed:

"After being in the industry for over 25 years, always playing the decent, respectable housewife or the damsel in distress, I thought it was time to do something different and push myself beyond the boundaries and expectations that people have set for me."

'Akwuna' short film directed by Oluyinka Davids [Nnamdi Kanaga] Pulse Nigeria

"It's a new chapter in my life, and with newness, comes the boldness and desire to take more risks and challenges in my career and life in general."

"Everybody wants to come to America, but the truth is not everybody really knows what goes down in America. This might sound very cliche but it is a reality oftentimes (if not always) overlooked. Stories about survival in America can be very scary, I mean people do a lot of things in order to breathe the "American oxygen", and in that process, they lose a lot of things sometimes even themselves," added director Oluyinka Davids.

'Akwuna' short film directed by Oluyinka Davids [Nnamdi Kanaga] Pulse Nigeria

On the inspiration behind the story, writer Nnamdi Kanaga shared:

"When Stella, Yinka, and I decided to do a project together, we wanted the collaboration to birth something different. Something people have never seen before.

"With this in mind, I wrote the script without thinking about any limitations because we were ready to give it everything- creatively, technically, artistically, and beyond. Akwụna is daring. The story threads on paths that people have, in recent times, avoided and/or overlooked."

'Akwuna' short film directed by Oluyinka Davids [Nnamdi Kanaga] Pulse Nigeria

'Akwụna' costars Dallas-based American actor Tim Meadows, The African Film Festival director Kelechi Eke, Nnamdi Kanaga, and Sara Rashelle.