Filmmaker and photographer Ifenna Okeke is on a mission to tell stories that spark curiosity, emotion, and deep reflection. His work blends history, identity, and mythology, offering fresh perspectives on Black and Igbo narratives. In this interview, Ifenna shares his creative journey, the inspiration behind Echoes, and his vision for storytelling across different mediums.
Reframing History: Ifenna Okeke’s Vision Through Afrosurrealism
Ifenna Okeke, a visionary filmmaker and photographer, merges history, culture, and Afrosurrealism to craft stories that resonate deeply. His passion for storytelling stems from a curiosity about the world and a desire to create narratives that evoke emotion and connection.
His project Echoes reimagines the Nigerian Civil War through a surreal lens, drawing parallels between past and present while challenging traditional ways of recounting history.
Who's Ifenna as an artist?
I’m a director & photographer who loves telling stories that make people feel something. Curiosity, nostalgia, connection/community, or just that lingering sense of ‘I need to see more of what I just watched!’.
Growing up, I was always fascinated by how things worked, how life is very real and rich with experiences we can only know about through stories, but at the same time, our ability as humans to create an infinite number of imaginative worlds and ideas to colour our lives. This curiosity naturally led to my interest in telling stories and wanting to create worlds rich in detail and full of life that pull people in and leave them asking for more.
Your portfolio showcases a diverse range of subjects and styles. How do you approach storytelling in your photography, and what elements do you consider essential to convey a compelling narrative?
Storytelling for me is all about creating emotion and a connection with the audience—what’s being shown, what’s being hidden, subtle details in plain sight, and how all these come together to make the viewer feel something. Colour, contrast, texture, composition & movement are all essential to creating a great visual for me. In addition, subtle things like fleeting eye contact to communicate emotions add an extra layer of detail that makes a great photo. I want people to feel like there’s more to the story like they just walked into a moment that they somehow need to be invested in.
''Echoes" explores the impact of the Nigerian Civil War through an afrosurrealist lens. What inspired you to tell this story, and how does it relate to the broader themes of Black history and identity?
I grew up hearing bits and pieces about the Nigerian Civil War, but it was always fragmented. I hate to admit it, but I didn’t think much of it beyond how it’s a bad thing that happened in Nigeria’s history specifically to the Igbo people. As I became more aware of the nuances of Nigeria’s beginnings and the tension that sometimes exists in communities when tribalistic rhetorics are stocked, I started asking more questions about the war and doing research on my own.
In 2023, I traveled to Europe and visited the Seville Cathedral, a popular and beautiful historic place (also where Christopher Columbus is buried). The art pieces were surreal, sublime, otherworldly, and beautiful!! The story behind their connection to the slave trade through Queen Isabella, though, not so much. This left me conflicted about how I felt about the artwork. It also made me curious to understand and explore why traditional African spirituality is demonized and discouraged under the guise of religion despite most countries outside Africa encouraging the documentation, exploration and preservation of their traditional spirituality without feeling conflicted.
During this same period, Nigeria had an election, and one of the leading candidates was an Igbo. This led to a spike in anti-Igbo tribalism across the country and directed at the candidate, too. Seeing this happen in real time made me curious to explore how similar the energy in 2023 was to the moments in the 1960s that led to the Biafran war.
'Echoes' isn’t just about the Biafran war; it also speaks to the way Black history often carries these unspoken wounds, a shared experience most Afrocentric countries have experienced, and how we, as storytellers, can bring them to light in ways that feel fresh and emotionally real. Afrosurrealism lets me do that—it allows our stories to be told in fresh and exciting new ways.
The characters in "Echoes" are named after the traditional Igbo market days: Eke, Afo, Nkwo, and Orie. Can you elaborate on the symbolism behind these names and how they contribute to the film's narrative?
In Igbo culture, the market days aren’t just about trading—they’re mostly used to represent how time moves and have a spiritual/mystical element to their origin story. I wanted to tell a fictional story that wasn’t just a recounting of events and show how African Mythology can be told using different aspects of the cultures where connections don’t look like they exist. I chose the Market Days as the character names to highlight how each character in 'Echoes' embodies different phases in the story and gives weight to specific moments and emotions in time. They shaped how each character interacts with the story, gave them their voice, and is my way of weaving tradition into a narrative that feels both grounded and mystical at the same time
''Echoes" addresses historical events that have shaped the experiences of many. What message or reflection did you hope audiences take away from the film, particularly in relation to understanding and appreciating Black history—specifically Igbo history?
I want people—especially Nigerian and Black audiences—to see this film and feel curious to learn more about our stories and mythology, but also make a connection like ‘this is a story that came from us’ irrespective of where they’re from.
In my opinion, so much of our history sometimes gets told through an outsider’s lens or overtly realistic perspective, either stripped of its emotion and complexity or recounting events almost exactly as they happened. 'Echoes' is my way of showing we can tell our stories in a way that sparks curiosity without being too literal. I hope it sparks conversations.
I hope people begin to seek out knowledge about the events that led to the Biafran war and how they’re very common in the Diaspora and I hope people see a story about grief, hope and perseverance.
During the screening of Echoes, a comic book was made available. What inspired the creation of the comic, and is there a possibility of an anime series being developed from this?
Yes!! I’ve always loved the idea of storytelling across different formats—giving people different ways to engage with the world I’ve built. The comic book was a way to give a backstory about our characters and how they came to be in the Igbo pantheon. It was also a way to show the world beyond the film, showing that we can use modern creative storytelling processes to tell our mythological and traditional stories.
Regarding the anime series, that’s honestly my goal for the future of the project. I think about it all the time and have started worldbuilding and drafting the stories that’ll be told!
I have huge inspirations from anime such as Castlevania, Blood of Zeus, Parasyte & Full Metal Alchemist, to name a few, and envisioning an Afrosurrealist anime series based on African/Igbo mythology is too exciting and motivating for me to not explore further.
As a filmmaker and photographer, how do you see your work contributing to the celebration and recognition of Black history and culture?
To be honest, I feel like I’m only just starting to find my voice, but I want my work to reflect authenticity, depth, and creativity when it comes to how African and Black stories are told or experienced. I find that sometimes Black history can be hyper-focused on trauma related to slavery or modern injustice, understandably so, but I also believe we have a rich resource of untold stories that carry the same message of resilience, beauty, and imagination with a dash of mythology thrown in the mix when we explore our traditional heritage.
I want people, irrespective of where they’re from to empathize (not sympathize), reflect, and have dialogue around African or Black stories and experiences from a place of curiosity and genuine interest.
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