His name is Maxwell Enosata Linus.
All I can see is the glory of God and his Covenant fulfilled in our lives. We are so happy to share our bundle of joy!
“The same God that did it for us will do it for you” – just say it and it will happen!
I love you dearly for being there for me, for your love, kind words and encouragement.
This is a new beginning! May God give us strength to fulfill our destinies.
Love you all.
Stephanie
Hi everyone,
It’s a brand new week and I pray for brand new blessings for everyone of us!
This is great news for viewers in the U.S. DRY is now available on online platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Sony PlayStation and VUDU.
We’ve recently signed a deal with ARC Entertainment for the film’s distribution in the U.S. and I’m so happy about this.
DRY focuses on child marriage and Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), journeying into the heart-wrenching details of a culture not too many films dare to explore.
The journey has resulted in awards and nominations, with a successful international film festival screening tours. DRY was screened and won “best Protagonist” award at the Bentonville Film Festival, USA; official selection at the St Louis International Film Festival, USA; the Montreal Black Film Festival, Canada; Africa in Motion Film Festival, Scotland; and a screening at the Lancaster University, UK. DRY also has been selected to screen at the Toronto Black Film Festival in early 2016.
So, if you are in the U.S., here are the platforms to watch DRY:
Hi everyone!
I hope your week has been great so far.
I recently had an interview with Glendora Meikle, a program manager at the International Reporting Project on DRY and my campaign against Fistula. It was titled: ‘A Nigerian Actress Had An Unlikely Dream: Make A Movie About Fistula’ and published by NPR – National Public Radio.
Glendora who has previously worked at Operation Fistula, a nonprofit group that supports surgeons across Africa, and I had an interesting conversation which seems to have reawakened the conversation about Fistula among the International community.
I’d like to share the interview with you here. Do let me know your thoughts.
***
“Dry” is a tiny word with many interpretations: a well-made martini, a fluffy towel after a hot bath, a subtle wit.
But for 2 million women worldwide suffering from an obstetric fistula, “dry” means rebirth. It means the incessant flow of human waste dripping down their thighs has ceased at last, that their tenure as a social pariah has come to an end.
An obstetric fistula is a hole between the vagina and bladder — or vagina and rectum, in some cases — that develops as a result of tissue death during prolonged obstructed labor in childbirth. The hole means the woman’s urine (or, in some cases, feces) will simply leak out of her body. There is no way to control it.
Women who develop fistula are most likely to be poor, uneducated and without access to a skilled birth attendant. It persists as an insidious and under-reported condition in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The woman could be 15 or 35. It could be her first pregnancy or her tenth. Very little connects those afflicted with the condition, aside from the act of trying to bring a life into the world.
After successful surgery for a fistula, the surgeon says, “You are dry.” And everything changes. The smell is gone. The burning, infected skin is gone. The humiliation is gone.
The punch packed into this one modest word is exactly what Nigerian filmmaker and actress Stephanie Linus, 33, had in mind when she chose Dry as the title for her new film. The film was released in the U.S. in November and is available for rent on iTunes and Amazon; this month, it was nominated for nine Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, including “best overall movie.”
Linus’ fictional protagonist is a girl named Halima who, at 13, is married off to a much older man, gives birth to a stillborn baby and develops a fistula.
For Linus, fistula is a human rights issue. I spoke with her about giving such a little-known health condition the big-screen treatment, and what she thinks needs to change in order to make eradication a possibility. Below are excerpts from our conversation.
It was refreshing to see an obscure topic transformed into a Nollywood drama. When did you first encounter fistula?
In Nigeria, we have the north and the south. My second year at university, a friend of mine came back from the north. She was telling me about young girls being married off, with the end result being fistula. The story was very strange to me, and I was like, “Are you sure this is happening in Nigeria?” The thought never left my mind that, wow, I was lucky I had access to education and that I’m able to decide what happens to my body.
So I started researching. I remember going to Sierra Leone, because I discovered [fistula is] not only a Nigerian thing. So I was just trying to figure out what I can do to help.
There have been a couple of documentaries on fistula, but I believe this is the first time it’s been framed as entertainment. Was the impetus exposure to a wider audience?
Well, the more I researched, the more I found out that a lot of people don’t know about it. So many people that I encountered were like, “What are you talking about?” So the main issue was just to bring awareness to it, and I felt a film would resonate more.
Nollywood [Nigeria’s Hollywood] is the third largest filmmaking industry in the world. So when people come for entertainment, I’m actually passing this message to them. That’s the way I could contribute.
Was it hard to secure funding for a movie about such an unappetizing topic?
It was pretty difficult. I remember talking with some organizations that dealt with fistula. They all liked the idea of a film, but nobody wanted to fund it. I was very persistent. Then I got lucky, because I got in contact with the special adviser to the president of the Nigerian government [for the Millennium Development Goals]. I approached them, like, “This falls under your portfolio.”
And then I was able to meet some of these women. I’d been able to observe some operations, and I decided to set up my own foundation called the Extended Hands Foundation [which supports surgical repairs and donates medical equipment]. And while I’m raising money for the film, I’m able to raise funds to actually repair the women who are going through it.
I’m curious about your intended audience.
I was trying to get it to resonate with everybody — Westerners and Nigerians and people in Africa. We screened it in Wales, where 30 percent of the film was shot, and everyone was bawling.
One of the things your film directly addresses: There is zero money in fistula repair. These highly skilled surgeons put themselves through years of school and training and then realize they’ll be working for principle, not pay.
When you’re listening to some of the frustrations [the surgeons] have, most of them don’t even want to get into [fistula repair] in the first place. Because most of the patients are poor, and most of the payments that they get are from NGOs. It’s only recently that the government has started to make provisions for that kind of surgery. No doctor wants to get into that field knowing they won’t get anything back. [They] need to feed their families.
Did you meet any patients who influenced your creation of Halima?
Yes, I met a very young girl, and the first time I heard her story it really blew my mind. But [elements of it are] almost the same story of so many of these women, what they’ve gone through. In the movie, the women you see in the ward are actually real-life women with fistula.
Toward the end, your character says, “The African woman can be described as the most endangered species in our world.”
Yeah. If you see this movie, we’re not just talking about fistula. My character, as a young girl, was raped and then she was forced into prostitution. There’s so many things women are vulnerable to. The life of a woman should be valued. You should be able to put the necessary laws and health care in place to actually protect them.
I’m curious what you think about the role of men in issues like fistula. Women tend to drive the conversation, sometimes talking only to each other, and I sometimes wonder if maybe we’re excluding a potentially game-changing half of the population, given that fistula is prevalent in communities that tend to be extremely patriarchal.
The funny thing is, most of the surgeons who do fistula work are men.
Right!
You can see, in the film, I also shed light on women being the cause of their own problems. They have so much power and don’t use it. The mother of Halima’s husband, who had all the power to influence his thinking, was the one who was most stigmatizing the girl. She didn’t have any empathy. Women can be the cause of their own problems, too. When we talk about female circumcision, it’s the women taking the lead. I think you have to bring both parties together. Culturally, sometimes you just need to show them, “Look, sometimes when you do this, these are the consequences that come along with it.”
I imagine the Nigeria you grew up in is very different than the one Halima experiences.
The health care system needs to improve in Nigeria. I mean, massively. People say, “Oh, you have good hospitals.” Yes, we have good hospitals. I was the victim of an accident in 2005. My leg was broken and my face got burned, and I experienced quality care. I was living in the city, where you have access. But imagine living in the rural areas. I try to show that Halima doesn’t have access to good medical care. And then maybe [even if she gets to a hospital] they’re not equipped, or there’s only one doctor attending to thousands of women. There’s a whole lot of constraints, and that’s where we need the government to come in.
Along the same lines, you portray a number of social realities that some might think are stereotypical views of Africa: child marriage, rape, extreme patriarchy, lack of education. Were you concerned about the image you were presenting for people who weren’t educated about Nigeria?
I thought about that, but I had to be real. Nigeria is a beautiful country, there’s so many opportunities. But also there are some realities in the culture that people don’t want to talk about. Nigerians, they’re very well-educated people, they’re smart, they’re hardworking. We just need to put the basic things in place. We don’t need much. Just give us the basics, and then we’ll fly. So I decided to say it the way I saw it. It’s not the whole Nigerian story, but this one just needed to be told.
It seemed like the need for education was also an underlying point of your film.
Education is huge. Those young girls, just give them the basic education. If we make sure she’s well-informed, she can manage. But if she’s ignorant, she doesn’t know what to do. And for the parent who wants to marry off her daughter, they need to learn to pause and say, “Maybe I should allow the girl to grow up a little bit.” If we educate people, it will stop the backlog of [cases]. We already have so many with fistula. [We need to prevent] more people from falling victim.
You can also read the interview on the NPR Website.
Hi SL Fabz,
It’s already one week into the new year!
How have you been faring with your goals and new year resolutions? Great I hope.
It is important to remember that the New Year isn’t meant to serve as a catalyst for sweeping character changes. It is a time for people to reflect on their past year’s behavior and promise to make positive lifestyle changes.
This year, stop the cycle of resolving to make change and then not following through.
Yes, I’ve been there before. I’ve resolved to do things at the beginning of the year and ended up forgetting about it some weeks later. However, here are some tried and tested ways I’ve used to make my new year resolutions stick.
1. Start Small
Make resolutions that you think you can keep. If, for example, your aim is to exercise more frequently, schedule three or four days a week at the gym instead of seven. If you would like to eat healthier, try replacing dessert with something else you enjoy, like fruit or yogurt, instead of seeing your diet as a form of punishment.
2. Talk About It
Don’t keep your resolution a secret. Tell friends and family members who will be there to support your resolve to change yourself for the better or improve your health. The best-case scenario is to find a buddy who shares your New Year’s resolution and motivate each other.
3. Track Your Progress
Keep track of each small success. Short-term goals are easier to keep, and each small accomplishment will help keep you motivated. Instead of focusing on losing so much weight at a time, focus on losing it bit by bit. Keep a journal to help you stay on track, regardless of what your goal is.
4. Ask For It
Want more money? Ask for the raise. Want a different job title? Tell your boss. People are too busy and too focused on themselves to think of your goals and your needs. So rather than waiting for someone to shine the light on you, do it for them. The old adage, “ask and you shall receive” works most of the time.
5. Make It visual, Get Creative
Write down your goal on paper or, even better, make a “resolution binder” where you put down your ideas. Elaborate the end result with paper cuttings, drawings and write-ups. Jot down your favourite motivational quotes along with your personal reasons for doing this. Make it graphic and compelling enough. Make sure to paint a very clear picture of what it would be like to have what you’re working towards.
Robin Sharma has a formula for this:
Focus + Time = Mastery.
“What you concentrate on, you cannot help but get great at. The more you focus, the better you get,” he says.
So, SL Fabz, what is your ultimate goal for this year?
Yay!!! We made it to 2016. Happy New Year everyone.
The new year has brought another chance for us to open up a new chapter in our lives.
Don’t think of the opportunities that you have missed in the last year. The New Year is an unwritten book, so choose your actions and words wisely and fill it up with pages that are worth reading by the end of the year.
Leave behind you the old chapters that were filled with pages of worries and begin the New Year with happiness, cheer and smiles.
Unlike what most people think it is never late to be what you wish to be.
In this new year may you find:
happiness, use your abilities to solve problems and challenges;
hope, may you always have it, never lose this;
goals, to keep you focus on your dreams; and,
success, by solving your problems, focusing on your goals, and always having hope, success will find you.
I wish that the New Year turns out to be a very special one for you filling each day with peak of health, abundance of happiness and sunshine, bountiful luxury and prosperity.
I wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year.
A Blessed Christmas to you and to your family. May the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ bring you and your family endless prosperity, blessings and peace of mind that you truly deserve.
On this joyous day, and throughout the new year, may your life be filled with an abundance of love.
My sincere wish for you is that this Christmas will end the present year on a cheerful note and make way for a fresh and bright New Year.
Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Happy new week SL Fabz!
It’s great to begin the new week with some good news. Yesterday was the BON Awards which took place in Akure and I’m so glad that DRY picked up some awards at the event. Whoop! Whoop!!
Out of the 12 categories we were nominated for, DRY carted away 4 awards. The are:
It’s such a joy to get this sort of recognition and I’m very grateful to God and everyone who has been a part of the team. I’m also grateful to you and all my fans for your votes, support and prayers.
I’m optimistic that there is still more great news to come for us all before the end of this year! Many thanks to the BON Awards team for this recognition.
Have a fab week.
SL
Wow! Another awesome recognition for DRY!
I’m so happy about this and grateful to God who has brought us thus far.
DRY has been nominated in 9 categories for the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards 2016. This is an annual accolade presented by Multichoice recognizing outstanding achievement in television and film, voted on by the general public.
DRY was nominated in the following categories:
1. BEST OVERALL MOVIE (AFRICA)
Dry – Stephanie Linus
2. BEST COSTUME DESIGNER (MOVIE/TV SERIES)
Dry – Uche Nancy
3. BEST MAKEUP ARTIST (MOVIE/TV SERIES)
Dry – Gabriel Okorie
4. BEST DIRECTOR
Dry – Stephanie Linus
5. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (MOVIE/TV SERIES)
DRY – ZUBAIDAT IBRAHIM FAGGE
6. BEST ART DIRECTOR (MOVIE/TV SERIES)
Dry – Gabriel Okorie
7. BEST CINEMATOGRAPHER (MOVIE/TV SERIES)
DRY – Angel Barroeta
8. BEST MOVIE – WEST AFRICA (DRAMA/COMEDY)
DRY – Stephanie Linus
9. BEST SOUND EDITOR (MOVIE/TV SERIES)
Dry – Marquex Jose Guillermo
It’s so heart warming to see these members of the DRY Cast and Crew getting nominations.
SL Fabz, we really need your votes to make these awards a reality. To Vote in any of the categories, CLICK HERE. It takes just one click to vote.
Thank you!
SL
It’s December! The last month of the year is already here.
I have so much to be thankful for. I am thankful for life, for family, for health, for all my loved ones, and for you reading this.
December is usually the month when we take stock of how far we’ve come, our goals and aspirations and how much of them we’ve achieved. Even though some things may seem bleak, I tell you, if you really search within, you’d find out that there’s a lot to be thankful for.
I wish you a very Happy New Month. It is my wish that all the goodies that comes with this month will locate us all and every door that has been shut towards us from the beginning of this year will be opened in Jesus Name. Every of our dreams and aspirations will be settled this month. Don’t ask God how, but believe and thank Him because he has done it.
May this month bring you satisfaction, peace and joy. May all the desires of your heart be granted. God bless you all. Stay strong.
SL Fabz, what are you thankful for this December?
DRY is coming to the UK again!
Hey SL Fabz, the UK is going to witness another Private Screening & Premiere of my latest movie, DRY and I’m so excited about this. This event is being put together by Lancaster University and Envirofly Consulting UK Limited in partnership with Next Page Productions.
I’m very grateful to everyone who has contributed in no little way to the success of this film and its promotion. I’m very optimistic about the success of this event and encourage you to be a part of it if you can.
Date: Saturday 21st November 2015
Time: 6PM
Venue: Lancaster University (LEC Biology Theatre)
Dress Code: Smart | National Wear
For directions, visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/contact-and-getting-here/maps-and-travel/
Schedule Of Events
5pm – 6pm: Arrival of Guests, Partners & Sponsors
6pm – 7pm: Informal discussions/Cocktail/Networking/Drinks
7pm – 7.45pm: Subject Matter Presentations/Meet The Stars
7.45pm – 8.15pm: Break
8.15pm – 10pm: Film Screening
RSVP: Prof. Kirk Semple k.semple@lancaster.ac.uk | Dr Akanimo Odon a.odon@lancaster.ac.uk