Director Ugochukwu Azuya is developing ‘I Live in V.I.,’ a feature film examining class dynamics and urban life in Lagos, Nigeria. The project was among several works-in-progress presented at the Open Doors platform, the Locarno Film Festival’s co-production and talent development initiative for filmmakers from underrepresented communities and regions where artistic expression faces constraints. Azuya is collaborating with producer Olubunmi Ogunsola from Nigeria’s Ensemble production company.
The film follows Florence, a 23-year-old who relocates from Akwa Ibom to Lagos for a hospitality industry job following her father’s death. Upon arriving, she discovers the city differs significantly from her expectations. Struggling with poor housing, extended commutes to Victoria Island, sleep deprivation, and unprocessed grief, Florence begins to deteriorate. She eventually settles in an abandoned government construction site closer to her workplace and fabricates a story about living in Victoria Island with a relative, claiming residence in the wealthy neighborhood to maintain appearances among coworkers. The narrative employs a möbius-strip structure to examine themes of class aspiration, grief, displacement, and gentrification through a satirical lens.
Azuya described the project as drawing from personal experience and observations of young people navigating Lagos’s materialistic, class-stratified society. He positioned the story as commentary on how capitalist systems shape individual and collective psychology across various social strata. According to Azuya, the film captures the city’s contrasts—extreme wealth displays coexisting with failing infrastructure and displaced populations—while employing sardonic Nigerian humor.
The director noted the film’s universal relevance, arguing that audiences worldwide recognize the experience of relocating to major cities seeking identity transformation and economic mobility, whether in Lagos, Tokyo, São Paulo, or New York. The film team won the Tabakalera-San Sebastian Film Festival Residency Award during the second edition of Open Doors, which focused on African cinema. The production company intends to utilize this residency to continue the film’s development process.
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