Ifeoma Obinwa has built a career around playing complex characters navigating survival and identity. With over 40 film credits, she has a reputation for strong screen performances. In her latest project, A Happy Ending, a short film in Zikoko’s three-part life production series,  Ifeoma tackles Tatiana.  The story follows a young woman who moves from Umuahia to Lagos in search of better prospects. When a wealthy Senator takes an interest in her, what begins with discomfort and uncertainty soon spirals into an arrangement that promises a way out of poverty. The arrangement costs her her closest friendship and sense of self. 

In this interview, Ifeoma talks to Zikoko about transactional relationships, on-screen chemistry with her co-star, and the process behind playing Tatiana.

How would you describe Tatiana in A Happy Ending?

Tatiana is a young, ambitious, hardworking girl. She has a desire to create a beautiful life for herself and her family. She’s timid and inexperienced in some ways, but she isn’t entirely innocent. 

Tatiana seems like a character that is instantly lovable. What did you find most compelling about her motivations?

Oh, I love this question. If I’m to say it in pidgin, I think hers is a case of  ‘I don come, I don come be dat’ (I’m here is I’m here). Even though this is not what I thought it was going to be like when I left home.  I’m not going to go pack my bags and go back home a failure.  

I think she was also motivated by her responsibilities. Imagine this: You’ve left your family at home, and you’ve gone somewhere far. Mommy is praying hard for you, Daddy is praying, and your siblings are praying too. Everybody’s praying that whatever it is you’re doing over there will work out. And this is so that you can be a source of liberation to the family. Then you go, and you’re faced with a situation that nobody explained to you. 

In what ways would you say she’s different from the characters that you’ve played in the past?

Hm. All I can say is that at least this time, I’m playing something different. I get typecast a lot, and I think it has to do with my breakout role as Ebele in Gifted. It’s common to put actors in a box, especially when they have a certain look. 

I have the look of a naive young girl. That look that says this is the kind of person who has all the hardships in life happen. If mommy did not die today, daddy will die tomorrow, or the landlord will evict her from the house. Sometimes it gets to the point where I’m like, ‘You people please now, I can be a serial killer too.  I  love that this story took advantage of the same things that always make me feel boxed and used it differently. 

How do you think the dynamic between Tatiana and the senator mirrors reality?

Like many young women, Tatiana is still naive.  So when a man comes into her life and begins to show her things she’s never seen before, she begins to think that’s the way life is. She does not take a moment to consider that he’s married or of a certain age. She just gets lost in the fantasy he has created. And then she loses touch with reality. She begins to think he is the answer to what she came to Lagos to look for.

Women like Tatiana are forced to go back to reality eventually. Because men like the Senator come into your life on a whim, and they leave just as fast. If Tatiana were more mature, she wouldn’t have swallowed his promises. 

You’ve mentioned her naivety twice. How important is it for young women like Tatiana to have healthy influences while navigating reproductive agency?

Madam Ngozi’s advice was very instrumental to Tatiana’s relationship with the Senator.  Even though she had no bad intentions and was telling Tatiana what she knew about survival. It was still questionable counsel. If you have a voice of reasoning at home and you are getting the basics of sex education, you will know when you have heard bad advice. So if you go out into the world and you run into people like Madam Ngozi, you have discernment.  Healthy influence really cannot be overemphasised, even for the boy child.  You cannot leave children to just grow up on their own. If you do, the streets will raise them for you. And if you let the streets raise your child, anything they raise, please take.  

The film handles Tatiana’s journey with a lot of nuance. How did working with Dika and Blessing Uzzi help bring this story alive?

I enjoyed my time working with them. I particularly loved the fact that Dika pays attention to the tiniest detail.  If you let him, he would count the grains of sand on the floor just to make sure that it aligns with his vision. It was also quite organised. The mood boards were on point, and there were alternatives to alternatives. We had teamwork and energy, and I absolutely loved that.

What do you think makes Tatiana and Ginika’s friendship so central to the story? 

All relationships have ups and downs. The craziest things happen between spouses, siblings, parents, and we all find it in our hearts to forgive. But people are very quick to throw away friendships. It’s not like that for these two girls, and I like that. Things happened the way that they did. The person who messed up took accountability, and they were able to navigate through it.  

I am someone who has benefited from good women throughout the course of my life. I’ve also seen that we don’t highlight the beautiful sides of female friendships enough. It would have hurt me if the film ended like a Cinderella story. The type where the main character ends up falling in love with somebody who rescues her. I love that it ended with two of them. At the end of the day, it’s Ginika and Tatiana against the world. 

What was it like developing that friendship chemistry with Ruby?

For me, it was instant, and it was easy.

Have you worked together in the past?

No, that was the first time, but it felt natural. She’s a lovable person, and she’s cute. Fine girls usually don’t have issues with each other. When I heard we were going to be working together, I said to myself, “Yay, they’re bringing a fine girl. We get to be cute on camera”. I was right; we had fun, and we had our small moments in between. I enjoyed working with her, and I wouldn’t mind doing it again.

If Tatiana could speak directly to young women, what would she say?

Because man come, you forget wetin carry you come Lagos, you come lose focus. 

You should try to know who you are and be very satisfied with that. People should not be able to sway you so easily. If there’s a career path that you’re after and something comes to derail you along the line, always remember what your initial goal was. Never get lost in the sauce.

Next Read: ‘A Happy Ending’ Is A Real Woman’s Story: Dika Ofoma on Keeping Tatiana Alive