‘I Live in V.I.,’ a Social Class Satire From Nigeria, Will Dive Into Urban Alienation and Gentrification

Are you ready for I Live in V.I. , a social class satire from Nigeria? The project from director Ugochukwu Azuya was among the works-in-progress showcased at the 2026 edition of Open Doors , the Locarno Film Festival ‘s co-production platform and talent development program for filmmakers from equity-seeking communities and regions where artistic expression is at risk.

Azuya, whose short film Swimming in Sea of Trauma was released in 2023, is working on the movie with producer Olubunmi Ogunsola of Nigeria’s Ensemble. Related Stories Movies Christine Vachon Jokes She Likes Pedro Pascal Better Than Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Haynes' 'De Noche' Movies 'Sentimental Value' Screenwriter Gets Backing For Next Directorial Feature

The team behind the project, presented during the second edition of Open Doors with a focus on films from Africa, won the Tabakalera-San Sebastian Film Festival Residency Award.

THR has compiled highlights about the movie and insight from Azuya about the project and the themes it explores.

Synopsis Florence (23) leaves her small town in Akwa Ibom for the big city of Lagos to start a new job in the hospitality industry, after the sudden loss of her father.

However, Lagos is not what it promised to be. From the poor living conditions of her apartment, the strenuous commute to Victoria Island (V.I.), insomnia and unprocessed grief, Florence begins to unravel. To cope with the demands of her job, she decides to squat in an abandoned construction site of a government building project from the 80s, much closer to her workplace. Her sudden punctuality puzzles her co-workers. Florence comes up with a lie, one where she lives in V.I, a neigborhood strictly for the wealthy, with her once-famous now forgotten aunt. All this to sustain the illusion of ‘living the good life’ in Lagos. With its möbius-strip-esque structure, this surreal social class satire about grief, urban alienation and gentrification in the city of Lagos explores the lost hope of the Nigerian dream.

Director’s note “We are all just a city.” Florence is a surrogate for myself and countless young people trying to make the most of their situations while dealing with survival in Lagos, Africa’s most populous city. Just like us, she can be evasive about the emotions that make her vulnerable, constrained under capitalism. Like Florence, many leave their home states for Lagos in search of opportunity.

Lagos is a city of fantasies where exorbitant displays of wealth exist alongside failing infrastructure and displaced people. With an ensemble of characters and dramatic situations that are colored with different aspects of the Nigerian collective psyche – our eccentricities, our bravado, the spirit of adapting to the most dire of situations with sheer ingenuity – the Nigerian sense of humor with its gleefully sardonic texture is what shapes this story. I want to showcase the poetry of the city: brutal, magical, chaotic. From Yaba to Oshodi, Elegushi to Obalende, Ojo to Gbagada, we all form a constellation.

What was the inspiration for you to want to make this film? My inspiration comes from my personal experiences as a young person.