The festival, which took place from September 8 to September 15, 2024, featured a variety of events including conferences, screenings with Q&A, live music performances, stage plays, workshops, and mentorship programs.
In an official statement, Roberta Orioma, the film’s executive producer and writer, expressed her immense gratitude to the team involved in the project.
“We are so excited that our beautiful film won the Best Short Drama-African category at @tinffestival. Big congratulations to everyone who worked and contributed to this project! Y’all are stars!” she said.
Orioma, a TV producer, actress, and writer known for her works such as the Prime Video series Grind, No Way Through, and Love and Seclusion, revealed that Why We Never Were was initially intended to be a book of poetry. However, she was inspired to transform it into a film.
“WHY WE NEVER WERE came to me as a series of poems/letters. I was going to make it into a book of poetry. Then I got inspired and wrote this story in a couple of hours because when I started, I couldn’t stop,” she said.