19th March, at 5 pm

Director: Ogugua Igwe

English original version with German subtitles

Dream and reality can be worlds apart. In this specific case it is not the entire earth but still a few thousand kilometers. The Nigerian movie “Zero Deal” is telling the story about the dream of young Africans who leave their old home behind for the pursuit of a better life in Europe.

Like so many other Africans, Fred was enticed to leave his Nigerian hometown behind by the deceptive promises that in Europe becoming a football professional is an easy task and then all of a sudden incredible wealth can be gained with a prestigious contract. But however the German reality is surprisingly different – all his hopes and aspirations get devastated by a heavy knee injury. Suddenly he is caught in the clutches of a drug dealer named “Chicago” and if this wasn’t enough his German wife wants to file for divorce. Additionally during these hard times some bad news about his left behind girlfriend Cynthia reach him in his new home in Europe.

“Zero Deal” gives an idea how it is to leave his home country behind and unlike as expected not to gain a better or at least more relieved life because of the feeling to have never really arrived in the deeply foreign country. The combination of the high pressure of expectations from the left behind family on the one hand and the impositions for all new arrivals in the new country to integrate on the other hand are immense and demand a great deal of stamina.

The Nigerian author, actor and director Ogugua Igwe is presenting with “Zero Deal” his first feature movie. The story is based on autobiographical experiences and was produced in his hometown Enugu as well as in his adopted home Freiburg. Moreover the actors Jennifer Omole and Uche Ogbodo for instance are well-known in the West-African movie industry. Commonly unknown is the fact that Nigeria is the second biggest film nation behind India when it comes to quantities – even in front of the glamour factory Hollywood.