Arriving on HBO as Pride Month comes to a close, Giselle Bailey and Nneka Onuorah’s documentary “The Legend of the Underground” follows a group of non-conformist Nigerian men in the wake of their country’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill (SSMPA), which criminalizes homosexuality and particularly targets femme and genderfluid men. Some, such as the viral star and influencer James Brown, are still in Nigeria while others, like activist Micheal Ighodaro, have sought asylum in the United States.
The SSMPA has driven much of Nigeria’s queer culture underground — not only does the law forbid gay sex, it prohibits gay men from interacting with each other at all. Citizens are expected to report any knowledge or perception of homosexual activity, and can be arrested if they don’t comply. As a result, members of the LGBTQ community have to be vigilant 24/7, from planning under-the-radar parties to using code to communicate.
“Making this film was one of the most challenging things I’ve done in my life. It changed us as people. We had so much fear. Fear for the people in the film and how they would be perceived, fear for everyone’s safety, and fear for how the audience would perceive the film,” Bailey told us.
And while that fear is an everyday reality of queer life in Nigeria, it hasn’t defeated the subjects of “The Legend of the Underground” or their wider community. James, for example, doesn’t let discrimination or a court case stop him from experimenting with feminine clothes and makeup and sharing the results online. Micheal returns to Nigeria after years away — even though he knows it poses a major threat to his personal safety — because he feels such a sense of community there, and so he can fight for equality alongside his friends and found family once more.
The doc smartly places anti-LGBTQ discrimination in conversation with Nigerian culture, migration, police brutality, and race. As a non-conformist man, Micheal has an easier time of it in the United States. But he, and other asylum-seekers, must deal with other problems in this new land, including exclusionary immigration policy and anti-Black racism. In Nigeria, homophobia is closely intertwined with police violence. Yet it’s clear that the subjects of “The Legend of the Underground” love their country, even when they feel like they have to leave it in order to survive.
“I am a Nigerian-American woman and I am very fluid in my gender expression. Until I went to pride one year and saw a Nigerian flag next to a rainbow flag, I didn’t know that multi-faceted types of gender expression existed in Nigeria,” Onuorah shared in an interview with us. “I found home in some people that I’d met that were a part of this underground community. I was able to merge two sides of myself — Nigerian and genderfluid. I felt a responsibility to use the space and voice I have to tell a story to let people know that there are more like you who exist. It’s important to be able to see yourself represented to know you are not alone.”
“The Legend of the Underground” premieres tonight at 9 p.m. EST on HBO and HBO Max. The doc recently screened at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.
Check out our exclusive clip from “The Legend of the Underground” and the film’s trailer:
