Photo Credit: TIERs & Asurf Films Limited

Today, The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERs) in partnership with Asurf Films Limited, released the trailer for Hell or High Water, a new short film about a young pastor in Nigeria who has to confront a hidden truth about himself.

The film tells the story of a pastor who is loved and adored by the people around him, but who has to make a difficult decision between being who he is and meeting societal expectations around sexuality and family. TIERs believes that LGBT people are human and need to portrayed as such in an accurate and respectful way. A step towards this kind of portrayal, this short film shares LGBT people’s stories and their traumatic experiences, challenging stereotypical narratives around sexuality and spirituality.

Hell or High Water is an important tool in representing LGBT people in Nigeria who have to navigate their sexual identities in a society where the only acceptable sexual orientation is heterosexuality. It exposes audiences to the reality of sexuality amidst spirituality, exorcism, blackmail, and family life, seeking to educate and inform people of the difficulty of living under heteronormative expectations as an LGBT person.

GLAAD has worked with TIERs and other LGBT advocates in Nigeria to help acellerate acceptance in Nigeria. Click here to learn more about GLAAD’s work in Nigeria and check out the Hell or High Water trailer below: