Medical negligence inspires new Nigerian thriller screened at AFRIFF
Inspired by a personal brush with medical negligence, Segilola Ogidan’s thriller explores patient safety and accountability in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
A hospital is supposed to be where people go to get better, but what happens when the place trusted with saving lives becomes a source of danger? That question drives AFRIFF’s The Hospital Chronicles: The I.C.U., a new Nigerian psychological thriller inspired partly by filmmaker Segilola Ogidan’s personal experience with medical negligence.
The movie brought conversations about patient safety, medical accountability and trust in healthcare institutions to the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), where it screened as one of the festival’s official selections.
Shown on Wednesday at Filmhouse Landmark, the production explores issues including medical negligence, high-risk pregnancies and illegal organ harvesting through a suspense-driven hospital storyline. Rather than treating these concerns as isolated incidents, the movie examines the vulnerability of patients who depend on healthcare professionals and institutions for their lives.
For Ogidan, the story has a personal foundation. During a post-screening discussion with the cast and production team, the director revealed that an experience with medical negligence nearly cost her life.
She explained that an incident that should have been relatively straightforward became a life-threatening ordeal because of negligence, inspiring her to turn the experience into a movie.
“It was something that could have been avoided, you know, but because of negligence. So I put it all into the film,” she said.
The filmmaker described making the production as both challenging and restorative. The original idea was rooted in drama, but a creative conversation with her co-writer introduced illegal organ harvesting into the storyline, giving the project a stronger thriller element.
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The result is a story that uses suspense to explore difficult questions about what happens when patients cannot easily challenge the people responsible for their care.
The AFRIFF screening was followed by an interactive question-and-answer session involving Ogidan, the producers and members of the cast. Movie critics and culture commentators also joined the discussion, examining the issues raised by the production.
One of the concerns highlighted was how Nigerians choose healthcare facilities. Bucci Franklin, who plays the managing director of the hospital at the centre of the story, said the script’s intensity initially made him wonder how the production team would bring it to life.
He also encouraged Nigerians to make careful enquiries before choosing hospitals for themselves and their families, warning against judging a facility’s quality solely by its appearance or location.
The production features an ensemble cast including Abimbola Akintola, Demola Adedoyin, Etta JoMaria, Kadaria Ahmed, Kamo, Michelle Dede, Oyemen Ehikhamhen, Ozzy Agu, Temiloluwa Ami and veteran actress Tina Mba.
Franklin also acknowledged a Lagos hospital that provided its facility as a filming location, helping the team create the setting required for the story.
Produced by Chiamaka Ezenwa and Big Brother alumnus Boma Akpore, The Hospital Chronicles: The I.C.U. is planned as the first instalment in a movie series exploring issues affecting patients and healthcare delivery.
Its appearance at AFRIFF offers the production an opportunity to reach audiences beyond conventional movie promotion, particularly through discussions about patient rights and accountability in healthcare.
The subject is especially relevant in a country where patients and their families must make difficult decisions about where to seek treatment and whom to trust. While the movie approaches these concerns through fiction and suspense, its central questions touch on real anxieties surrounding the safety and treatment of patients.
Following its festival screening and red-carpet showcase, the production team plans further promotional activities and stakeholder engagements ahead of a theatrical release scheduled for 2027.
For Ogidan, the project carries a message that extends beyond entertainment: negligence in a place where people seek help can have devastating consequences, and patients deserve to be treated with care, dignity and accountability.
