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Tiwa Savage is known for making Afrobeats, but she’s flexing some other skills in a new project. The singer stars in a full-length feature film titled Water and Garri, for which she also serves as executive producer. It was originally supposed to be a short film for her 2021 album of the same name, but ended up turning into something more.
“When the ‘Water and Garri’ EP came out, I had no idea of doing a feature film. I thought, ‘Okay, I’m just getting bored of doing music videos.’ I wanted to do a visual album. I was inspired by (Beyoncé’s) ‘Black is King’ and Kanye’s films,” Tiwa tells Variety.
“Then we were like, ‘Okay, we’re going to do a visual album.’ I got the script and I was like, ‘This is amazing. Let’s do a short film instead.’ We started shooting it and it ended up being a full feature. And so I couldn’t change the name. It felt like there was nothing else that fit.”
Water and Garri will chronicle fashion designer Aisha’s return to Nigeria after 10 years in the U.S. and her reaction to the “profound changes” she’s witnessed. Though this happened to be her entry into acting, Tiwa says it was not her first opportunity to show her acting chops.
“I’ve gotten many roles before but I wasn’t ready. Actually, acting was my first love before music,” she says. “So I knew I was going to go back to it at some point. Why now? Honestly, I got bored of, producing the album, doing music videos, and then going on tour and moving to the next thing. … I needed to be challenged. I needed to be scared. … and this is a good scare.”
Water and Garri debuts May 10 on Prime Video.
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