UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION
COURSE TITLE: BASICS OF SCREENWRITING AND FILM ANIMATION (MCM 211)
LECTURER IN CHARGE: DR. SURAJ OLUNIFESI
FADE IN
INT. AMARA’S BEDROOM – EVENING
Soft ring light glow. Phone screen light flickers across AMARA’S face. The room is simple but neat: cream walls, a small desk, stacked books, and a standing fan turning slowly. Amara scrolls.
PHONE SCREEN:
Beach photos, champagne glasses, designer bags. Captions read: “Soft life only,” “God did,” “Manifesting millions.”
Back to Amara. Her face drops.
She opens her camera, takes a photo, deletes it. Takes another, deletes again. Adjusts her hair, forces a smile—deletes. She lowers the phone.
Whispering voices begin.
VOICES (V.O.)
Post something.
Don’t be boring.
You’re behind.
Look successful.
Look pretty.
Amara shuts her eyes and tosses the phone aside.
She scans her room: old wardrobe, simple curtains, a crack on the wall.
Her expression tightens.
INT. KITCHEN – NIGHT
Warm yellow light. Steam rises from stew. MAMA TITI hums while stirring. Amara walks in slowly.
MAMA TITI
Why are you frowning at your phone like it insulted your ancestors?
Amara almost smiles.
AMARA
It’s nothing.
Mama Titi turns off the stove and studies her.
MAMA TITI
Nothing doesn’t make a face like that.
A pause.
AMARA
Everyone looks happy and successful, like they’ve figured life out. And I’m just here.
Mama Titi gestures for her to sit.
MAMA TITI
Let me tell you something I don’t tell people. When I was young, I wanted people to think I was doing better than I was. I borrowed clothes, smiled when tired, and said I was fine when I was drowning. I feared people seeing my struggle. The tragedy is I lost years of joy trying to look impressive. People show highlights, not hunger. Wins, not wounds. Social media is a stage, my child, not real life.
Amara looks down at her phone.
INT. AMARA’S BEDROOM – LATER NIGHT
The room is dark, lit only by phone light.
Amara scrolls.
A notification appears: “Influencer Exposed.”
She clicks.
PHONE SCREEN – MONTAGE
Glamorous posts of LARA LUXE: luxury bags, hotel rooms, trips, champagne.
Caption: “Hard work pays.”
CUT TO:
A live video. No makeup. Dim lighting.
Behind her: peeling paint, a thin mattress on the floor, a broken plastic chair, clothes in a bucket.
LARA LUXE
I need to tell the truth. The bags were borrowed. The car was my friend’s. Most trips were sponsored. Some pictures were taken in places I don’t even live in. I just wanted people to think I had made it.
Silence.
INT. AMARA’S BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS
Amara lowers her phone slowly. She looks around her room again. Same space but her expression softens. She walks to the mirror and looks at herself with no filter. A gentle smile appears.
INT. AMARA’S BEDROOM – MORNING
Sunlight fills the room.
Amara opens her camera—no ring light, no editing.
AMARA
Hi. I almost didn’t post this. This is my real room and my real life. I don’t have everything yet, but I have peace, and that is enough for now.
She posts.
Puts the phone down.
Breathes deeply.
INT. KITCHEN – MORNING
Mama Titi serves breakfast.
MAMA TITI
You look different.
AMARA
I think I finally stopped competing with ghosts.
Mama Titi laughs.
MAMA TITI
Good. Now eat before you faint from enlightenment.
They laugh.
FINAL SHOT
Amara walks outside into daylight.
AMARA (V.O.)
Not everything online is real. Sometimes the loudest lives are the emptiest. And sometimes peace does not need an audience.
FADE OUT
Group 8 members
1.Smith Deborah Idowu 240902189
2. Osineye Mofetoluwa Mercy 240902006
3. Olabajo Motolani Favour 252102626
4. Aronimoh Ololade Motunrayo 252102643
5. Yemi-Eweka Simibowale-252102505
6. Adegboyega Esther Tunmininu - 252102528
7. Fatoki oluwabukola Ruth 252102696
8. Egbeyemi Anjolajesu Franscisca 252102521
9. Akinloose Olaoluwa Daniel 252102606
10. Ekwedike Ekene Divine 252102546
