Once Upon A Village

The village sits by a forest-lined river, wooden boats moored along the bank and a woman selling her wares on the dusty paths. Chairman Jeffrey returns after months away, and in Once Upon a Village the whole community turns out to greet him; his wife Hilda and son Mina settle into their residence. A young vendor named Eno catches Lillian’s attention after selling plantains and pap, and the encounter ends with Lillian slipping Eno money and a gift, stoking hopes that the chairman’s promised scholarships will come through. Hilda pushes her husband into letting her run the community center, then clashes with him over her extravagant dressing and her plans to redecorate the office. Mina feels the marriage straining, and his city friend Lota arrives just in time. Meanwhile, Anita takes Chief Linus’s token and vows to deliver Anna to him, while Mascot corners his mother for cash and she refuses to touch the savings meant for a different girl’s education. When Ozi and Hannah insult Mina and Lota, the boys swear to get even. That night a thief slips into the chairman’s home; Hilda demands private security, but Jeffrey turns her down, and the next day she berates the young women at the community center, disqualifying them from scholarship help one by one. Jeffrey then announces the fund is suspended. Mina can't stomach the way his father treats his mother. He confronts Jeffrey, calling out the manipulation and disrespect, and Jeffrey shoots back, telling him to stay out of grown affairs. The split deepens when Anita plants herself before Anna and declares the girl will marry Chief Linus. Anna pleads that she has emptied her savings on her sick father's medicine, but Anita accuses her of hypocrisy and throws her out of the house. Anna is left standing in the road, the door shut behind her, with nothing but the dust at her feet. The scholarship stays suspended, so Eno and her friends watch their futures slip away. The chairman’s famil… [Truncated — review before publishing.]