2024
Short Documentary(United States Premiere)(Best Short Documentary Nominee)

The Archive: Queer Nigerians

CC
Closed captions online

“When will you come home?” Timinepre’s mother asks. Little does she know that Timinepre fled Nigeria to seek asylum in the U.K. They cannot return home for another five years. To explain the series of events that led them here would mean coming out to their mother as a lesbian and admitting that they left the country for fear of persecution. With Nigerian queer history erased from the national narrative of Nigeria, queer Nigerians in the U.K. gather to tell their stories, documenting their experiences so they can never be erased again.

Screenings

Virtual

August 4 – August 6
August 1 – August 3

Directors Spotlight

A picture of a woman named Simisolaoluwa Akande, who is shown closely examining a vintage film camera mounted on a tripod. She has a focused expression, with one eye closed as she looks through the camera’s viewfinder. She is wearing an open-collared, pastel-colored shirt with patterns, and an ornate earring hangs from her ear.

Simisolaoluwa Akande

Director

From Nigeria to England, Simisolaoluwa Akande’s fascination with the art of storytelling crossed continents before expressing itself through film. Now a multi-award-winning filmmaker her films embrace a deeply collaborative and intimate approach to storytelling that provides black stories the space to be told and retold.

Runtime
25 minutes
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Director
Simisolaoluwa Akande
Cast
Morayo Adebakin, Alex Enahoro, Chima Itabor, Timinepre Cole, Tom Kólá
Cinematographer
Bea Macdonald
Executive Producer
Hannah Bush Bailey
Producer
Maxine Gordon, Joseph Bushell, Ermias Asfaw
Screenwriter
Maureen Onwunali
Sound Design
Tori Daniels, Tope Olufemi
Premiere
United States

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