Three Nigerian films to screen at Joburg Film Festival 2019

Three films produced by Nigerians are among the 60 films from around the world that have been lined up for screening at this year’s Joburg Film Festival underway in Sandton, South Africa.

The Nigerian films are Living in Bondage — Breaking Free (directed by Ramsey Noah), The Herbert Macaulay Affair (directed by Imoh Umoren) and Farming (directed by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).

The synopsis of the films as provided by organisers are as below:

Living In Bondage – Breaking Free is the story of Nnamdi Okeke; the son of Andy Okeke from Living In Bondage 1. Nnamdi is young and ambitious and ambitious. Like most young people today, Nnamdi wants more out of life. He is attracted to finer things in life, VVIP in clubs and lounges, fine wine/champagne, fast cars, designer clothes, fancy houses and beautiful women. The snag is, he can’t afford it on his current income. He is impatient, greedy, he wants money and power so bad he is willing to do anything for it.

The film is two hours 30 minutes long

The Herbert Macaulay Affair is a story that follows Young Herbert who returns from England and begins the opposition to the colonial government In 1898, Herbert is done with his scholarship training and becomes the first Engineer and Surveyor in the colony. Upon his return he is employed by the Colonial Government in Lagos He faces a lot of discrimination and watches it being done to fellow Lagosians. Annoyed by the constant marginalization, Herbert quits his job with the colonial government and starts a long opposition to them. The Herbert Macaulay Affair is one hour 31 minutes long.

Farming — Based on his own life story, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s FARMING charts the extraordinary journey of a young fostered Nigerian boy who, struggling to find an identity, falls in with a skinhead gang in 1980’s England.

At six weeks old, Enitan (Zephan Amissah) is left in the care of a white working-class family in the dock-town of Tilbury, in Essex. His new surrogate mother, Ingrid (Kate Beckinsale), makes for a complex, but dubious foster parent. Unsure of his place in the world, and lacking a mother’s love, desperate to belong the teenage Enitan (Damson Idris) spirals into self-destruction, falling in with a local skinhead gang led by Levi (John Dagleish).

When all seems lost, a sympathetic teacher, Miss Dapo (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), offers him one last shot at redemption.

Told with brutal honesty, FARMING is an unflinching autobiographical portrait of a young man who must battle the odds and realise that, in a world of hate, his toughest battle will be learning to love himself. The film is one hour, 47 minutes long.

For a full list of the films screening at the festival, check HERE.

The six-day Joburg Film Festival, sponsored by the Multichoice Group, began on Tuesday with the South African premiere of a local horror film, 8, telling the tale of an old man fated to collect souls for eternity who then seeks atonement after trading his daughter’s soul.

MultiChoice Group General Entertainment CEO, Yolisa Phahle, welcomed guests to a week dedicated to paying tribute to the art of cinematic storytelling with films from across Africa and around the world on the big screen, in the City of Gold.

“As Africa’s most-loved storyteller, MultiChoice is proud to be the headline sponsor of a festival that is dedicated to celebrating, inspiring, energising and delighting audiences,” she said.

The Joburg Film Festival features a curated mix of 60 of the finest films and documentaries from across Africa and around the world, between 19 and 24 November – including a once-off screening of South Africa’s 2020 Academy Award contender, Knuckle City.

Films produced by graduates of the M-Net Magic in Motion (MiM) internship programme and the MultiChoice Talent Factory’s (MTF) Academies in East, West and Southern Africa will also be screened at the dedicated structure on Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton and at Kings Theatre in Alexandra, at no cost.

Joburg Film Festival’s Programme Director Bongiwe Selane welcomed the cast and creative teams behind many of the films on the festival programme, at the event.

“We’re going to be drawing on the expertise of these international experts and stars to help boost the local film industry with a series of Masterclasses and panel discussions this week – and we can’t wait to see all the exciting collaborations which will be born at the 2019 Joburg Film Festival.”