NYAFF30: Return to Chibok + Apostles of Cinema

Saturday, May 20 at 7PM

Tickets: $15 General Admission/$7 Reduced Price 

Return to Chibok (US Premiere)

Branwen Okpako, 2023, Nigeria, 74m

English and Hausa with English subtitles

Based on Helon Habila’s novel, The Chibok Girls, an account of his visit to Chibok two years after 279 girls were abducted from their boarding school there, this film re-enacts his journey. It is a film about listening, speaking, writing, and reading. All these methods of communication are employed by the film's participants, who are for the most part non-actors. In addition to a real-time interactive score, participation from the audience is encouraged.

Preceded by:

Apostles of Cinema (New York Premiere)
Darragh Amelia, Gertrude Malizana, Jesse Gerard Mpango & Cece Mlay, Tanzania, 2022, 16m
Swahili with English subtitles
Apostles of Cinema (or Tenzi za Sinema) follows Frank, DJ Black, and Rehema—three devoted film workers in Tanzania—as they reintroduce a classic piece of the country’s film history to their audiences of working-class cinephiles. We join them, alongside Maangamizi: The Ancient One (2001), on a journey through the labyrinth of informal libraries, studios, and cinemas that exist to keep film and film culture alive. A testament to the profound cultural value of film when made truly accessible.

Post-screening Q&A with Branwen Okpako