Eyimofe
The two parts of Eyimofe are entitled Spain and Italy. The European countries remain invisible as we follow the stories of Mofe, a factory technician, and Rosa, a hairdresser, in Lagos. A passport, photos and a visa form recurring, yet still marginal elements in each part of the film, which only touch briefly, while the daily lives of the protagonists are described in detail. Their misfortunes are not narrated in overly dramatic fashion and seem normal as such, sketching out the need to leave Nigeria and accompanying problems.
At the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, status, money, gender, skin colour and family structures are inextricably connected. Eyimofe speaks of these entanglements with emphatic patience, which grow ever tighter. The longing for another life is but one thread in this complex mesh, a promise that floats above things and far away from them at the same time.
Besides the main feature film Eyimofe, we also have two short films for you this evening: the Gambian ultra-short Help! (2020) and Ndanka Ndanka (2020), a new music video from the Gambian/Senegalese/Dutch collective Dandana starring Nigerian albino Rastaman Simon Chedoke Uletu.
The films will be introduced by Christopher Tijan Smith, the Gambian actor and screenwriter of Help! who has applied for asylum in the Netherlands and is currently staying in an asylum seekers center in Assen. The evening will be presented by Emiel Martens from Africadelic.
