The psychological horror film, “Nanny“, written and directed by Nikyatu Jusu, has been announced as the official opening film for this year’s Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF).
“Nanny” stars Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector, Rose Decker, and Leslie Uggams. The film follows Aisha (Anna Diop), a woman who recently emigrated from Senegal to West Africa, who is hired to care for the daughter of an affluent couple (Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Spector) living in New York City. Aisha is haunted by the absence of the young son she left behind. Aisha hopes her new job will afford her the chance to bring him to the U.S. but becomes increasingly unsettled by the family’s volatile home life. As his arrival gets closer, a violent presence starts to show up in both her dreams and her real life, putting her American dream, which she is working hard to build, in danger.
This was announced by Chioma Ude, the Founder & Festival Director, at a recent press conference. This year’s festival is tagged “Indigenous for Global”, and it will take place between November 6 and 12, 2022.
The goal of AFRIFF is to explore new technical frontiers in filmmaking, with a focus on how sound and images are used to make award-winning short, feature, documentary, and animation films in Africa for an international audience.
Chioma Ude noted that “Filmmaking has evolved rapidly in Africa over the last two decades, and this year’s edition is designed to influence global perspectives on African films and storytelling. We intend to continue to empower our storytellers to explore ideologies and techniques that appeal to a larger global audience.
The Keynote conversations for the 11th edition will feature high-profile speakers and facilitators from all over the world, with high-value networking as a preconceived outcome. The speakers will primarily be senior executives from the film production and distribution industries from Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who will also assist in projecting avenues to showcase the best attending filmmakers and their films to the international community.
As one of the most important parts of this year’s festival, Chioma Ude introduced “Nanny” as the Opening Night Film and said that the festival would continue to work with Prime Video and Amazon Studios.
“Nanny” won the 2022 Sundance Dramatic Grand Jury Prize. This is the first time the award has gone to a horror movie and the second time it has gone to a black female director. The film will screen in theatres in Nigeria and select territories on November 25. On December 16, the movie Nanny will be available on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.
The Nigerian film “Almajiri” will be AFRIFF’s closing night film. “Almajiri” is a movie that is based on true stories as it affects millions of children in Nigeria and other countries who are victims of trafficking and other forms of child slavery, as we see with Nafisat and Salihu, two young children who are separated from their parents by the cruel business of Alhaji Makarfi. The gullible villagers believe him, love him and even revere him more than the chiefs in the north. He is showered with gifts, praise, and bribes just to get their wards enlisted in his scholarship scheme. Unknown to them, none of their children ever get to see the inside of a school, let alone have the liberty of pursuing a trade. They are beaten, brainwashed, and forced to become prostitutes, suicide bombers, and Almajiris.
The press conference ended with a private screening of Wuproductions’ brand-new period piece, “Four Four Forty-Four (4.4.44),” directed by Izu Ojukwu and starring Richard Mofe-Damijo and Nse Ikpe-Etim. “Four Four Forty-Four” is set for global release on Prime Video in November 2022.
See photos from the press conference below:
