Festival of Slaps
2023 · 12m · UK
Directed by Abdou Cissé
Tones: humorous, tender, tense, whimsical
A Nigerian mother slaps her adult son so powerfully during a family dinner that his whole life flashes before his eyes, triggering a series of comedic flashbacks about growing up under the force of fierce Pan-African parenting. The film reimagines a universal family dynamic as a superhero origin story, balancing broad physical comedy with genuine emotional sincerity.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Nigerian-mother slap as superhero origin story with O Fortuna and Kanye samples and parallax animation — gloriously committed to the bit, BAFTA-nominated for a reason. Yes.
BAFTA-nominated, BIFA-winning superhero-origin reframing of a Nigerian maternal slap, scored to O Fortuna-and-Kanye — Abdou Cissé fuses tone and grammar in ways most shorts only attempt. Genuinely exciting.
Twelve minutes staging the slap as an anime-inflected slow-motion action sequence with parallax animation in post, paired with an O Fortuna / Kanye sample mashup — that specific tonal stack is exactly the kind of formal swing that earns a BAFTA nomination and BIFA win. Treating the Nigerian-mother slap as a superhero origin story is the right kind of audacity.
Reviews
Creating a film for someone you love may not be a novel idea, but Cissé delivers his story with such force and verve that it demands attention.
Festival of Slaps challenges stereotypes using humour which I find both refreshing and deeply effective — a hugely relatable and disarming watch.
Festivals
- BFI London Film Festival 2023, Audience Award, Best British Film or Work
- British Independent Film Awards 2023, Best British Short Film
- BAFTA Film Awards 2024, Nominated: Best British Short Film
- Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2023, Best Comedy