OKEM
2023 · 15m · USA
Directed by Joshua Okwuosa
Tones: melancholic, tender, tense
An undocumented Nigerian immigrant working as a university janitor receives a phone call that his mother has been kidnapped back in Nigeria and held for ransom, sending him into a desperate race to raise money while his precarious immigration status blocks every avenue for help.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Undocumented janitor receives kidnapping-ransom call from Nigeria in 4:3 — drawn from a real call to the director's father, which gives the thriller setup actual weight. In.
Joshua Okwuosa builds a 4:3 thriller from a real call his father received about a kidnapping in Nigeria — diaspora terror through autobiographical specificity. The constraint chooses claustrophobia honestly.
Fifteen minutes shot in claustrophobic 4:3 drawn directly from a real kidnapping call the director's own father received — that personal grounding plus the aspect-ratio choice doing thematic entrapment work is the right combination. Vimeo summary is sparse beyond that but the lead performance comment from Vimeo staff is a small signal.
Reviews
Throughout the film's 15-minute duration, [Conphidance] compellingly navigates this nightmare scenario, bringing all the nuances and complex emotions of the screenplay to the screen, fleshing out his character with great authenticity and depth.
A sharp reminder of the brutal realities faced by people all over the world who are forced to leave their homelands in the hope of providing for their families back home.
Festivals
- Calgary International Film Festival 2023
- New York African Film Festival 2023
- Atlanta Film Festival 2024