Chuko Esiri Photo Courtesy of Bellanaija
At the 2021 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), alumnus Chuko Esiri’s Eyimofe (This Is My Desire) swept the show in all major categories.
The film won Achievement in Sound, Achievement in Editing, the National FIlm and Video Censors Board for Best Nigerian Film, and Best First Nigerian Feature Film by a Director. The board also awarded Esiri with Best Director.
Set in Lagos, Nigeria, Eyimofe follows the stories of Mofe,a factory technician, and Rosa, a hairdresser, on their quest for what they believe will be a better life on foreign shores. Janus Film & Criterion acquired the rights to the film earlier this year, making history as the first Nigerian film on Criterion Collection. “Arie and Chuko’s EYIMOFE does not feel like a debut film,” Criterion President and Janus partner Peter Becker said. “At once a migration story told from the perspective of those longing to leave and a love letter to the filmmakers’ home city of Lagos, this incisive, beautifully shot, and deeply humanist work deftly evokes global issues of class, migration, and social stratification without ever straying from the intimate lives of the ordinary people at its heart. We couldn’t be more thrilled to bring this exciting new work to screens and audiences across the country.”
Find the full list of winners here.