‘African Apocalypse’ (2020) – Film Screening and Panel Discussion

A film by Rob Lemkin, featuring Femi Nylander. Music by Tunde Jegede and Sunara Begum.

UK Premiere of the Hausa dub (with English subtitles).

‘A people’s history of colonialism in the form of an epic journey.’

British Nigerian activist Femi Nylander brings attention to the forgotten victims of colonial atrocity in a new film, ‘African Apocalypse’, from award-winning director Rob Lemkin.

Armed with a copy of Joseph Conrad’s controversial classic Heart of Darkness (1899), Nylander goes in search of the legacy of colonial horror in West Africa and unearths its shocking reality. ‘African Apocalypse’ follows the trail of a 19^th-century French colonial military commander who burned his way across the continent. Tens of thousands were massacred in the name of imperial domination. With communities devastated by a century-old atrocity now speaking out for the first time, Nylander begins to question his own sense of responsibility.

Raising questions about racism, colonial histories and ongoing legacies, ‘African Apocalypse’ speaks to the movements for decolonisation and Black Lives Matter. Read more about the film here.

Watch the trailer here in Hausa and in English.

Fresh from a successful release of the film in cinemas and on TV in West Africa, this screening will be the UK premiere of the 2022 version in Hausa (with English subtitles) produced by the filmmakers in partnership with Arewa 24 Television in Kano, Nigeria. It will be followed by a short break then a panel discussion chaired by PARC board member Peninah Achieng-Kindberg with director Rob Lemkin and film participants Amina Weira and Ibro Abdou (streamed from Niger) joined by film maker and writer Imruh Bakari and Luke Wentworth from #gladcolstonsgone Solidarity Group, Founder CEO of TOPPLE Consultancy.

Co-hosted by Migration Mobilities Bristol, Perivoli Africa Research Centre and Department of Film and Television (University of Bristol) with Afrika Eye.

TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE ARNOLFINI WEBSITE. £8.50 full price and £5 concession.

All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Sanctuary Scholars Legal Fund to help pay for legal costs for University of Bristol Sanctuary Scholars facing study bans by the Home Office.

‘This film is better than a million United Nations reports’ – Professor Fabian Salvioli, UN Special Rapporteur for the Promotion of Truth and Justice

‘An essential and valuable film, for our history and for our future’ – Mamadou Djibo, Minister of Education, Government of the Republic of Niger

‘A brutal and timely indictment of colonialism’ – BFI 2020 London Film Festival

Grierson British Documentary Awards Nominee

Royal Television Society Best Arts Documentary Nominee

Docville 2021 Official Selection

Ji.Hlava 2021 Official Selection

Shanghai 2021 Official Selection

New York African Diaspora Festival 2021 Official Selection

Salem 2021 Official Selection