Film Clubs, most filmmakers who’ve had the university experience have gone through them. Same goes for students in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, involved in the film club; Thursday Film Series. Alain Kassanda’s Coconut Head Generation (2023) revolves around the club but trust me, there is much more to the documentary than just a spotlight on a campus film club.
Every Thursday, a group of students from the University of Ibadan, the oldest in Nigeria, organizes a film club, transforming a small amphitheater into a political agora where they refine their vision and develop a critical voice. “Coconut Head Generation”, a scornful expression to designate a stubborn and brainless youth, takes on a whole new meaning when the students turn this stigma around to claim their freedom of thought.
Shot in 2021, the Thursday Film Series showcase films founded heavily on pan-africanism through modern eyes but lets put a pin on that for a second. This campus grounded documentary does not shy away from exposing the degrading lifestyle in Nigeria’s campuses, choosing to not dwell only on what happens at the film club amphitheater. It wouldn’t be out of place to describe the piece as also an exposé of administrative exploitation, police brutality and other factors that lead students to the streets in protest only for the result being casualties from police shooting.
By screening films by the likes of John Akomfrah (Ghana/UK), Jean-Marie Teno (Mauritania), and Med Hondo (Cameroon), the students hold compelling discussions on issues including corruption, gender roles, LGBTQ+ rights, colonialism, housing, and corruption.
The debates are so engaging to the point of one chimming in inward, not being just a audience, but one with them since we live in the same continent facing the same challenges, it’s only a matter of degree.
To book exclusive events with a TICKETING PARTNER visit tickets.sanaapost.com 😎👊🏿
