A film dedicated to telling the story of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, 'Waiting for Hassana', will be premiered in the U.S. today. The short docum
A film dedicated to telling the story of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, ‘Waiting for Hassana’, will be premiered in the U.S. today. The short documentary, the first Nigerian production ever selected to debut at the prestigious Sundance International Film Festival, focuses on the Chibok girls. A powerful short documentary directed by Ifunanya ‘Funa’ Maduka and produced by Uzodinma Iweala and Ifunanya Maduka, ‘Waiting for Hassana’ tells the story of the Chibok abductions from a single perspective, a voice of one of the fifty-seven escapees.
Shot over the course of 2016 in Nigeria by acclaimed cinematographer, Victor Okhai, Nnamdi Asomugha, a Nigerian-American married to US actress, Kerry Washington and former NFL cornerback turned producer, is the primary backer and executive producer on the project. Gallerist, Edward Tyler Nahem, and philanthropists, Ann and Andrew Tisch, are also executive producers of the movie.
According to the director of the film, Ifunnaya Maduka,
“This contained and intimate film introduces a new point of entry into the Chibok kidnappings.
“We know the global story, now we hear the personal one. As the director, my aim was to visually and sonically plunge audiences into the psychological and emotional landscape of our subject.
“My hope is that audiences will leave feeling inextricably linked to her life and her story, that it will become as much their story as it is hers.
“That radical intimacy is, to me, the basic and necessary function of art. It was also important to me that a Nigerian told this story, and I am proud that our crew reflects that drive.”
Ifunaya Maduka
Uzodinma Iweala, son of the immediate past Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonj-Iweala said of the film,
“Within every tragedy there are incredible stories of resilience. When my mother came to me and said that people need to hear about the strength of these young women who have suffered the worst and yet still have so much to offer the world, I said I would help to get that story out there.
“Waiting for Hassana is the result of a team of Nigerians dedicated to telling our own stories to ourselves and the world.”
Maduka, a Nigerian American filmmaker and professional cinephile, with a penchant for world cinema had previously worked on the feature ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ as well as the documentary, ‘Building a Dream’ which covered the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, where she was a founding member and served as the Academy’s first dean of students. A graduate of Cornell University and Harvard University, ‘Waiting for Hassana’ is her directorial debut.
Iweala, a graduate of Harvard College, Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, and a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University, is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and a medical doctor. His first novel, ‘Beasts of No Nation’, was released in 2005 to critical acclaim, won numerous awards, got translated into 14 languages, selected as a New York Times Notable Book and was adapted into the Netflix Film by the same name. He is also the Editor-in-Chief and CEO of Ventures Africa, a Lagos-based news platform covering police, business, and culture in Nigeria, Africa, and the world.
Uzodinma Iweala
