Here is everything to know about the only Nigerian movie selected for the forum category at this year's event:
Written by Chuko Esiri and produced by Melissa Adeyemo, the feature film tells the story of two Lagosians desperate for a better life in Europe.
It is described as an alternate migrant tale because it offers a new perspective - one that focuses on the people caught in raids and rescued from the sea.
Shot on 16mm across Lagos State, it stars Jude Akuwudike, Tomiwa Edun, Temi Ami-Williams, Cynthia Ebijie and Jacob Alexander.
Before making its world premiere debit at the Berlin film festival, the movie on the Purple List Award in 2018. It was also one of ten projects chosen for last year’s IFP Narrative Lab in New York.
- Directed by two Nigerian filmmakers
The movie is directed by twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri. They were born in Warri, Delta State and raised in Lagos state, Nigeria. Together they have also directed a 2017 movie called "Goose."
- Africa's sole representative at Berlin
"Eyimofe" is the only movie from Nigeria and the rest of the continent showing in the forum category at this year's festival.
Back in 2018, Chuko Esiri and Adamu Halilu became the first Nigerian filmmakers to ever screen at the prestigious festival.
Esiri’s "Besida" played in the short film section while Halilu’s 1976 feature "Shaihu Umar" showed in the Forum. The latter was an adaptation of Sir Tafawa Balewa’s 1955 novella of the same name.
Before this, Nigeria's story had only been told by Hungarian director Andre Libik via his 1962 documentary - "The Ancestors."
Produced by the Ministry of Information, the project highlighted ancestral worship in the country. It ended up winning the Silver Bear - one of the most important awards at the Berlin film festival.
The 70th Berlin International Film Festival will begin on Thursday, February 20th and end on Sunday, March 1, 2020.
