The host of WithChude, Chude Jideonwo, has kicked off the free 5-day screening of his first film Awaiting Trial. The film is the first in the series of factual films produced by his studio ‘Chude Jideonwo presents’, an outfit he unveiled last week.
“It’s taken a lifetime of visioning and two years in production, but finally my life’s work in the media has led me into a new extension as a filmmaker” he said. “We have launched an international factual film studio with offices in Lagos, London and New York – and we have announced our first film ‘Awaiting Trial’, that tells the story of the historic #EndSARs protests, police brutality and Nigeria’s deadly criminal justice system”
Awaiting Trial follows the lives of 3 central families caught by the injustice of the Nigerian Police, and down held by its criminal justice system. It presents the devastating ramifications of the injustice of the Nigerian Police, not just in terms of justice and fairness, but in terms of destroying families, upturning mental balance, and creating an environment and culture of fear.
It features interviews with families who lost their children, spanning Lagos, Anambra to Ogbomosho, and those at the frontlines of the #EndSARS protests including musician Folarin Falana (a.k.a Falz), actor Adebowale Adedayo (a.k.a Mr Macaroni), activist Rinu Oduala and Nigerian legal practitioner Olumide Akpata, among others.
The film, ‘Awaiting Trial’ is now up for free on YouTube for a 5-day screening. It features the heartbreaking stories of Chijioke, Okuchukwu, Jimoh, and Yellow, and the tragic experiences they go through, while struggling to get their missing family members back.
Commending the 75-minute film, Chimamanda had shared on her Instagram page this morning, “Chude Jideonwo has made a film that is important, necessary and deeply moving”. “We know the rot is deep, we know the soul of Nigeria is at stake, and yet to see it so starkly presented, to hear from families destroyed by an inhumane and incompetent Nigerian state, feels newly devastating,” she added.
