WHEN A FARM GOES AFLAME | Documentary | By Jide Tom Akinleminu
A filmmaker completes his debut film: A reflection on his parents assumed monogamous long distance marriage as well as his own Nigerian background and identity. He thereafter accidentally discovers his father's secret; a second family throughout the last 30 years. This revelation sends the filmmaker on a new quest, now focusing on his retired Danish mother and his newly acquainted younger Nigerian half brother. When a farm goes aflame is set in the aftermath of a lifetime of secrecy and denial, and attempts to bring together the stories and beliefs of all protagonists as they come to terms with their common past and shape their future. Moving fluidly between Denmark, Nigeria, Canada and USA, the film gently unfolds as a poetic and psychologically complex exploration of the meeting between western and African concepts of love, relationships and family.
Director JIDE TOM AKINLEMINU | Producer FLORIAN SCHEWE | Camera JIDE TOM AKINLEMINU | Editor MAJA TENNSTEDT | Editing Consultant CHRIS WRIGHT
World sales: SYNDICADO FILM SALES
Awards:
Nominated Best Documentary @ AFRICA MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS
Best Director @ Global Cinema Film Festival Boston 2022
Film Prize @ AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION 2022
Ecumenical Jury Award @ Achtung Berlin - new berlin film award
Special Mention Best Cinematography @ Achtung Berlin - new berlin film award
Ecumenical Jury statement:
What remains is this sentence: "I would like to know why my father never told my mother and why my mother never asked." It is at the beginning of the story that Jide Tom Akinleminu tells us. Must tell, because "the flakes fly home, to bear the tale". Nothing remains permanently hidden. (...)
The ecumenical jury honours the documentary "When A Farm Goes aflame", a narrative journey that takes us, the viewers, on a search for "answers to life". We appreciate the sensitive narrative perspective and the impressive visual language in which the film asks elementary questions about being human: How do we look at our own past? How do we look at the decisions we have made in life? And also those we will make in the future? (...) The jury finds it outstanding how Jide Tom Akinleminu tells this very personal story as a first-person narrative, as a collector of facts, with great humility and without judgement, making the fullness of human life visible.
Jury statement best cinematography:
In the beginning, there is a lie that shatters - tears apart - an entire family. (...) Director and cinematographer Jide Tom Akinleminu manages to unravel the voids of his family history through his observations. In doing so, he succeeds in creating images that move confidently in these contrasting worlds between Denmark and Nigeria. Akinleminu uses the camera as a means of communication to confront his father in Nigeria. In the process, the images seem to be interwoven with the director's inner world. Space and time no longer play a role. Without reproach, he succeeds, with seductive persistence, in exposing this and thus also reveals successful side glimpses of his own story. With charm and flowing agility, he is able to take possession of the previously unspoken stories himself and let us participate in wonder.
Nominated Best Documentary @ AFRICA MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS
Best Director @ Global Cinema Film Festival Boston 2022
Film Prize @ AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION 2022
Ecumenical Jury Award @ Achtung Berlin - new berlin film award
Special Mention Best Cinematography @ Achtung Berlin - new berlin film award
Ecumenical Jury statement:
What remains is this sentence: "I would like to know why my father never told my mother and why my mother never asked." It is at the beginning of the story that Jide Tom Akinleminu tells us. Must tell, because "the flakes fly home, to bear the tale". Nothing remains permanently hidden. (...)
The ecumenical jury honours the documentary "When A Farm Goes aflame", a narrative journey that takes us, the viewers, on a search for "answers to life". We appreciate the sensitive narrative perspective and the impressive visual language in which the film asks elementary questions about being human: How do we look at our own past? How do we look at the decisions we have made in life? And also those we will make in the future? (...) The jury finds it outstanding how Jide Tom Akinleminu tells this very personal story as a first-person narrative, as a collector of facts, with great humility and without judgement, making the fullness of human life visible.
Jury statement best cinematography:
In the beginning, there is a lie that shatters - tears apart - an entire family. (...) Director and cinematographer Jide Tom Akinleminu manages to unravel the voids of his family history through his observations. In doing so, he succeeds in creating images that move confidently in these contrasting worlds between Denmark and Nigeria. Akinleminu uses the camera as a means of communication to confront his father in Nigeria. In the process, the images seem to be interwoven with the director's inner world. Space and time no longer play a role. Without reproach, he succeeds, with seductive persistence, in exposing this and thus also reveals successful side glimpses of his own story. With charm and flowing agility, he is able to take possession of the previously unspoken stories himself and let us participate in wonder.
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