Film still from Happy Times (2024) Directed by Khalil Agboola
A Taste of Home:
African Cinema Series
A Taste of Home is a five-week journey through stories from the African continent, devised by filmmaker Ifeoluwa Olutayo with Associate Artist Raphel Famotibe, with free screenings every Wednesday throughout April.
The programme is led mainly by the spirit and energy of Nigerian cinema. Bringing together a mix of features and short films, the programme explores what “home” means across borders, generations, and lived experiences. These films celebrate the richness and complexity of African storytelling, representing a diverse array of pioneering and contemporary narratives from the continent.
Wed 1 April: Meaningless Gains: Capitalist Expansion & Ecological Loss
1. The Weight of Small Things by Okwudini Noah and Prince Uhunoma Charles – 5:35
2. The Sands of Time by Peace Olatunji – 00:05:59
3. This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese – 02:00:00
Total Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes
Post screening Q&A with Raphel Famotibe and Ifeoluwa Olutayo
The opening night of the screening series focuses on ecological loss caused by capitalist extraction, and how this impacts the connection people have with their land. Presented alongside two artist’s shorts, in the feature This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection, eighty-year-old Mantoa finds new purpose in rebelling against plans by the government of Lesotho to build a dam, which threatens to displace her village.
Wed 8 April: Searching for Home in the Unfamiliar: Immigration & Crossing Over
1. Atlantiques by Mati Diop – 00:16:00
2. Eyimofe by The Esiri Brothers– 01:56:00
Total Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes
Post screening Q&A with Raphel Famotibe, Ifeoluwa Olutayo andJude Akuwudike (actor - Eyimofe)
Through two visually arresting films, this evening explores the complexities of migration, from aspirational, emotional, political registers. Eyimofe and Atlantique offer complementary perspectives on the diasporic experience—one grounded in the gritty realism of Lagos, the other in the mythic, spectral landscapes of Dakar. Both consider the realities of borders, deferred futures, and the search for home.
Wed 15 April: Building an Industry with Nothing: The Global Reach of Nollywood
1. Nollywood Babylon by Ben Addelman & Samir Mallal – 01:14:09
2. Welcome to Nollywood by Jamie Meltzer – 00:55:43
Total Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes
Post screening Q&A with Raphel Famotibe and Ifeoluwa Olutayo
This double feature celebrates the rise of Nollywood as a testament to Nigerian ingenuity, exploring its industrial practices, production models, global circulation, and informal economies. Together, the films examine how an industry born out of scarcity became a cultural and economic powerhouse, and what its success can teach us about creativity, resilience, and the future of global cinema.
Wed 22 April: The Black Bourgeoisie: Neocolonial Realities & Corruption
1. Able Leader by Wisdom Deji-Folutile – 00:08:27
2. Xala by Ousmane Sembène – 02:03:00
Total Runtime: 2 hours 11 minutes
Post screening Q&A with Raphel Famotibe and Ifeoluwa Olutayo
This evening examines the complexities of post-independence Africa, exposing failures at the intersections of corruption, toxic masculinity, and political power held by the elite. Sembène’s satirical masterpiece Xala from 1975 and Deji-Folutile’s short Able Leader from 2024 critique how neocolonial structures and internalised oppression perpetuate systemic dysfunction within African societies.
Wed 29 April: The Indie Scene in Nigeria: A Shorts Programme
1. A Body in Metaphor by Amanda Madumere – 00:12:08
2. Girl-Boy by Ajay Abalaka – 00:30:04
3. Happy Times by Khalil Agboola – 00:18:48
4. God’s Wife by Dika Ofoma – 00:15:09
5. Swimming in a Sea of Trauma by Ugo Azuya – 00:06:30
6. Record Found Here by Lanaire Aderemi – 00:18:36
Total Runtime: 1 hours 40 minutes
Post screening Q&A with Raphel Famotibe and Ifeoluwa Olutayo
An evening celebrating the Nigerian independent film scene, with six shorts by filmmakers and artists from across the country. Through a varied lens, the works reclaim suppressed histories, highlight marginalised viewpoints and find joy and resilience in the everyday.
This screening will also be broadcast online via Zoom for remote viewing:
Link here
Dates and Times
Wed 1 April 2026
Wed 8 April 2026
Wed 15 April 2026
Wed 22 April 2026
Wed 29 April 2026
Doors 6:30pm / Films from 7pm
All screenings are followed by a Q&A
Tickets
Free, booking required
Zoom Link for remote screening Wed 29 April here
Location
Studio 3, London Performance Studios
Entry via Ormside Street
For more info on how to get to London Performance Studios, clickhere
01/04
29/04
About
A Taste of Home has been curated in collaboration with The Screen in Transit.
Raphel Famotibe (he/him) is a South East London–born artist working across acting, writing, directing, and producing. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and works across stage and screen.
As an award-winning actor, his screen work includes roles in many critically acclaimed projects, and he recently appeared in the TV series The Night Manager. On stage, he has performed at leading venues in the UK, including the National Theatre.
As a writer and director, his play I Love Acting But F*ck This Industry sold out at Theatre Peckham Fringe before returning for a second run. Alongside his creative practice, he facilitates workshops in London, and has also led an actors workshop internationally at the Lagos Fringe Festival.
Ifeoluwa Olutayo (he/him) is an award-winning writer, film programmer and filmmaker and an avid lover of cinema, books and music. His writing has been published in The Republic, Shado Mag, Getunruly, and 49th Street, among others.
He has worked in film archiving practices and approaches, coordinating The Post-Memory, Post-Archive project with the Goethe Institute in Lagos, Nigeria. He is also the moderator at WAFFLENSCREAM, Lagos Home Movie Film Club, and co-founder of The Screen in Transit, a nomadic micro-cinema collective.
He has lost many arguments defending the recent The Arctic Monkeys album releases.
