A tale of strength and resilience.
It's the story of the contrasting roles the looted Benin Art plays across cultural divides of the West versus the people of Benin. It is told through the lenses of Prof Peju Layiwola, a descendant of Oba Ovaramwen Nogbaisi, who ruled over Benin during the British Punitive Expedition of 1897. It chronicles the pains of mass murder, the theft of cultural heritage items, and the agitations of Orientalism.
OOMPH
Credit
Story & Direction: Olie Rehman, Henry Egware
Script: Henry Egware
Illustration & Animation: Lin Tao, Weixuan Yang, Yeming Zhang
Sound Design: Olie Rehman, Henry Egware
Production Management: Tahmina Maher
Project Supervision: Hugh Harwood, Jack Coulson, Kathrin Tinhof
Special Credit
Original ‘Bini’ Folksongs composed and performed by students of the Department of Theatre Arts, Faculty of Arts of the University of Benin, Nigeria -under the supervision of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Media Studies, Professor Christopher E. Ugolo.
Joy Egware, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Edo State, Nigeria -on Media and Special Projects; Funmi Usman at Bradford University; and Onawale Kuforiji in Maidstone, for producing the sound.
Professor Peju Layiwola, Temporary African Artist, Art Historian, and Educator -for her continued fight for the repatriation of looted Benin Art.
Festival Selection
ANIMAGE Festival, BRAZIL - (General Competition, OOMPH, October 2024)
The Chico Independent Film Festival 2024, CALIFORNIA - (Best International Film, OOMPH, October 2024)
Lift-Off Filmmaker Sessions Volume 3, Pinewood Studios, England - OOMPH, September, 2023
Team
