Nigerian Cinema, Fall 2022

Join us for a three-part film series celebrating Nigerian cinema in honor of the special exhibition of sculptures by Nigerian artist Moshood Olúṣọmọ Bámigbóyè on view this fall in the Yale University Art Gallery. To commemorate Bámigbóyè’s 50-year career, the films focus on themes of migration, identity, and the legacy of historic artworks and tradition in Nigerian society.

The Figurine: Araromire (2009, 2 hours), directed by Kunle Afolayan
Kunle Afolayan directs and stars in this psychological thriller, which draws on his own Igbomina-Yorùbá heritage to examine the enduring power of traditional religious objects in Nigeria today. In a shrine that seems to be abandoned, two friends discover a wooden sculpture and decide to take it home. They soon learn that the shrine is dedicated to the orisa Araomire who bestows seven years of good luck on the thieves with dark consequences for the seven years that follow.

Sponsored by Yale University Art Gallery and Whitney Humanities Center
Poster