Joel Kachi Benson’s 'In Bakassi' To Show At The 2019 Berlin International Film Festival

In November last year, Joel Kachi Benson debuted his moving short documentary, In Bakassi at the Cairo International Film Festival. Months later, Kachi Benson is making his way to Berlin to screen his doc at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival.

In Bakassi follows the life of Modu Mustapha, an 11-year-old orphaned boy who has been living in an IDP camp for three years. The documentary takes us through the struggles of survivors of the Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria, a region to which Kachi Benson frequently travels.

Speaking with Vanguard about his journey to making the documentary, Kachi Benson asserted that:

“The biggest victims of the Boko Haram insurgency are children, and every time I visit the North East I try to return with at least one story to share”

Appreciating that the violent conditions in the region are unsafe for travel, Kachi Benson makes use of virtual reality technology to document his journey, thus enabling viewers to experience Bakassi as though they were there. The Berlinale 2019 will run from February 7 to February 17.

Watch the trailer below:

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