“HOPE IS A WORD” PREMIERES AT SHEFFIELD DOC FEST

Synopsis

In Nigeria’s Niger Delta, where oil extraction has poisoned the land for decades, poet and activist Nnimmo Bassey nurtures a new generation of writers to fight back. Spills and gas flaring have ravaged communities across the region, bringing violence and division. Bassey has spent his life raising his voice against it. Now, seeing a generation full of fear and hope growing up in the aftermath, he invites a group of young people to write alongside him, from a writer raised in the heavily polluted Ogoni region to his own son Ukpono, a young rapper. In the safe space of his workshops, poetry becomes both a way to heal and a weapon for change. As they test how their voices can reshape a decades-old struggle, Bassey asks the question that drives the film: can they carry it forward?

Credits

With and with poetry by Nnimmo Bassey, Barinedum Mbee, Ukpono Bassey and Odudu-Abasi Asuquo

Written and directed by Maria Galliani Dyrvik

Producer and DoP Anita Vedå

Archive footage by Erabanabari Kobah

Additional Photography Allen Onyige

Sound recording by @Anu Oladipupo, David Rhoven and Metong Minwon

Edited by Federico Neri

Writing and dramaturgy consultant Nuno Escudeiro

Editing consultant Niels Pagh Andersen

Sound design Yngve Leidulv Sætre at Duper Post Punks

Foley artist Maria Bardal

Music by Ukpono Bassey

Colour Christoffer Møgster

Graphic design Ariane Birkeland at @rebelunitstudio

Poster design Gianluca Cannizzo

Trailer editing Benjamin Garcia Langeland

Trailer music by Olav Øyhaug

Impact consultant Vivian Schröder

Co-produced by Chiara Andrich

Executive producer Femi Odugbemi

Publicist Mia Farrell

Developed at Nordoc, ESoDoc – European Social Documentary IDFA Project Space

Presented at DOK.fest München Visioni dal Mondo, Dok Leipzig, Movies that Matter Take on Impact & Visions du Réel

The project was shortlisted for the Whicker Awards 2024