Joel Kachi Benson’s Daughters of Chibok wins big at Venice International Film Festival

Joel Kachi Benson’s documentary film, Daughters of Chibok has won the best virtual reality story at the 76th Venice International Film Festival.

Daughters of Chibok follows the mothers of the girls who were abducted from their school dormitory in April 2014. Of the  276 female students from Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria that were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists, 112 remain missing.

Joel Kachi Benson’s film, which also had its premiere at the festival, tells the story of Yana Galang, whose daughter was among the kidnapped girls. The film represented Nigeria and Africa, alongside 12 other Virtual Reality (VR) films selected from around the world.

In his acceptance speech at the Venice International Film Festival,  Joel Kachi Benson, who directed the film says:

“With this VR film, all I wanted to do was to take the world to the women of Chibok who five years after their daughters had been kidnapped, are still living with the incredible pain of their absence.

“I felt it was wrong for us to forget or even doubt and move on,” he says.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2HngeeH-qJ/

Joel, who runs a virtual reality film studio, VR360 in Lagos, also shared more thoughts on the award on his Instagram page @kachibenson, writing:

“Last week I shared pictures and a message of how grateful I was to be at the Venice Biennale, rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names and the best minds in the world of virtual reality. For me it was great, just to be here, and have my film play alongside theirs. That was enough for me. I never knew there was more to come.

“As the festival began to wind down, I remember asking the curator if he’d be able to squeeze me in to attend the closing ceremony so I could watch the awards been given out, and he smiled and said he’d see what he could do to get me in. Two days ago he called me and said there’d be no need for that…our film #daughtersofchibok would be receiving an award, so I’d have a seat reserved for me.

“And so here we are, bringing home The Lion award for Best VR Story. The young boy who roamed the streets of Ijeshatedo during the day and slept in empty churches at night because he had no home to go to, is now on the world stage. Now if that’s not God, I don’t know what is.

“I thank everyone that has supported me on this crazy incredible adventure…my wife, my friends, my teachers (@timski67 and @joycectsang who taught me the importance of always “wrapping it in story”), @cobhamsasuquo who made the most incredible music for the #daughtersofchibok, and my team who’ve had to deal with all my mood swings and mad experiments. God has been too kind to me…I don’t know why…but I’m grateful. I’d have loved to end this with something profound, but I’ll just repeat what the someone in Venice said to me, and hope that it inspires someone – ‘Joel, you’re this guy that no one had ever heard of, who just came out the blues, and now you’ve put your country on the world’s VR map. You just proved that with faith and courage anyone can soar to the top. #daughtersofchibok #virtualrealityworld #virtualrealitynigeria #labiennaledivenezia @imisi3d @iamaniwura @northeastihub @vr360stories @cobhamsasuquo @murphy_akande @timski67 @facey813 @iamshabz

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2I8Fk7nZOp/

Joel’s first attempt at making a Virtual Reality film was his 2018 In Bakassi, a short film that captures the plight of children living with PTSD in Internally Displaced Persons’ Camps in the northeast region.

Congratulations to Joel and to Africa!