By NewsBits
Chude Jideonwo’s debut film ‘Awaiting Trial’, has been nominated for Best Documentary at the 2023 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.
Awaiting Trial is a documentary film that explores both the #EndSARS protests and the ‘deeper illness’ they point to – the phenomenon in Nigeria’s communal justice system called ‘awaiting trial’ where people are arrested and detained indefinitely without charge. The film’s director took to his Instagram to celebrate the nomination and the people who made it possible.
He said, “This one is for Obianuju Iloanya whose courage and voice made me badly want to do this. And her mother, Hope whose strength inspired mine. And her stoic father. And her brave brother. And everyone who found the courage to open up and share the powerful stories they did with me over the one year of making this film. ‘If no one encourages you,’ Hope Iloanya said in one of the film’s most powerful lines, ‘encourage yourself.’
“I spent months looking for a director for Awaiting Trial. I sat with some of the brightest talents. But it just wasn’t working out. Until the universe whispered to me ‘Do it yourself, Chude’. Do it, alarmed, afraid, and vulnerable. Do it, despite the voices that will question your bonafides as a director. Do it, because the only way to become brilliant is to begin. Do it, because this matters to you. So, I overcame the fright. I steeled myself for the judgement. I silenced the voices in my head.”
Awaiting Trial since its limited online screening has won several awards and recognition one of which is being Official Selection and Nominee of the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF). Others on the AMVCA lists are 100 of Us, Way to the Top, Green: The Amazons, Truck Blind Spot, Nigeria-the Debut, and Baby Blues.
#WithChude is a network of media products across TV, Film and podcasts telling stories that enable and strengthen the mind, the heart, and the spirit. The weekly interviews are widely syndicated across terrestrial television and social media platforms reaching an average of eight million people weekly – positioning it as the most watched and most syndicated weekly talk show (digital + traditional) in the region. It has become a safe space for guests to talk about things publicly for the first time.
Actor Joke Silva revealed that her husband Olu Jacobs was dealing with dementia with Lewy body for the first time on the show, and producer Kemi Afolabi opened up about her experience dealing with Lupus on #WithChude. That month, Lupus and Kemi Afolabi were among the top Google Nigeria searches. The interviews have been featured everywhere, from the BBC to the New York Times. The documentary and travelogue series #ChudeExplains has tackled issues from criminal justice reform to Gen Z coming of age. The show launches the #WithChude Global series in 2023. All past and new episodes of #WithChude can be watched at watch.withchude.com. You can also watch the premiere of new episodes every Saturday on Channels TV at 1 pm, with reruns every Sunday on Wazobia TV Channel 98 at 5:00p.m., and every Tuesday on Rave Tv at 5:00p.m.
