Chuko Esiri
Directing
Biography
Chuko Esiri is an award winning Film Producer, Director and Writer based in Nigeria. During his time in New York after completing his studies at NYU, Chuko and his brother Arie collaborated on a pair of short films: Besida (2018), which premiered at the 68th Berlinale, and Goose (2017), which had its premiere at the LA Film Festival. “Eyimofe” (This Is My Desire) is Chuko’s first feature film which earned award nominations at the Berlin International Film Festival, Dubai International Film Festival, Entrevues Film Festival, Galway Film Fleadh, IndieLisboa International Independent Film Festival, Torino Film Festival as well as the Valladolid International Film Festival, “Eyimofe” also won awards at the Blackstar Film Festival, Entrevues Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival and World Cinema Amsterdam. At the 2021 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), the film won Achievement in Sound, Achievement in Editing, the National Film and Video Censors Board for Best Nigerian Film, and Best First Nigerian Feature Film by a Director. The board also awarded Esiri with Best Director. Set in Lagos, Nigeria, "Eyimofe" follows the stories of Mofe,a factory technician, and Rosa, a hairdresser, on their quest for what they believe will be a better life on foreign shores.
Known For
A modern reimagining of the Virginia Woolf novel Mrs. Dalloway. Follows society woman Clarissa as she prepares to host a party at her home in Lagos, Nigeria, where she will unexpectedly encounter once-intimate friends from her youth. As the group reflects on their shared past over the course of a single night, memories of their intricate relationships, passionate love, hidden desires, and lost aspirations give rise to bittersweet reckoning.
Clarissa
A man and a woman in Lagos want to escape their everyday lives, but extricating themselves is no easy task. Two stories narrated with tenderness and restraint that only fleetingly touch, the dream of migrating to Europe floating above them all the while.
Eyimofe (This Is My Desire)
When a soul-shaking viral video shudders through town, a jobless father struggles to keep hold of his existence.
At Little Wheelie Three Days Ago
Uzoma likes to play games. But games have consequences.
Big Man
A single father who is an amateur fighter on the verge of going pro discovers his forgetfulness may be a symptom of something worse.
Goose
'Where were you when I needed you? What do you want now?' says the sister to her brother. A tiny village, the cars only stop here to take the young women to the city. 'You were there yourself,' she says. 'That's exactly the point,' he replies. 'Don't go.'