Burning from the Inside
The project has taken six years to materialize but when 122 people have finally been interviewed, many could not be shown for fear of prosecution. It was then agreed to mask their eyes and change their voices. In the end we have shown 23 in the final presentation but the others will appear in a future presentation.
The documentary is a presentation of some indeginous people, the Ijaws located in the oil region of Africa. The director asking the questions is not seen or heard. The film is divided into distinctive sections/chapters just like inside a book. The content of these sections are displayed on the screen in white out of black and the text is read by a narrator.
Each participant in turn reacts accordingly to the story provided to them and they all debate, agree and disagree separately with what the next participant has to say.
The whole text placed together is a history of the country and the struggle for survival and self-determination since the British left.
What is extremely puzzling with these portraits is the sheer humanity offered to us. One participant is being challenged about kidnapping workers on an oil rig and the violence that resulted from it.
At the end of the documentary, one man who fought many wars and was left wheelchair bound has his own story to tell and this story somewhat can be attributed to anyone and anywhere in the world, the story of the human condition.