Perspective
A Lagos Film Series Recasts a Neighborhood and Shapes a Writer
James Baldwin, Ousmane Sembène, Maya Angelou, and the dynamic discussions they provoke help a young writer find her tribe at a film screening series in Nigeria.
This piece is part of our Finding Community series. Find previous entries here.
On an orange sofa resting against the wall by the entrance, the light of the projector screen intermittently illuminates the sitting room. I am flanked by two women: Elizabeth, an art administrator from New York, and Ijeoma, a lawyer and literary promoter. Drawing giggles from a number of people in the room, a muffled voice sings a response to music from the film, music that sounds similar to the Zulu intro of the Lion King’s Circle of Life.