Taxi Driver, Oko Ashewo (2015 | 104m)
Directed by Daniel Oriahi
Venue: Whitney Humanities Center (WHC)
With the city of Lagos at night as its backdrop, Taxi Driver, Oko Ashewo tells the story of Adigun (Femi Jacobs), a naïve mechanic unaccustomed to city ways, who comes to Lagos to claim the inheritance left by his deceased father. The inheritance is an old taxi cab, nicknamed Tom Cruiz, and Adigun becomes a taxi driver. He learns on the job how to navigate Lagos streets, and the complicated interactions between the prostitutes and criminals that do business after nightfall. His teacher and mentor on surviving in Lagos at night is Mr. T (Odunlade Adekola) who subsequently becomes his nemesis. Adigun also crosses paths with Delia (Ijeoma Grace Agu) a sex worker, with whom he later forms an alliance. Taxi Driver, Oko Ashewo has been described as a Nigerian film noir, equal parts thriller and comedy. This film has been screened at the 2016 African Diaspora Film Festival in New York, at the Nollywood Week in Paris 2016, and at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival’s City to City Spotlight on Nigerian cinema.