Program
69. DOK Leipzig
HOPE IS A WORD
GERMAN PREMIERE
Thick plumes of smoke rise on the horizon. Oil gushes from the ground. The gills of a dead fish are black. A deep, resonant voice recites a poem about blood, anger and the oil-poisoned landscape of the Niger Delta. A crowd joins in the refrain. Writer and activist Nnimmo Bassey has been protesting oil extraction in southern Nigeria and its consequences for people, nature and agriculture for decades. The Ogoni, an ethnic minority in the region whose very livelihoods are under threat, are particularly affected. In the 1990s, they organised a powerful political movement that was violently suppressed by the military government – partly in the interests of Western oil companies. How can political resistance be mounted under such circumstances? “Hope Is a Word” portrays a man who believes in the power of poetic language. Through his workshops, Nnimmo Bassey succeeds in mobilising a new generation of activists with a talent for rhetoric and literature. As they read, rap or recite, the film deliberately brings their words to the fore. Here, poetry becomes a political tool. Because a verse can become a rallying cry. One that others follow. (Jan-Philipp Kohlmann)
With discussion
Norway, Nigeria, Italy 2026, directed by Maria Galliani Dyrvik, 82 min., documentary film
