Alain Kassanda’s freewheeling urban portrait follows two young men, Fred and Akin, as they navigate the crowded roadways of Ibadan, Nigeria’s third largest city. Engineering graduate Fred is beginning a new job as a taxi driver, whilst Akin patrols a busy intersection collecting tax for the National Transport Union. As they traverse the frenetic streets, the systems and networks that underlie the city begin to be exposed, revealing the order that lies beneath all the noise and apparent chaos. Punctuated by exuberant musical sequences, Trouble Sleep is a dynamic, impressionistic city symphony capturing Ibadan’s distinct rhythms from a street-level perspective.

UK Premiere

Screens with:

( ( ( ( ( /*\ ) ) ) ) )
Charles Fairbanks, Saul Kak | 2019 | Mexico | 18’

Nini, What Time Is It There?
Sabrina Zhao | 2020| Canada | 33’

Screening includes a Q&A with director Alain Kassanda, hosted by Karen Alexander.

Please be advised that a film within this programme contains discussion of self-harm which some viewers may find distressing.

Read an essay on Trouble Sleep by Wilfred Okoche.

Available: Block 1 (Wed 9th Sept midday – Sat 12th Sept midnight BST)

Please note: this film is only available to view in the UK.

“Born in Kinshasa, Alain Kassanda left DRC for France at the age of 11. After studying communication he has been staging cycles of movie showings in various Parisian theaters since 2003, and several film festivals such as Ghett’Out Film Festival at the Brattle Theatre in Boston and BAM in New York. Alain has also been the film programmer for the movie-theater Les 39 marches in Sevran, near Paris, for five years. Trouble Sleep is his first film, shot in Ibadan (Nigeria) where he has lived from 2015 to 2019, organising film screenings at the University of Ibadan. ”