''Akilla's Escape'' is a 2020 drama film, directed by

Charles Officer Charles Officer (October 28, 1975 – December 1, 2023) was a Canadian film and television director, writer, actor, and professional hockey player. Background Charles Officer was born in Toronto, Ontario on October 28, 1972. He was born to a ...

,Radheyan Simonpillai
"Planet Africa returns for TIFF 2020"
'

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' August 25, 2020. his final feature prior to his death in 2023. The film stars

Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film '' Slam ...

as Akilla, a

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...

dealer retiring from the business following

legalization Legalization is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal. Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which one ...

, who tries to rescue a young boy (

Thamela Mpumlwana Thamela Mpumlwana is a Canadian actor.Candace Ganger"The Actor Who Plays Tyson On 'In The Dark' Has A Seriously Cool Mom" ''Romper'', April 4, 2019. He is most noted for his performance as Sheppard in the 2020 film '' Akilla's Escape'', for which h ...

) from being drawn into a life of crime. The film, which Officer began writing in 2010, was inspired by the police crackdown on the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

chapter of the

Shower Posse The Shower Posse is a Jamaican gang, started by Lester Lloyd Coke, which is involved with drug and arms smuggling. Its home is in Tivoli Gardens in Jamaica, but it primarily operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the US states of New ...

crime gang. Its cast also includes

Vic Mensa Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

Oluniké Adeliyi Oluniké Adeliyi (born January 5, 1977) is a Canadian actress. She appeared in the 2010 horror film ''Saw 3D'' and starred as Leah Kerns in the television series '' Flashpoint''. Early life Adeliyi was born in Brampton, Ontario, of Jamaican-Nig ...

, Ronnie Rowe,

Theresa Tova Theresa Tova (born 1955) is a Canadian actress, singer and playwright."Tova, Theresa"
''Cana ...

Brandon Oakes Brandon A. Oakes (born July 03, 1972) is an Akwesasne actor, artist, and dancer. He is a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. Career Oakes is known for his role in the film ''Through Black Spruce'', for which he was nominated for Best Actor a ...

Sagine Sémajuste Sagine Sémajuste is a Haitian Canadian actress and dancer. She is best known for her recurring roles as Farah in the television series '' 19-2'', and Sabine in the television series ''Grand Army''. She has also appeared in the films '' Mahalia ...

and

Colm Feore Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of ...

. The film's original score is produced by

with

Robert Del Naja Robert Del Naja (; born 21 January 1965), also known as 3D, is a British artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective the Wild Bunch, and later as a founding member and sole consi ...

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was rele ...

. The film premiered at the

2020 Toronto International Film Festival The 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the 45th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 10 to 21, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, the festival took place primarily on an online strea ...

, with further screenings at the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

, the Atlanta International Film Festival, the

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...

, The Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival, and

Hof International Film Festival The Hof International Filmfestival is a German film festival that takes place in Hof, Bavaria, every year in October. Apart from numerous foreign productions, the main focus traditionally is on German films. During six festival days, about 130 f ...

. The film was nominated for 8 Canadian Screen Awards and won 5 Canadian Screen Awards in total.

Reception

Writing for ''

'' and ''

The Georgia Straight ''The Georgia Straight'' is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by Overstory Media Group. Often known simply as ''The Straight'', it is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools ...

'', Norman Wilner wrote that "Officer does something else with Akilla’s Escape that I’m hesitant to discuss, but when you see it you’ll hopefully be as stunned and impressed as I was. It’s not a plot twist, but rather a creative decision that pays off absolutely brilliantly over the course of the movie, giving flesh to its central metaphor and making the story play on at least two different levels above and beyond what happens in the narrative." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' wrote "The film remains firmly rooted in Williams' quietly powerful and laser focused performance." ''The Film Stage'' included it in their list of "The Best Films from Venice, TIFF, and NYFF 2020", and the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' named it as one of the ten best films at the festival.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{Charles Officer 2020 films American crime drama films Canadian crime drama films English-language Canadian films Films shot in Toronto Films set in Toronto Films directed by Charles Officer 2020 drama films Hood films 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian films 2020s American films