Akilla's Escape
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''Akilla's Escape'' is a 2020 drama film, directed by Charles Officer,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 * Na ...
'' 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 (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
dealer retiring from the business following
legalization Legalization is the process of removing a law, 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 ...
, 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 (website), Romper'', April 4, 2019. He is most noted for his performance as Sheppard in the 2020 film ''Akilla's Esca ...
) 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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
chapter of the
Shower Posse The Shower Posse is a Jamaican posse, Jamaican gang, started by Lester Lloyd Coke, which is involved in drug smuggling, drug and arms smuggling. Its home is in Tivoli Gardens, Kingston, Tivoli Gardens in Jamaica. It has several North American b ...
crime gang. Its cast also includes
Vic Mensa Victor Kwesi Mensah (born June 6, 1993), known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, he was a member of the regional hip hop groups Kids These Days (band), Kids These Days and Savemoney prior to releasing ...
,
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 ...
,
Donisha Prendergast Donisha Prendergast (born 29 December 1984) is a Jamaican filmmaker, activist and actress. Her on-screen acting work includes female lead in Canadian Screen Award-winning films Akilla's Escape (2020) alongside co-star poet Saul Williams as well ...
, 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 3, 1972) is an Akwesasronon 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 Ac ...
, Sagine Sémajuste 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
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 ( ...
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 (sound system), the Wild Bunch, and later as ...
of
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...
. 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 stream ...
, 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 Festi ...
, 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 in February annually, since 1986. The festival screens over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. ...
, 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 ''
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 * Na ...
'' 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'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' 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. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'' 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 2020s hood films 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian films 2020s American films English-language crime films