Two young Lagosians seek to escape the daily oppressions in Africa’s largest city, with aims to head to Spain and Italy to find a better life. Shot in gorgeous 35mm by twin directors Arie and Chuko Esiri, This is My Desire’s attention to exacting detail creates a layered world you’ve never seen before.
Mofe (Jude Akuwudike) an engineer who works as a handyman, scraping by day-to-day just to eat, and his dream is to end up in Spain. Rosa (Temi Ami-Williams) is a hairdresser who wants to take her pregnant, younger sister Grace (Cynthia Ebijie) to Italy, before the baby is born. Nigerian directors Arie and Chuko Esiri's split their film into two parts, “Spain” and “Italy” and their camera captures Mofe and Grace’s daily lives as they take step after step after interminable step to arrange all the necessities to leave Lagos, which itself appears almost as a character in the film, a complex and bizarre city that seems to swallow people’s lives. “[A] promising, quietly moving first feature…” --Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
Director Biography
Arie Esiri is a photographer and director, who has a Master's of Fine Arts from Columbia University, who divides his time between his native Lagos and New York. With his brother, Chuko, he has directed the short film “Goose” (2017) and the feature This is My Desire (2020).
Chuko Esiri graduated from law school and quickly decided to pursue another career, heading to New York to learn the film business as an intern. He is a writer, producer and director, who has directed the short film “Besida” (2018) and, with his brother, the short film “Goose” (2017) and the feature This is My Desire (2020).
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