Izu Ojukwu Nigeria 2016 | 118 minutes

Izu Ojukuw’s 76 partakes in profound industrial shifts, which are transforming the world-renowned Nollywood industry. Indeed, it is part of what has been referred to as “The New Nollywood,” an increasingly formally and aesthetically rigorous auteurist tendency that seeks to lead the way in this intensely prolific cinematic tradition. Exploring the space of a national political trauma, the film revisits events around the both 1976 military coup, which saw the assassination of then President Murtala Muhammed. However, while coup d’états are often the stuff of masculinity in its militarily-exacerbated form, Ojukwu chooses to also meditate the significance of said events through the experiences of the wives and families of those involved. Reportedly the first Nigerian film to be shot in army barracks, the film received support from the Nigerian military whose Defense Academy advisers were involved in training the cast over 21 days. 76 was shot on super 16mm and, stars A-list Nollywood actors Ramsey Nouah and Rita Dominic and premiered at TIFF 2016 as part of the festival final City to City section, which focused on Lagos.