Speculative works of art are no stranger to the African fictional canon. Before the groundbreaking Rafiki, another Kenyan film, the afrofuturist short film Pumzi, debuted at Sundance. Even earlier, Jean Pierre Bekolo’s Les Saignantes, a sci-fi erotic thriller, collected the Silver Stallion Award at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ougadougou in Burkina Faso. More recent are, Dilman Dilla’s Her Broken Shadow and Daniel Oriahi’s Sylvia, two films dealing with imaginary people tearing into reality and running amok. In addition, CJ Obasi’s short Hello Rain, an adaptation of novelist Nnedi Okorafor’s Hello Moto, has made the rounds on the festival circuit. Still, the contemporary Nigerian film medium has arguably left some wide gaps. Many of the films with any kind of speculative tilt in Nigeria are under-produced in Nollywood, thin and based around the subject of urban myths and/or evil spiritual forces.

In 2018, two films were released covering overlapping themes of spirituality within a Nigerian context: the short film Call Me By My Name and the documentary Beyond Tolerance. Both films premiered at The Ake Arts Festival in Lagos.

Inspired by Helen Oyiyemi’s novel The Opposite House, Bolaji Kekere-Ekun’s Call Me By My Name is an exploration of memory, sacrifice and the supernatural—in particular, as the director describes, “this idea that the more our gods are forgotten, the more they cease to exist in a literal form.” In Oyiyemi’s novel, the psychodrama and mystic themes are a fit with Call Me By My Name. For those unfamiliar with Oyiyemi, a similar theme is being explored in Showtime’s adaptation of Neil Gainman’s American Gods. Yetide Badaki gives an electric performance as the goddess of love Bilquis, who has to find ways to adapt to a world without the feverish followership she once enjoyed.

Kekere-Ekun’s film jumps between timelines to portray a spirit come for her overdue pound of flesh. The film is bolstered by the director’s technical proficiency: fluid editing and expressive camera angles aim to service the story wholly rather than act simply as cinematic flourishes.

Beyond Tolerance sets out to achieve a very clear aim. Producer Rafeeat Aliyu described a process where the crew had already mapped out a clear list of shots and goals to achieve while making it. As the narratives and cultural exports around this part of the world continue to gain more prominence, it is only becoming more important that those behind the helm of our diverse stories come at it with a level of craft and confidence. In one hour, Beyond Tolerance works at simultaneously creating a learning and unlearning experience while presenting the world of traditional worship in Nigeria. Spanning worshippers of Ifa, Sango and Osun, the documentary conducts interviews with practitioners across all levels and social conditions within Nigeria. Often being depicted on screen in negative and comical methods, the community was open to the experience of presenting themselves in this multifaceted manner.

Below are the conversations I had with Kekere-Ekun and Aliyu.