African Voices Platform × MKO Documentary
A Media Partnership — Sheffield DocFest World Premiere
African Voices Platform is proud to announce a media partnership with MKO Documentary ahead of its world premiere at Sheffield DocFest.
MKO documentary film poster. Directed by Ose Oyamendan.
MKO is a new documentary by Nigerian-American director and producer Ose Oyamendan — a film thirty years in the making, and one of the most significant works of African political cinema to reach an international festival in recent memory.
ABOUT THE FILM
In June 1993, Nigeria held what many observers still regard as its freest and fairest election. Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola won. The military annulled the result, imprisoned him without trial, and crushed the movement that had dared to believe democratic transfer of power was possible in Africa's most populous nation.
Five years later, as international pressure finally mounted, Abiola died in custody — during a meeting with senior American diplomats. The circumstances of his death have never been fully resolved.
MKO Documentary trailer
MKO investigates that history through the testimony of those who lived it: the general who annulled the election, the American delegation present at the final meeting, Abiola's personal guard, Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, journalists who were jailed and deported, and members of Abiola's own family. It combines investigative journalism with the conventions of a political thriller — and draws on archival footage never seen publicly before.
“MKO was Africa’s wealthiest man, the most generous Black philanthropist alive, and a patron of the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus. Presidents and kings visited him. His name inspired hope from the streets of Lagos to the halls of Capitol Hill in Washington DC. MKO won Nigeria’s freest and fairest election, but the military slammed shut the door on democracy.”
— Ose Oyamendan, Director
SHEFFIELD DOCFEST SCREENINGS
| Screening | Date & Time | Venue | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKO + Q&A | Fri 12 June 20:45 – 22:53 |
The Light — Screen 6 | English subtitles throughout Q&A with director Ose Oyamendan |
| MKO + Q&A | Sun 14 June 15:15 – 17:23 |
Showroom — Screen 1 | English subtitles throughout Q&A with director Ose Oyamendan |
MKO has its world premiere at Sheffield DocFest. Both screenings are followed by a Q&A with director Ose Oyamendan.
ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP
African Voices Platform exists to amplify stories that matter — stories from and about Africa and the African diaspora that deserve the reach, rigour and cultural platform they have historically been denied. MKO is precisely the kind of work this platform was built to support: serious, political, formally accomplished, and rooted in a history that belongs to all of us.
As part of this partnership, AVP has conducted an exclusive interview with director Ose Oyamendan and producer Véronique Bernard. The interview will be released ahead of the Sheffield DocFest screenings.
WATCH AND FOLLOW
Official website: www.mkodocumentary.com
Instagram: @mkodocumentary | Director: @oseoyamendan
Sheffield DocFest: https://www.sheffdocfest.com/film/mko @sheffdocfest
African Voices Platform: www.africanvoicesplatform.org