Akilla's Escape

Akilla's Escape is a 2020 drama film, directed by Charles Officer.[2] The film stars Saul Williams as Akilla, a marijuana dealer retiring from the business following legalization, who tries to rescue a young boy (Thamela Mpumlwana) from being drawn into a life of crime.[2]

Akilla's Escape
Film poster
Directed byCharles Officer
Written by
Produced byJake Yanowski
Starring
CinematographyMaya Bankovic
Edited byAndres Landau
Music by
Production
company
Canesugar Filmworks
Distributed by
  • Vertical Entertainment
  • Level Film
Release date
  • September 12, 2020 (2020-09-12) (TIFF)[1]
Running time
90 minutes
Countries
  • Canada
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

The film, which Officer began writing in 2010, was inspired by the police crackdown on the Toronto chapter of the Shower Posse crime gang.[2] Its cast also includes Vic Mensa, Oluniké Adeliyi, Ronnie Rowe, Theresa Tova, Brandon Oakes, Sagine Sémajuste and Colm Feore. The film's original score is produced by Saul Williams with Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack.

The film premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival,[3] with further screenings at the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Atlanta International Film Festival, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, The Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival, and Hof International Film Festival. The film was nominated for 8 Canadian Screen Awards and won 5 Canadian Screen Awards in total.[4]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Akilla's Escape occasionally loses sight of its strongest assets, but solid acting and a smart story make this a neo-noir worth watching."[5]

Writing for Now and The Georgia Straight, 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."[6]

The Los Angeles Times wrote "The film remains firmly rooted in Williams' quietly powerful and laser focused performance."[7]

The Film Stage included it in their list of "The Best Films from Venice, TIFF, and NYFF 2020",[8] and the Toronto Star named it as one of the ten best films at the festival.[9]

Awards and nominations
Award Date of Ceremony Category Nominees Result Reference
Victoria Film Festival February 14, 2021 Best Canadian Feature Akilla's Escape Won [10]
Directors Guild of Canada Awards Achievement in Production Design Akilla's Escape Won [11]
Canadian Screen Awards May 20, 2021 Best Actor Saul Williams Nominated [12][13]
Best Supporting Actor Thamela Mpumlwana Nominated
Ronnie Rowe Jr. Nominated
Best Original Screenplay Charles Officer, Wendy Motion Brathwaite Won
Best Cinematography Maya Bankovic Won
Best Sound Editing Dave Rose, David McCallum, Krystin Hunter, William Kellerman Won
Best Sound Mixing Brad Dawe, James Bastable, Graham Rogers, Daniel Moctezuma Won
Best Casting Nicole Hilliard-Forde Won

References
  1. "Akilla's Escape". TIFF. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  2. Radheyan Simonpillai, "Planet Africa returns for TIFF 2020". Now, August 25, 2020.
  3. Rachel West, "TIFF Unveils More Films, Including David Oyelowo’s Directorial Debut, In Conversation With Halle Berry, Saoirse Ronan, More". ET Canada, August 25, 2020.
  4. "Akilla's Escape". Academy.ca. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  5. "Akilla's Escape (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  6. Norman Wilner, "VIFF review: Akilla’s Escape puts a grounded spin on the gangland thriller". The Georgia Straight, September 14, 2020.
  7. "Review: 'Akilla's Escape' mines socio-political context of Toronto's Jamaican community". Los Angeles Times. 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  8. "The Best Films from Venice, TIFF, and NYFF 2020". The Film Stage. September 28, 2020.
  9. Peter Howell (September 17, 2020). "My top 10 films at TIFF has nomads, crusaders, lovers — and Indigenous and Black struggles". Toronto Star.
  10. Lauren Malyk, "In brief: Akilla’s Escape, Queen of the Andes earn prizes at VFF". Playback, February 18, 2021.
  11. "Winners Announced for 19th Annual DGC Awards". Canada NewsWire, October 28, 2020.
  12. Brent Furdyk (March 30, 2021). "Canadian Screen Awards Announces 2021 Film Nominations". ET Canada. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021.
  13. Naman Ramachandran, "‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Blood Quantum’ Triumph at Canadian Screen Awards". Variety, May 21, 2021.
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