RHAPSODY IN WHITE

The Eyo Festival of downtown Lagos is 300 years old. One of Nigeria's most remarkable cultural ceremonies, it is kept alive by Christians, Muslims and adherents of indigenous religion. This documentary is a behind-the-scenes look at the week-long series of rituals and processions that leads to the grand finale, attended by several thousands of guests and participants.

  • Pelu Awofeso
    Director
  • Pelu Awofeso
    Writer
  • Homestead Media & Publishing
    Producer
  • Eyo masquerades
    Key Cast
  • Daniel Dawodu
    Video
  • Temitope Omobola Stephen
    Translation
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    20 hours 14 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    June 15, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    2,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Nigeria
  • Country of Filming:
    Nigeria
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Camera
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Pelu Awofeso

Pelu Awofeso is a winner of the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist Awards in the Tourism reporting category. He started out as a freelance columnist for the state-owned Standard newspaper in Jos (Plateau State), after which he moved to Africa Today as Arts & Travel Correspondent, Network Africa (as Editor) and National Daily (as Travel Editor).

In 2009 he launched a travel project tagged “The Beautiful Underbelly Tour”, during which travelled solo across Nigeria’s six geographical regions. His stories and photographs from that 10-month journey are collected in his third travel book Tour of Duty.

And in a career spanning nearly 15 years, he has travelled widely around Nigeria—32 states at the last count—documenting several indigenous festivals and carnivals; his other travel interests include museums, monuments, nature, crafts and the daily pursuits of everyday Nigerians.

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Director Statement

I have wanted to do a documentary of the Eyo Festival since 2003, when I first experienced it as a cub reporter. I had the opportunity to fulfill this dream just weeks ago, in May 2017. The festival does not only rank as one of the most colourful cultural ceremonies in Nigeria, it is a statement in cultural excellence and preservation; and it is a festival i recommend highly to the world's culture vultures.