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Akilla’s Escape

Director Charles Officer
Year 2020
Run Time 90min
Genre Drama, Thriller
Akilla (Williams), a 40-year-old drug dealer, goes on an epic one-night journey to find the gang that ambushed him during a drug deal and stole a major shipment. His only lead is one of the robbers, a teenage gang member he captured named Sheppard (Mpumlwana) who reminds him of his younger self (also played by Mpumlwana). Through glimpses of his childhood, we see the seemingly inescapable vortex of intergenerational violence that Akilla finds himself in. As the story reaches its thrilling climax, it begs the question: what will it take for the cycle to break?

Akilla’s Escape premiered at TIFF in 2020 and went on to win 5 Canadian Screen Awards.

Akilla’s Escape is a profound, tender reworking of the crime thriller” – Melissa Vincent, The Globe and Mail

Director

Charles Officer

Actor, writer and filmmaker Officer’s first feature, Nurse.Fighter.Boy, was nominated for 10 Genies, winning one. Officer also directed the docs Mighty Jerome, The Skin We're In, Unarmed Verses, and Invisible Essence: The Little Prince, as well as the feature Akilla's Escape, which won five CSAs. He has recently directed episodes of Coroner, and executive produced and co-directed The Porter. He’s also the executive producer of the upcoming docs The Art of Dance and Emmanuel.

Writers

Charles Officer, Wendy Motion Braithwaite

Cast

Saul Williams, Thamela Mpumlwana, Donisha Rita Claire Prendergast, Colm Feore

Producer

Jake Yanowski

Genres

Drama, Thriller

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Black Filmmaker, Family Relationships, Newcomer Stories, Social Justice & Politics

Original Language

English

Canadian Distributor

levelFILM