Nigerian Filmmaker Dolapo Aderinokun Highlights Untold Stories of Hope
In The Unusual Partners, two religious leaders from different faiths lead their people on a journey of reconciliation.
Pastor James and Imam Ashafa were former members of competing militias in Nigeria who experienced personal losses through religious violence, but the painful experience brought them together as they formed a friendship that has facilitated transformations through their cooperative work to head the Interfaith Mediation Centre in Kaduna.
This documentary highlights the impact these heroes have made through their work, building relationships between Muslim and Christian clergy and leading training in conflict prevention, mediation, and reconciliation.
About the Filmmaker
Dolapo Aderinokun is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and multimedia journalist from Lagos, Nigeria. She is currently the Lagos correspondent for TRT World, a Turkish news platform.
After beginning her career as a TV presenter and red carpet host in 2014, Dolapo found a passion for documentary filmmaking. Her voice reaches out to both young and old, offering a fresh and dynamic approach to the world of storytelling, disrupting the norm as she uses documentary film to tell the untold stories.
Stories Reaching Thousands Around the World
We originally connected with Dolapo through our 2024 Nigeria Media Training Fellowship. This free 6-month training guided participants to create a short film through a series of lessons, homework, production planning, and script writing. It was our pleasure to collaborate with Dolapo on her project.
In July 2024, Dolapo’s film, My Liberty, won the $500 Second Runner-Up prize in EWM’s Religious Freedom Film Competition. Our team went on to share the film at the Jos and Abuja film festivals and various human rights training sessions across Nigeria.
This documentary displays how people can flourish when one has the right to change their own religion. Persevering through struggle and rejection, one’s new found faith can ultimately lead to liberty and joy.
Dolapo looks to the future with a refined vision to share more of these important stories – in Nigeria and around the world.