Akilla's Escape

{{Short description|2020 Canadian drama film}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Akilla's Escape

| image = Akillas_escape_xlg.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Charles Officer

| producer = Jake Yanowski

| writer = {{ubl|Charles Officer|Wendy Motion Brathwaite}}

| starring = {{ubl|Saul Williams|Thamela Mpumlwana|Donisha Prendergast|Vic Mensa}}

| music = {{ubl|Robert Del Naja|Saul Williams}}

| cinematography = Maya Bankovic

| editing = Andres Landau

| studio = Canesugar Filmworks

| distributor = {{ubl|Vertical Entertainment|Level Film}}

| runtime = 90 minutes

| released = {{film date|2020|09|12|TIFF|ref1={{cite web|url=https://www.tiff.net/events/akillas-escape|title=Akilla's Escape|work=TIFF|access-date=5 September 2020}}}}

| country = {{ubl|Canada|United States}}

| language = English

| budget =

}}

Akilla's Escape is a 2020 drama film, directed by Charles Officer,Radheyan Simonpillai, [https://nowtoronto.com/movies/news-and-features/planet-africa-25-years-tiff-2020 "Planet Africa returns for TIFF 2020"]Now August 25, 2020. his final feature prior to his death in 2023. 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.

The film, which Officer began writing in 2010, was inspired by the police crackdown on the Toronto chapter of the Shower Posse crime gang. Its cast also includes Vic Mensa, Oluniké Adeliyi, Donisha Prendergast, 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,Rachel West, [https://web.archive.org/web/20201129042019/https://etcanada.com/news/683455/tiff-unveils-more-films-including-david-oyelowos-directorial-debut-in-conversation-with-halle-berry-saoirse-ronan-more/ "TIFF Unveils More Films, Including David Oyelowo’s Directorial Debut, In Conversation With Halle Berry, Saoirse Ronan, More"]. ET Canada, August 25, 2020. 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.{{Cite web|title=Akilla's Escape|url=https://www.academy.ca/tag/akillas-escape/|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Academy.ca|language=en-US}}

Reception

{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|79|6.8|48|Akilla's Escape occasionally loses sight of its strongest assets, but solid acting and a smart story make this a neo-noir worth watching.}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/akillas_escape|title=Akilla's Escape|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date=December 3, 2023|archive-url=|archive-date=}}

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."Norman Wilner, [https://www.straight.com/movies/viff-review-akillas-escape-puts-a-grounded-spin-on-gangland-thriller "VIFF review: Akilla’s Escape puts a grounded spin on the gangland thriller"]. The Georgia Straight, September 14, 2020.

The Los Angeles Times wrote "The film remains firmly rooted in Williams' quietly powerful and laser focused performance."{{Cite web|date=2021-06-10|title=Review: 'Akilla's Escape' mines socio-political context of Toronto's Jamaican community|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-06-10/review-akillas-escape-mines-socio-political-context-of-torontos-jamaican-community|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}

The Film Stage included it in their list of "The Best Films from Venice, TIFF, and NYFF 2020",{{Cite web|date=September 28, 2020|title=The Best Films from Venice, TIFF, and NYFF 2020|url=https://thefilmstage.com/the-best-films-from-venice-tiff-and-nyff-2020/|website=The Film Stage|language=en-US}} and the Toronto Star named it as one of the ten best films at the festival.{{Cite web|date=September 17, 2020|title=My top 10 films at TIFF has nomads, crusaders, lovers — and Indigenous and Black struggles|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/opinion/2020/09/17/my-top-10-films-at-tiff-has-nomads-crusaders-lovers-and-indigenous-and-black-struggles.html|website=Toronto Star|author=Peter Howell|language=en}}

= Awards and nominations =

class="wikitable"

|+

!Award

!Date of Ceremony

!Category

!Nominees

!Result

!Reference

Victoria Film Festival

|February 14, 2021

|Best Canadian Feature

|Akilla's Escape

|{{won}}

|Lauren Malyk, [https://playbackonline.ca/2021/02/18/in-brief-akillas-escape-queen-of-the-andes-earn-prizes-at-vff/ "In brief: Akilla’s Escape, Queen of the Andes earn prizes at VFF"]. Playback, February 18, 2021.

Directors Guild of Canada Awards

|

|Achievement in Production Design

|Akilla's Escape

|{{won}}

|[https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/winners-announced-for-19th-annual-dgc-awards-841630985.html "Winners Announced for 19th Annual DGC Awards"]. Canada NewsWire, October 28, 2020.

rowspan="8" |Canadian Screen Awards

| rowspan="8" |May 20, 2021

|Best Actor

|Saul Williams

|{{nom}}

|rowspan=8|{{Cite web|title=Canadian Screen Awards Announces 2021 Film Nominations|url=https://etcanada.com/news/762082/canadian-screen-awards-announces-2021-film-nominations/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330161247/https://etcanada.com/news/762082/canadian-screen-awards-announces-2021-film-nominations/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 30, 2021|author=Brent Furdyk|date=March 30, 2021|website=ET Canada|language=en-US}}Naman Ramachandran, [https://variety.com/2021/tv/global/schitts-creek-blood-quantum-canadian-screen-awards-1234978520/ "‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Blood Quantum’ Triumph at Canadian Screen Awards"]. Variety, May 21, 2021.

rowspan=2|Best Supporting Actor

|Thamela Mpumlwana

|{{nom}}

Ronnie Rowe Jr.

|{{nom}}

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

{{reflist}}