Mothers of Chibok’ Wins Willy Brandt Documentary Award

‘

Yinka Olatunbosun

A sour memory is rehashed every April 14th in Nigeria and this year, the date marks 12 years since the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, a moment that once commanded global attention before receding from daily headlines. In that time, the story has continued—quietly and persistently in the lives of the women who remained.

Mothers of Chibok, directed by Joel ‘Kachi’ Benson and executive produced by Joke Silva and Uzo Aduba, returns that story to public consciousness through a focus on enterprise, education, and sustained community rebuilding.

The documentary recently received the Willy Brandt Documentary Film Award at the Human Rights Film Festival in Berlin on April 18, a recognition that underscores both its storytelling and its real-world impact. Receiving the award on Benson’s behalf, a representative noted: “What makes this documentary thoughtful is the long-term commitment behind it. Kachi Benson didn’t just go to Chibok and tell the story—he built years of relationship with the mothers and identified a sustainable way to grow and scale their existing farming businesses. This care goes beyond filmmaking into scalable impact for the Chibok community.”

As part of a strategic and thoughtful approach by the TVC Communications CEO, Victoria Abiola Ajayi, the film was broadcast nationwide on TVC channels on Friday, April 17th and Sunday, April 19, extending its reach beyond cinema audiences into homes across Nigeria.

On Tuesday, April 14, the film was also screened live at TVC Communications Studios in Eko Atlantic, Lagos to mark the exact day 12 years ago that the 276 Chibok schoolgirls were abducted from Girls Government Secondary School, Chibok. The gathering was deliberately structured as both a screening and a civic dialogue. Moderated by Bolanle Olukanni, the evening brought together voices across film, policy, and media, including Aisha Augie and Yinka Obebe.

Following the screening, the conversation moved from storytelling to structure. Benson spoke about the intentional absence of narration in the film and the decision to let the women’s lives unfold without imposed interpretation, an approach shaped by years of proximity and trust. That proximity has extended beyond filmmaking into tangible intervention.

At the heart of the film is a functioning economic system. The mothers fund their children’s education through groundnut farming, a model now being supported through the Uwaosi Rhoda Foundation. In its 2025 pilot phase, nine women have been supported, with a target to expand to 100 in 2026 with the farming season fast approaching. The work at this stage is focused on strengthening farming capacity through inputs such as seeds, fertiliser, irrigation, and technical support, enabling increased yield, household stability, and sustained access to education for their children.

To scale this impact and reach more women, continued support is needed. Individuals and organisations willing to contribute to this effort can do so via www.mothersofchibok.org, where donations directly support the expansion of the initiative and the women at the centre of it.

During the studio taping, this reality was brought into sharp focus. The planting window, Benson explained, is time-sensitive; missing a cycle means losing an entire year of income and school fees. The film, in this sense, operates not just as documentation but as a live intervention point.

Audience participation formed a critical part of the evening. Guests engaged directly with the panel, asked questions, and were invited into the broader responsibility of sustaining the work beyond awareness. The closing call to action was clear: support the women – not as passive subjects but as economic actors, through continued visibility, funding, product purchase, and technical assistance and strategic partnerships.

Joke Silva, reflecting on the film’s trajectory and reception, emphasised the role of storytelling as both mirror and catalyst. Through cinema and now broadcast, she noted, audiences are not only witnessing the women’s lives but are being positioned to respond to them.

What has emerged around Mothers of Chibok is a layered ecosystem: a film that documents, a broadcast that amplifies, and an initiative that builds. From cinema screens to television and digital platforms, the story continues to expand its reach, while remaining grounded in a single idea—that the mothers of Chibok are not defined by what happened to them, but by what they continue to build. The film, the screenings, and the conversations surrounding it all point toward the same conclusion: this is not a closed story, but an ongoing one, and one that now invites participation.

Joel ‘Kachi Benson is a Venice Lion and Emmy Award–winning Nigerian filmmaker and visual storyteller known for his immersive, human-centered documentaries which include the Disney+ Original, Madu, Daughters of Chibok, and now Mothers of Chibok. His work explores themes of identity, resilience, and social justice, often amplifying under-represented voices across Africa. He gained international recognition for his VR documentary Daughters of Chibok, which brought global attention to the lived experiences of the mothers of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls and their community. Through his storytelling, Kachi continues to use film as a tool for empathy, awareness, and impact.