THE LEGEND OF THE VAGABOND QUEEN OF LAGOS

Jawu lives in one of the stilt settlements in the Lagos lagoon. Corrupt officials and politicians, in league with gangs and the local elite, are planning to drive thousands from their ancestral homes on the water. The spirit of the warrior king Egbaezen, who takes the form of a grey parrot, has chosen Jawu for a task she never wanted, setting off a chain of events that will change her life and that of her community. “The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos” by the Agbajowo Collective (Nigeria, 2024) combines social thriller and legend and is based on the destruction of the Otodo-Gbame settlement in 2017.

The collective, a coalition of residents of the water settlements and filmmakers, tells its story from within a community fighting its own erasure, taking aim at housing rights, land grabbing and political corruption alike. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2024, in the Berlinale Spotlight WCF section.

Shown at the 2024 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.

All films 2024 · Film Archive