ALL THE COLOURS OF THE WORLD ARE BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE

BABATUNDE APALOWO | NIGERIA | 2023 | 92 MIN | YORUBA + ENGLISH S.-T.EN.

An ambitious delivery driver and the manager of a betting shop with artistic aspirations get to know one another during excursions in deeply homophobic Lagos, Nigeria. The choreography of courtship and separation manifested in this thoughtfully composed drama, the winner of the Berlinale’s Teddy Award.

Bambino (Tope Tedela) and Bawa (Riyo David) have both lost loved ones. There is harassment in the streets and neighbours beg for money. A married couple fights through the thin walls of Bambino’s apartment. Nevertheless, the two men find comfort in one another, Bawa practicing his photographic craft as the two explore the diverse beauty of Lagos’ natural and architectural allures. In Bambino’s darkened apartment, they touch and the electricity returns. And, with a rush of danger, Bambino begins to Google “how to know if I’m…” All the Colours has the sensibilities of classic French cinema, its flair of invention and situational resonances. Through the camera lens we see Bambino and Bawa, but they also seem to see us, implicating the audience in their shared humanity. Both desperately wanting to bare themselves in a society that wants to cover over their existence.

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