Joel ‘Kachi Benson’s Mothers of Chibok Screens at Encounters Documentary Festival
Nigerian filmmaker Joel ‘Kachi Benson’s poignant documentary Mothers of Chibok continues its global tour with a stop at this year’s Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. The acclaimed feature will be screened in Cape Town on June 21 and in Johannesburg a week later, drawing attention back to the tragic 2014 mass abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, while shining a spotlight on the enduring resilience of the mothers left behind.
Now in its 27th edition, Encounters – launched in 1999 – returns this year under the theme, The Frightening Reality of Now, focusing on films that reflect on a world in turmoil, shaped by war, climate crises, and accelerating technological change. The festival runs from June 20 to 30, with public screenings across 40 venues in Johannesburg and Cape Town. It opens today with an invite-only screening of How to Build a Library.
Mothers of Chibok stands out as one of the festival’s most anticipated selections. Benson, alongside the film’s South African cinematographers, Motheo Moeng and Michael Yelseth, will be in attendance for a post-screening dialogue. The trio is expected to engage audiences in discussions around storytelling as a vehicle for healing, education, and social justice—particularly focusing on the intersection of gender, trauma, and agriculture.
The documentary revisits Chibok a decade after the abduction of 276 schoolgirls by the terrorist group Boko Haram. While Benson’s earlier VR short film Daughters of Chibok earned global acclaim—including the prestigious Lion Award for Best VR Story at the 2019 Venice Film Festival—his latest work shifts the narrative from the tragedy to the tenacity of the women left behind.
Following four mothers over the course of a farming season, Mothers of Chibok portrays their efforts to rebuild and sustain their lives and families. The film emphasizes their strength not only as survivors, but as community builders and carriers of hope, determined to shape better futures for their remaining children.
“These women are not defined by loss alone,” Benson says. “They are defined by courage, resilience, and the quiet triumphs of everyday life. Mothers of Chibok shows the full humanity of women who’ve had to find light amid darkness.”
Though the global spotlight on the Chibok kidnappings has dimmed in recent years, the emotional and political reverberations remain. Of the 217 girls kidnapped in April 2014—59 escaped shortly after the incident—more than half are still unaccounted for. A series of mediated negotiations led to the release of 103 girls, but calls for justice and remembrance persist through activism, art, and storytelling.
Premiered in November 2024 at DOC NYC in New York, Mothers of Chibok is not only a call to remember but also a testament to the power of women who, despite enduring unspeakable tragedy, have chosen to cultivate hope.