Directed by Chivas DeVinck • Documentary • 2018 • 99 minutes

Syl Cheney-Coker (author of The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar, which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize) and Niyi Osundare (recipient of the Nigerian National Merit Award, Nigeria’s highest recognition for distinguished academic and creative achievement) are two of Africa’s most respected writers. In this film, they discuss the personal and professional friendship that has nurtured their lives and careers for more than 35 years.

THE POETS accompanies CheneyCoker and Osundare over three weeks, as they return to the landscapes and places that formed their early influences, shaping their writing for decades to come. Whether speaking to admiring high school students, standing in a traditional Nigerian market and comparing it to the alienating experience of shopping in America, or talking politics and censorship in a cab, Osundare and Cheney-Coker are fascinating companions. 

“Wonderful! Viewers will be held captive by the passionate, vivid accounts of the bold, trailblazing poets.” —Tambay A. Obenson, Shadow and Act