Nigerian short film ‘Vote True’ wins at Cannes
A three-minute short film called “Vote True” has been awarded the Best Voice-Over category at this year’s Cannes World Film Festival (CWFF).
The film was released prior to Nigeria’s 2023 elections and its win at the festival has added to the perception that 2023 could be the year that Nigeria emerges on the global cultural stage.
Directed by David Symmon, a British filmmaker, and released in January 2023, Vote True is a compelling political drama stirring Nigerians to change the directory of the nation using their democratic power.
Toyin Elebe, the founder of Telefectiv Productions, which specializes in documentaries, TV content, and feature films, won the award for the category.
Elebe’s voice, deep like a sage’s and cadenced to compel his listeners, narrates the stirring promise of the nation upon independence and the sour unfulfillment that has followed.
The movie starts with a captivating montage of scenes from Nigeria’s Independence Day in 1960, a moment of expectant hope and optimism for the young nation. Elebe’s camera captures the vibrant colours and lively energy of Nigerians as they commemorate their newfound independence. However, the film immediately contrasts these images with current scenes of the country’s struggles, including corruption, poverty, and insecurity.
Elebe then introduces us to a cast of ordinary Nigerians who are determined to make a difference. There is the “grandfather who helped in the construction of new roads, connecting Nigerians during the colonial period — the entrepreneurial father who believed in his country’s enormous potential but never saw it in his lifetime and the hard-working women, undeterred by challenges faced and yet able to raise families and other people’s children as if they were their own”.
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Through the stories of these individuals, Elebe shows that change is possible — that it is up to each of us to play our part in building a better future for Nigeria.
Solid as a rock, yet upbeat, the middle-aged business executive and film producer is passionate about Nigeria and firmly believes that the nation has the potential to be a first-world country. His ambitions are to amplify African voices and storytelling on the global stage in order to rebrand the continent and unlock her potential.
X3M Ideas Group, one of the leading creative agencies in Nigeria, also won Nigeria’s first Cannes Lions International Festival for Creativity. This is a clear sign Nigeria’s creative industry is on the rise and Nigerian creatives are capable of competing on the global stage. The festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, was awarded to the French film Anatomy of a Fall directed by Justine Triet.
Elebe stated that Vote True has not only won the Best Voice-Over at the CWFF; it won the Grand Jury Award at the New York International Film Awards for Best Director, and Best Actor at the Berlin Indie Film Festival.
“The film has also been nominated as a finalist at the Boden International Film Festival in Sweden and The Lisbon Film Rendezvous in Lisbon, Portugal,” Elebe said.
Elebe and Symmons are working on more projects through their Telefectiv on a tentpole film franchise. the team has been encouraged by the success of Vote True.
