Icarus Films: Trouble Sleep

Directed by Alain Kassanda

Included on DVD release Colette and Justin.

Kassanda’s freewheeling urban portrait follows two young men, Fred and Akin, as they navigate the crowded roadways of Ibadan, Nigeria’s third largest city. Engineering graduate Fred is beginning a new job as a taxi driver, while Akin patrols a busy intersection collecting tax for the National Transport Union. As they traverse the frenetic streets, the systems and networks that underlie the city begin to be exposed, revealing the order that lies beneath all the noise and apparent chaos. Punctuated by exuberant musical sequences, TROUBLE SLEEP is a dynamic, impressionistic city symphony that uncovers the unwritten rules governing the seeming chaos of Ibadan’s streets.

Visions du Réel 2020

DOK Leipzig 2020

Doc Point 2021

41 minutes / Color
English; Yoruba / English subtitles
Release: 2020
Copyright: 2020

For individual consumers (home video)

This DVD is sold for private, home use only.

This title is also available online from:

For colleges, universities, government agencies, hospitals and corporations

Subject areas:
Africa, Central Africa, Urban Studies, Urban Planning, Cultural Studies, Cultural Anthropology

Watch the trailer:

Related Titles:

Colette and Justin
A filmmaker interviews his grandparents about their experience of Belgian colonialism.

The Poets
The Poets follows two acclaimed West African poets, and lifelong friends, Syl Cheney-Coker and Niyi Osundare as they travel through their home countries of Sierra Leone and Nigeria to explore what has shaped their art.

Coconut Head Generation
In Nigeria, a group of students from the University of Ibadan organize a film club and transform a small classroom into a space for conversation and impassioned debate.