The Critics and Pietra Brettkelly’s “Crocodile” is an Assortment of Moments

In 2019, New Zealand-based director Pietra Brettkelly was reading about the difference between Afrofuturism and African futurism when she stumbled on an article about The Critics. That article, her curiosity, and the need to meet a person and research them “in front of the camera” motivated Brettkelly’s journey to Nigeria. The meeting snowballed into the making of a film. That film, which took seven years to make, is Crocodile. Interestingly, the documentary project which centers the Kaduna-based The Critics Company, has screened at Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) for its World Premiere in the Forum Section, Tribeca Film Festival for its North American premiere in the Viewpoints Competition category, Sheffield DocFest, Sofia International Film Festival, and others. It also won the Chopin’s Nose Award (Best Documentary about Art and Music) at the Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland.  

Pietra Brettkelly

In 2019, the Kaduna-based filmmaking collective, The Critics Company (composed of Raymond J. Yusuff, Godwin Josiah, Ronald Yusuff, Victor Josiah, Richard Yusuff, Rachael Yusuff, Rachel Ken, Rejoice Josiah, Raphael (Bobo) Ken) attracted mainstream attention courtesy of the international press coverage. Those coverages highlighted their DIY filmmaking method and deep-seated interest in  creating ambitious sci-fi and thriller short films with limited resources. In those videos, they used broken smartphones, makeshift wooden tripods, and a hand-sown green screen to create impressive sci-fi short films like The Chase, Ogun Ola : War is Coming, The Pseudobulbar Effect (Becoming Joker), and others. 

The five Critics 2 copyright Clan Yujo Limited from left Victor Josiah, Raymond Yusuff, Ronald Yusuff, Richard Yusuff, Godwin Josiah

Their short films reveal a group of young Nigerian teenagers learning to observe, appreciate, and critique their environment. Their work sees them transpose their lived experiences and stories into cinematic expressions. Hollywood figures, including Star Wars director J.J. Abrams, filmmaker Jordan Peele, and Franklin Leonard (founder of The Black List), rewarded them with a shipment of brand-new, professional filmmaking gear to help upgrade their production quality. During this period, they worked as the primary Visual Effects (VFX) team on Kemi Adetiba’s King of Boys: The Return of the Kings and The Surreal 16’s Juju Stories. 

As The Critics and Brettkelly’s Crocodile will reveal, these teenagers were also learning the rudiments of working outside their comfort zone, the politics of Nigerian and world cinema, dealing with sexual abuse, and convincing complacent but supportive family members about their filmmaking dreams. Filmed over a period of 13 years, the documentary charts the journey whilst providing rare footage of intimate and craft-focused conversations with the group and their parents. Crocodile chronicles how The Critics taught themselves cinematography and visual effects using online tutorials and broken-down equipment. Although they are are generous in posting vlogs and videos documenting their daily activities, this documentary carries private moments of doubt, argument, and progress. 

The  evolution in their creative journey is further illustrated in 2023, when they released A Tomb for the Abandoned which shifted away from their signature sci-fi endeavors. The film starts with an overtly political tone: the government has called for the closure of IDP camps. These camps, though rife with squalor and literally a tomb, are a haven for the refugees ostracized from their homes. Playing a frontal role in the short, which tilts towards a documentary-esque stance, are Dahiru, his friend, and other refugees. Although they share similar complaints: no food, water, or a decent house, Dahiru chooses to be vocal about their silent quibble. In a well-framed shot that captures the squalor and peaked anxiety associated with the internally displaced people, the frame, and by extension the film, capture a national yet universal crisis. In this politically-prone short film, The Critics Company teased a pathway the team has decided to follow. Crocodile reveals that there’s a pedantic attention to detail and obsessive interest in cinema that guides their process. Thus, it made sense that after making VFX-studded films, they are now thinking deeply about the films they want to make. 

A Tomb for the Abandoned

Crocodile is an amalgamation of fleeting moments. It’s difficult to confine 13 years of nine teenagers’ lives into an almost-two-hour documentary. Tough decisions had to be made about what got  added or filtered out. Edited by Cushla Dillon, Chia Chi Hsu, and Nicolas Chaudeurge, the documentary offers a seamless watch through the chosen moments in the teenagers lives. The cinematography handled by The Critics, Rachael Yusuff, Basile Carre-Agostini, and David Wills Augustin, allows for varying perspectives and expertise depending on the cinematographer. The documentary, despite the enormous task of limited time frame, almost succeeded in telling The Critics’ story. The film’s success is inhibited by its race against time. By the time the credits rolled, we are left with a fragile narrative about The Critics. 

From arguing about administrative tasks, conversing with Abrams, working on Adetiba’s King of Boys, their first international trip, becoming Nollywood filmmakers or not, experiencing sexual harassment by their manager, and capturing the End Sars’ Protests, the documentary is populated with life and career-defining moments. But the film’s inability to settle in those many moments makes  the documentary an assortment of fragments. Individual moments hold depth and importance, but the narrative’s incapacity or disinterest in comprehensively reflecting on the scenes make  them redundant, melodramatic additions. 

The Critics have entered a new stage in their artistry, as hinted with A Tomb for the Abandoned. The documentary ends  with a premonition of a feature-length project in development. If one watches the documentary hoping to see an audio-visual profile of the Kaduna-based filmmakers, they would leave with a lot of fragmented details.