Joel Kachi Benson is a Nigerian documentary filmmaker and virtual reality content creator. In 2019, he produced Daughters of Chibok, a virtual reality film on the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping. He is the Creative Director of virtual reality film studios VR360 Stories in Lagos, Nigeria.
At the 2019 Venice International Film Festival, his film "Daughters of Chibok," won the Best VR Story award becoming the first African to win the award. Kachi Benson was named among the New African Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential Africans. In February 2020, Daughters of Chibok, was listed on the Forbes Top 50 XR Experiences of 2019.
His VR documentaries were exhibited in an immersive experience at the inaugural edition of IMPART. He was also a speaker on a Panel session titled “the opportunities of VR and AR in Africa” at the event
In this episode of Pink Bench, we talked to Joel about his work documenting Africa through creativity.
Guests at IMPART experiencing ‘daughters of chibok’ in VR
Q: Why is it important for Africans to tell our own story?
One of the first things that my teacher taught me is that ALL ART IS PROPAGANDA. As filmmakers in training he constantly emphasized the need for us to “have an agenda”, for every story that we wanted to tell, especially as filmmakers of African descent. This lesson has stayed with me all these years and guides my approach to storytelling. Thus, I believe it’s so important for us as Africans to tell our own story, especially if we fully understand our propaganda and agenda. Because only Africans can tell the sort of stories that truly uplift Africa!
Q: How truly relevant is the African story and are creatives getting any closer to having a say on how the African story and history is told?
The African story is very relevant today, because it is a story that over a billion people, globally, can identify with. Beyond this it has been said in some circles that Africa is the last unexplored frontier, so it still holds a lot of mythical wonders for the rest of world. The question about if creatives are getting any closer to having a say on how the African story and history is told is debatable, but I believe that, just like Black Panther was able to achieve, African creatives have a responsibility to use film to correct centuries of misinformation and falsehoods that have been peddled about Africa to the world.
“Sometimes I hear “oh it’s somewhat local, let’s try to make it global”. I struggle to understand what that really means, because every story can be local…or global…just depends on the lens through which you look at it.”
(L-R) Obinna Okerekeocha, Joel Benson, Sam Uduma and Joshua Okonoboh as panelists at the first edition of IMPART
Q: What impact does being African have on your creative practice?
The greatest impact that being African has on my creative practice is that it gives me a certain confidence that only I, and other African creatives like me have, we have what it takes to tell truly authentic African stories. Africa is in us; we understand the culture, the dance, and the nuances. And if we try hard enough, we can get access to places that strangers may never be able to get into. This gives us a powerful advantage to tell stories out of Africa like no one else can.
Q: What are the major challenges you face as an African creative working with African themes?
Sometimes I hear “oh it’s somewhat local, let’s try to make it global”. I struggle to understand what that really means, because every story can be local…or global…just depends on the lens through which you look at it. So, my resolve is to follow my heart and tell the stories that I want to tell as honestly as I can.
A guest enjoying virtual reality documentaries at IMPART
IMPART, an intersection of the most diverse art and innovative technology in Africa highlights the growth of the African creative sector and places it in the global discourse.
In a bid to democratize and raise the value of African art, IMPART connects emerging and established artists directly with buyers and collectors from different parts of the globe.
IMPART is an initiative of Lasmara Ltd.