Tunde’s family is throwing him a high school graduation party and also falling apart in the process. His mother has started drinking again, his sister won’t speak to him and his older brother persistently berates him with criticism. Sure to invoke further chaos and dysfunction, Tunde has secretly invited his estranged father who has been out of the family picture for more than 10 years.
All this is happening in a film called “August The First,” a festival favorite that is available through streaming service Film Movement Plus, which is helping folks manage their individual stay-at-home orders by offering consumers a 30-day FREE TRIAL and 50 percent off the first month. The service is reasonably priced and has a burgeoning library of more than 450 feature films, docs and shorts — all award-winners from around the globe.
Tunde’s father is African and has been away in Lagos. He accepts an invite to visit, but he has more scandalous intentions. Tunde’s mother is an alcoholic, his grandmother despises his father, whose name is Dipo, and Dipo’s other adult children don’t want to trust him. What ensues is a crazy barbecue that is filled with undercutting, conniving movements and sad flashbacks to days gone by.
Dipo is struggling financially in Lagos, along with his new wife and three young children. Tunde, played by Ian Alsup, has decided that rather than going to business school, he wants to go back to Nigeria with his father, who is played by Dennis Rubin Green.
This decision doesn’t sit well with Tunde’s family members, and deceit abounds in the end. Ultimately, Tunde’s heart is smattered even more than when his father abandoned the family years ago.
Take a look at “August The First,” directed by Lanre Olabisi, while enjoying an extensive, free trial subscription to a streaming service that will take you around the globe—all from the confines of your living room. Search (film movement plus august-the-first).
