“Pasa Faho” had been rated as one of the “Ten Best Films to see at the Melbourne International Film Festival” that was held in August.
This film, coming out of Australia, is also on the slate for the 61st Chicago International Film Festival that runs from October 15 through October 26. It appears in the Black Perspectives Comedy category.
In the heart of suburban Melbourne, a quiet Nigerian shoe salesman named Azubuike leads a humble life, selling soles while attempting to stay connected with his sister and their close-knit Igbo Christian congregation.
Experiencing a recent waning of faith, fueled by an unexpected financial setback, Azubuike begins to interrogate not only his spiritual identity but also his purpose in life. At the same time, he must attempt to forge closer ties with his distant yet perceptive adolescent son Obinna, who has just begun living with him full time.
The title is a play on words meaning ‘parts of a whole.’
“Pasa Faho” will screen on Saturday, October 25, at 5:45 p.m. at AMC NEWCITY 14. The film stars award-winning prominent Nigerian stand-up comedian and Nollywood actor Okey Bakassi as the dad, and Tyson Palmer as the son.
I was able to ask Tyson a few questions about his first leading role—seeing that he is just a young teen.
“When they told me I had the part, I was so excited, grateful and nervous about the opportunity. It was something I had been working toward,” Tyson said. “I felt the character Obinna was someone I could really relate to, coming from a mixed-race family and through my relationship with my dad.”
He noted that wrapping up the film at the end was hard and also the breaks that he had to take for his schooling. “That was a bit frustrating when I was in the zone, so I can only imagine how the team felt having to stop all the time.”
Tyson had excelled in short films and commercials or as an extra before, and this opportunity brought more responsibility.
“I’m so thankful it was with Kalu [Kalu Oji, the writer/director] and Okey—they are amazing! They taught me so much, and I’m so glad my first major experience was with them.”
Finally, Tyson spoke to the theme of father/son dynamics, which is one of the main issues in “Pasa Faho.” He said: “I know as teenagers we get busy in our own lives—hanging with friends, having fun, just trying to fit in somewhere. We rarely stop to think about how our dads are doing. We don’t see the struggles and sacrifices they make for us so we can have a better life.
“Dads are never going to be perfect, and just because they are tougher on you or don’t show love the way other dads do, doesn’t mean they love you any less. We need to take the time to show them how much we love and appreciate everything they do. Check in with them every now and then.”
Another film premiering at the Festival is “Pinpoint,” a short film about a struggling medical student who is driven by an unruly professor and an unusual fascination with anatomy. But nevertheless Wolfe races to become top of his class alongside drug-coping classmates.
It will have its World Premiere at a screening in the Shorts 1: After Dark category on Friday, October 17, at AMC NEWCITY 14, 1500 N. Clybourne Ave., at 10:45 p.m. and again on Monday, October 20, at 3 p.m.
The film stars Michael Merlino, a 23-year-old actor and filmmaker originally from Chicago, and it was shot across the city in medical facilities, apartment laundry units, and at The University of Chicago.
Wolfe finds a way to impress the class with his cadaver-cutting skills after a surreptitious overdose of a college student the night before.
This short is a grungy thriller about a fractured educational system, opioid epidemic and U.S. violence. “Pinpoint” has some gory content and was a weird, interesting look into scalpels and incisions. But one thing is for sure—Wolfe was talk of the class the next day.
Merlino said his film was a reaction to America’s intertwined issues of the above and the mental health crisis. “I wanted to highlight these problems through a gritty, frenetic and often claustrophobic lens.
“At the core, I wanted to show how some institutions can indirectly neglect immoral behavior and the personal well-being of their students, as long as it continues to breed success.”
For me, the drug epidemic among students is a valid scope, because medical students may often turn to illegal substitutes to stave off the academic stressors.
For more information about these two and the abundance of other films at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival, visit chicagofilmfestival.com.