ZAM Reporter

"Fact is Fiction: What is truth in a world of stories?"

Photo: Film-maker Juul van der Laan adjusts the microphone of Sophie Oluwole

"Wise words mistranslated: What can we learn from a pre-colonial Nigerian philosopher?"

Pre-colonial Nigerian philosophy? What is it all about? What does it tell us? These are questions philosopher Sophie Oluwole and filmmaker Juul van der Laan explore in a new production with a tantalising working title: Fact is Fiction.

It is a new transmedia project inspired by ancient Yorùbá philosophy and an early computer system. While the film is still in the making, you can tag along with the director and follow the developments of the project. Van der Laan started documenting from the moment she stepped on the plane to Nigeria for the first time, late in 2017, to visit Oluwole. For regular updates and insights to the project, sign up to her newsletter and stay tuned.

Juul van der Laan started her career as a documentary film-maker with Multiverse: Ghana. Guided by the Palm wine music and stories of Koo Nimo this film is a creative exploration of science in Ghana. Multiverse: Ghana premiered in 2015 in Amsterdam at an event organised by ZAM. Towards the end of the year the film was screened in Ghana.