“RAPT” takes audiences on a journey to the floating village of Makoko, Nigeria, known as The Venice of Africa. This short film captures the joyous, moving moments of residents' daily lives, and the hidden beauty and unseen sides of a slum town fighting for survival. The Director’s objectives were to inspire, inform and educate viewers about Makoko and Nigerian culture. And to enhance the incredible sound of Kokoroko through emotive film to bring the band’s debut music-video to audiences globally. The brief to elevate Kokoroko’s Afrobeat sound and launch the band globally through a film featuring three tracks from their album “Could We Be More”: Ewà Inú, Home, and Age of Ascent, re-imagines the music as a soundtrack to a triptych of interconnected stories set in Makoko. Noteworthy too is the film’s sensitive and poignant filming of the peoples of Makoko. The city built on stilts is under constant threat being torn down by the Nigerian government. With a light touch, Akinola Jr.’s objective to inspire and educate viewers about its residents' plight was beautifully achieved. Kokoroko'smusic “gifts the listener feelings of homecoming and joy” says the band. The same natural and ultimately joyous tone imbues Akinola's film. Female-led, London-based Afrobeat band, Kokoroko, is simultaneously reviving and reinventing Afrobeat at a time when pop, Hip-Hop, rock, electronic dance music and Latin are the five most popular music genres worldwide. So for the director, shooting the video in Makoko was entirely appropriate. Indeed, the film reimagines the music as a soundtrack to a triptych of interconnected stories set in Makoko - a community originally settled by fishermen excluded from official census records and under threat of demolition, told through a allegorical and enigmatic story. Shot over two days, the film is highly narrative, taking a documentary approach that was sensitive to the peoples of Makoko. Akinola worked with local fixers and a charity to ensure a positive impact for the communities they filmed.

Akinola Davies Jr is a BAFTA nominated and Sundance award- winning Filmmaker, Visual Artist, and Music Curator, whose work spans nations to explore themes of community, race, spirituality, identity and gender, telling stories that bridge the gap between traditional and millennial communities. The British-Nigerian’s first narrative short film ‘Lizard’ premiered at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival and was selected for the Raindance Film Festival. As an individual Akinola was selected for the Berlinale Talents 2020 Collective and was named one of Screen Daily’s ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ alongside Emma Louis Corrin, Paul Mescal and more. In 2021, Akin won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in Short Film for ‘Lizard’ and the short was nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Short Film. Akinola has become a go-to creative in the fashion industry working with brands such as Gucci, Acne Studios, COS, Moncler, Kenzo and Louis Vuitton on multiple creative projects, in front of and behind the camera. Alongside his work in narrative film and fashion, Akin has directed music videos for the likes of Nenah Cherry, Celeste, Larry B and Blood Orange. His beautiful short film Rapt for London band Kokoroko takes viewers on an adventure to Makoko, Nigeria, known as the Venice of Africa. Shot on 35mm film and capturing the moving moments of residents’ daily lives in a city threatened with survival, Rapt simultaneously revived and reinvented the Afrobeat sound for a new generation. It won a D&AD 2023 for Direction/Long Form and was short-listed for Cannes Lions 2023 Excellence in Music Video and AICP 2023 Music Video.