Èkún Omi and Femi Bajulaye’s Yoruba Aesthetic Vision

Femi Bajulaye's 'Ekun Omi Tears of desert water', 2025 / IMDB.

THE MINISTRY OF ARTS / FILM DEPT.

When Femi Bajulaye started writing a couple of short stories and developing a series of paintings, making a film wasn’t the active and primal intention. Then, in 2016, he was responding to the growing number of Africans leaving their countries illegally due to the social, political and economic uncertainties. This economic and political crisis inspired Èkún Omi: The Fatigue of Black Anatomy, one of the paintings he created during this period. As the multidisciplinary artist told me in a recent interview, the painting served as a catalyst for understanding the political effects of migration. As a Nigerian migrant himself, to continue the conversation around migration in his artistic work, Bajulaye curated a couple of short stories which he paired with paintings. After showing these paintings and stories to his brother, actor Emmanuel Oluwaseyi Bajulaye, the idea to make a film was conceived. Almost immediately, he started working on a script that weaves the memories of loss, love, longing, the death of the past and future and a search for understanding through spirituality. That idea birthed Èkún Omi, Bajulaye’s directorial debut short film, which premiered and screened online from 27 to 29 June 2025 at Diversity in Cannes—a prestigious platform that celebrates underrepresented voices in global cinema. Its selection underscores the film’s power as a compelling narrative that resonates across cultures.