Akilla’s Escape

Akilla (Williams), a 40-year-old drug dealer, goes on an epic one-night journey to find the gang that ambushed him during a drug deal and stole a major shipment. His only lead is one of the robbers, a teenage gang member he captured named Sheppard (Mpumlwana) who reminds him of his younger self (also played by Mpumlwana). Through glimpses of his childhood, we see the seemingly inescapable vortex of intergenerational violence that Akilla finds himself in. As the story reaches its thrilling climax, it begs the question: what will it take for the cycle to break?

Akilla’s Escape premiered at TIFF in 2020 and went on to win 5 Canadian Screen Awards.

“Akilla’s Escape is a profound, tender reworking of the crime thriller” – Melissa Vincent, The Globe and Mail