The Supreme Price

NEW DOCS

In 1993, Nigeria elected M.K.O. Abiola as president in a historic vote that promised to end years of military dictatorship. Shortly after the election, however, Abiola was imprisoned as another military regime assumed power, and his wife, Kudirat, took over the leadership of the pro-democracy movement, organizing strikes and marches and winning international attention for the Nigerian struggle. Because of this work, she too became a target and was assassinated in 1996. Director Joanna Lipper elegantly dovetails past and present as she tells this story through the eyes of Hafsat Abiola, who was about to graduate from Harvard when her mother was murdered (her father died in prison two years later). Determined not to let her parents’ ideals die with them, Hafsat has dedicated her adult life to continuing their fight for democracy. Returning to Nigeria after years abroad, she is at the forefront of a progressive movement to empower women and dismantle the patriarchal structure of Nigerian society. The Supreme Price is an unprecedented and personal look at the Abiola story—which is still unfolding.  RM

Director

Joanna Lipper

Producer

Joanna Lipper

Editors

Geoff Richman, Tina Grapenthin, Ali Muney

Cinematographers

Rick Sands, Lisa Rinzler, Joanna Lipper

Release Year

2014

Festival Year

2014

Country

United States, Nigeria

Run Time

75 minutes

Premiere

World Premiere