African Apocalypse
British Nigerian, Femi Nylander, brings attention to the forgotten victims of colonial atrocity in a new film, African Apocalypse, from award-winning director, Rob Lemkin
Activist Femi Nylander unearths the shocking reality of Joseph Conrad’s seminal work, ‘Heart of Darkness.’ African Apocalypse follows the trail of a 19th century French colonial military commander who burned his way across Africa. Tens of thousands were massacred in the name of imperial domination. With communities still devastated by a century old atrocity speaking out for the first time, Nylander begins to question his own sense of belonging.
The Filmmakers
‘In African Apocalypse we wanted to show how the violence of colonialism is not limited to history. It continues to shape the modern world. When we first left for Niger, colonial history to many in the west was little more than a topic for intellectual debate. But by the time we returned it had moved to the centre of world events.’
ROB LEMKIN

Rob Lemkin
Writer and Director
Writer and Director
Rob Lemkin has produced and directed over 50 documentaries for BBC, C4 and other broadcasters in the UK and US. His last feature film, ‘Enemies of the People’ (2010) was a ground-breaking account of the Killing Fields of Cambodia, winning Special Jury Prize at Sundance, Best Documentary BIFA and Emmy for Best Investigative Documentary.
Femi Nylander
Featured narrator, co-writer
Featured narrator, co-writer
Femi Nylander is an activist, poet and actor of African descent hailing from Manchester in the UK. In 2016 he graduated from the University of Oxford.
Recent works include writing and performing two critically-acclaimed TED talk poems, on migration and decolonial public health. Femi has appeared on the BBC’s Big Questions, Daily Politics and ‘The One Show’ to discuss decolonial history.
Amina Weira
Featured guide
Featured guide
Amina Weira was born in Niger and grew up in the northern city of Arlit. She holds a master’s degree in creative documentary film making from the Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis in Senegal. Her first short, made in 2011, was La Musique de Film.
Explore some of the stories and issues we touch on in the film and how Voulet’s legacy continues to shape lives today
“African Apocalypse is a visually compelling, visceral experience that seeks to understand how our colonial past shapes our present with a passionate conviction that it doesn’t define our future”
” A brutal and timely indictment of colonialism that never shies away from the horrifying terrorism Africans endured under colonial rule”
