Project Detail

Joy, It's Nina

Synopsis

Shot in England and Nigeria this evocative film builds on the lives of African women living in the UK separated from their families.
The stories are based on news reports and Joy's own life, including voicemails left on her answer-machine by the legendary singer Nina Simone, her self proclaimed ‘Spiritual Mother’.

Details

Year
2012
Type of project
Shorts
Running time
34 mins 20 secs
Format
HDV
Director
Jane Thorburn
Producer
Jane Thorburn
Co-Producer
Joy Elias-Rilwan
Editor
Jane Thorburn
Screenwriter
Joy Elias-Rilwan
Director of Photography
Jane Thorburn
Sound
Jane Thorburn, Aidan McCarthy
Composer
Janes Lascelles
Principal cast
Joy Elias-Rilwan

Production Status

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Psyche Abandoned Psyche Abandoned

Director: Jane Thorburn

Year: 2023

A Magic Realist Documentary. The film weaves together real and mythical events to create connections between the history of the Crystal Palace in London and the sculpture called Psyche Abandoned. The story reveals how a moment in the life of a young woman called Psyche was captured in marble and travelled through time and space to sit in the same park overlooking South London for the last 170 years, while world wars, fires, explosions, royalty, music events, funfairs and circuses have rushed past her in endless succession. This ‘moment’ is the only constant in a story of splendour and spectacle, and like all the best stories, if only half of it is true it is still an incredible tale.

Freud's Lost Lecture Freud's Lost Lecture

Director: Jane Thorburn

Year: 2019

The writer Deborah Levy imagines a lost lecture written by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis.  It investigates an hysterical woman dancing through time, snow leopards lapping milk in the kitchen of Freud’s last house, and a journey under the ground on a ghost train.

Riding Time Riding Time

Director: Roopa Gogineni, Farhaan Mumtaz

Year: 2026

Horse-obsessed Jaleal comes of age on the West Yorkshire moors while carrying forward the ancient cavalry sport of neza bazi. Filmed over three summers, this joyful portrait blows the dust off traditional tales of Empire, migration and belonging. Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2026 - International premiere