Africa Film Fest Australia: I Do Not Come To You By Chance Opening Night

  • Cinema
  • Playhouse
  • Run time – 104 minutes, no intervals
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A universal story of family, ambition and greed, set in the dark underbelly world of email scamming

Nigeria | 2023 | English and Igbo | Comedy | PG

Kingsley has the smarts but no prospects for a job after university. Burdened with family responsibilities, he turns to his charismatic uncle, an email scammer who lures him into a web of deceit — a decision that will change the course of his life. Winner of the Africa International Film Festival Audience Choice Award, presented in Lagos, Nigeria.

Based on Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani's best seller I Do Not Come to You by Chance, the film tells the story of Kingsley, a first-born son, who struggles to provide for his beloved family when his ailing father's income dwindles. Possessed of a fine mind but poorly connected in the Nigerian job market, Kingsley takes a job working for his notorious uncle, Cash Daddy, the larger-than-life mastermind of a thousand email scams. As Kingsley falls reluctantly under his mentor's spell, he discovers his own innate flair for the art of the confidence trick.

Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book, and the Betty Trask First Book Award, I Do Not Come to You by Chance was named by The Washington Post as one of the Best Books of 2009 and described as "a lively, good-humored and provocative examination of the truth behind a global inbox of deceit."

Director Ishaya Bako’s passion for filmmaking cuts across fiction and documentary narratives. He studied filmmaking at the London Film School where he graduated with a distinction and has since gone on to direct over a dozen short films and two award winning documentaries – ‘Fuelling Poverty’ and ‘Silent Tears’. His films have been screened at film festivals in Seattle, Durban, New York, Toronto, Lagos, and Clermont-Ferrand.

Screening on opening night as part of Africa Film Fest Australia 2025

Presented by Sydney Opera House and Africa Film Fest Australia, a project of Arts & Cultural Exchange

Event details

A fresh dramatic comedy about the true price of poverty and the disappearing line between right and wrong.

Official Selection, 2023 Toronto International Film Festival

Cast and credits

Directed by
Ishaya Bako

Written by
Chika Anadu and Ishaya Bako

Cast
Paul Nnadiekwe
Blossom Chukwujekwu
Funny Bone
Francis Duru

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  • Theatre

Attending this event

Plan your visit

Address

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Getting to the venue

The Opera House is a 7-10 minute walk from Circular Quay, and is easily accessible by car, train, ferry, lightrail, bus, bike and on foot.

Location and access

Playhouse

The Playhouse is located in the north-western corner of Sydney Opera House, best accessed through the Western Foyers.

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