The Art & Tech Podcast: Episode 03

“I was there”: The Power of Immersive Storytelling

In this episode we talk to Joel ‘Kachi Benson, a documentary filmmaker and virtual reality content creator, about the power of empathy, activism, and how best to tell stories and document histories using the medium of virtual reality films. 

Joel ‘Kachi Benson is passionate about stories and has been making documentary movies for over a decade. In February 2018, he was introduced to the world of Virtual Reality and became the first Nigerian filmmaker to use this technology for storytelling, when he produced “In Bakassi” - a virtual experience of life in one of the largest IDP Camps in Northeast Nigeria.

In April 2019, ‘Kachi Benson produced his second VR film, “Daughters of Chibok”, a film that takes viewers into the heart of one of the unsolved mysteries of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

“Daughters of Chibok” made history in September 2019, when it won the Venice Lion at the Venice Film Festival, making ‘Kachi Benson the first African to win the prestigious prize in the Virtual Reality category.

‘Kachi Benson has received formal and informal film training from the Central Film School London, Legacy Media Institute, Virginia USA; National Film & Television School, Beaconsfield UK, and StillMotion in Portland, USA.

In December 2019, he was named among the New African Magazine’s 2019 Top 100 Most Influential Africans. He lives and works in Nigeria where he manages JB Multimedia Studios and VR360 Stories.