UK and Nigeria / 1997 / 20mins / Drama / English

Mordecai and Margaret have both sought refuge in London from the political unrest in Nigeria. Their lives are punctuated by television newsreel of the capture and then state execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a political activist in their home country. The flickering light from the television and chilling soundtrack suggests at once the poetic and the banality of their lives. While outside their tenement flat, the chaotic streets of Brixton press in on their isolation. Shot in cinema verité documentary style, One Sunday Morning is a striking, unforgettable film that casts the plight of asylum seekers in a humane light without moralizing or ranting.

Manu Kurewa

Born in Zimbabwe in 1965, Manu Kurewa is a filmmaker based in the UK. His background is in community touring theatre, where he worked extensively with youth groups to create plays that voiced community concerns. Kurewa attended a directing course at the National Film and Television School in England where he made three short films including One Sunday Morning (1997) and Mangwana (1998, Cannes Film Festival). He has since been commissioned to adapt a successful Harare stage play, Waiters, into a ZBC television series back in 2000, and completed a half-hour drama entitled Small Love, for Scottish television. The film is about two youths suffering from mental health problems. Learn More