Director: Joanna Lipper | Countries: USA / Nigeria | Runtime: 75 min | International Sales: Cinephil
Synopsis
In 1993, Nigeria held a historic election that promised to end years of military dictatorship. The winner, M.K.O. Abiola, was imprisoned before he could take office. When his wife, Kudirat Abiola, took up the leadership of the pro-democracy movement, she too became a target — and was assassinated in 1996.
The Supreme Price follows their daughter, Hafsat Abiola, as she carries her parents’ legacy forward — working to transform the role of women in Nigerian politics and to build a democratic culture in Africa’s most populous nation. Director Joanna Lipper weaves family history, national tragedy, and a deeply personal portrait of courage into a sweeping account of one woman’s fight to change a country.
The film is at once an intimate family story and a broad examination of corruption, gender, and the unfinished struggle for democracy — a portrait of political inheritance and the price paid by those who refuse to look away.
Awards & Festival Selections
- Tribeca Film Festival — Gucci Tribeca Spotlighting Women Documentary Award
- Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) — Best Documentary
- Human Rights Watch Film Festival
- Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
- Aspen Ideas Festival — Closing Night (2014)
Press
“A powerful portrait of political courage and the cost of standing up to corruption.”
— Film Society of Lincoln Center
Distribution & licensing enquiries →
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