01

THE PROJECT

Shot on Location in West Africa, ‘Streets of Lagos’ provides a rare insight into the lives of Nigeria’s first generation of rollerbladers. What was once a niche sport that saw widespread participation across the globe in the 90’s has emerged in 2020 as a fringe subculture in the streets of Lagos. Originally used as a way to navigate the city’s dense traffic, today, a select few use their skates as a form of self expression, something which can be hard to find in what is one of the toughest cities in the world.

A Film by | DOM WEST

Starring | DANIEL OGBOGU & BRIAN FREEMAN

Soundtrack | ROB LAW & MUSIC BED

Shot on location | LAGOS, NIGERIA | Run time | 12 Minutes

02

THE FILM

This 12 minute short is the latest in a series of passion projects that Dom West has produced, directed and edited, documenting the sport that he is most passionate about. Dom spent 1 week in Lagos, Nigeria in November 2019, embedded with the local inline skating community, in order to capture and share their unique story to the world. Although the film focuses on what is considered a niche activity, the themes and sentiments expressed in the story are universal.

03

THE LOCATION

Lagos is Nigeria’s largest and most populous city, sprawling inland from the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. Lagos is a major financial centre for all of Africa and is considered the economic hub of the continent. The megacity has the fourth-highest GDP in Africa and houses one of the largest seaports. Despite being one of the fastest growing cities, it is also considered to be one of the least liveable places in the world.

04

BEHIND THE SCENES

Shooting in Nigeria posed several problems that had to be considered carefully prior to the trip. Travelling to West Africa as a tourist is generally not advised due to the high crime rate and risk of kidnapping, particularly when taking expensive camera equipment. It’s therefore normally advised to be accompanied by armed security. However, for this shoot Dom made the decision to go solo in order to capture the story in its truest form. For this reason the gear used was stripped back to the bare essentials, shooting only on a small mirrorless camera with little to no accessories. The majority of the film was shot handheld whilst on inline skates, with the exception of some gimbal shots when weaving through the heavy traffic. As for lenses, a vintage Soviet SLR set was used to compliment the gritty streets of Lagos.

Each shoot day involved 12+ hours of exploring various parts of the city, hopping from one form of transport to another. From travelling on the back of motorbikes down the wrong side of the highway, to cramming into the highly congested city buses, navigating through the city each day was a challenge in itself. But by far the quickest and most efficient way to navigate the megacity was on skates, often covering up to 30kms a day whilst holding onto cars, bikes and buses.

Each shoot location had to be assessed as to whether it was safe due to local gangs or ‘area boys’ that control each suburb. The local skaters would often have to pay bribes to the gang leader in order to allow for filming to take place.