Madu earned nods in the “Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary” and “Outstanding Direction – Documentary” categories at the 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
By Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku
Madu, a 2024 Disney documentary directed by Nigerian documentary filmmaker and virtual reality content creator, Joel Kachi Benson, and Oscar-nominated American director, Matthew Ogens, has earned two nominations at this year’s Emmys.
Madu earned nods in the “Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary” and “Outstanding Direction – Documentary” categories at the 46th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards.
The documentary follows the eponymous Anthony Madu, a Nigerian boy who gained popularity in 2020, when he was just eleven years old, after a video of him dancing ballet barefoot on a rainy street was posted online by his teacher and went viral.
It documents the young performer’s experiences as he leaves his family in Nigeria to attend an elite British ballet school, one of the most prestigious in the world.
Madu received critical praise for its intimacy, sincerity and evocative approach, with the documentary adopting an observatory style and avoiding expert talking heads. It premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival before being released on Disney+.
Prior to the Emmy nominations, Madu also scored a nomination at the International Documentary Association Awards for Best TV Feature Documentary.
Benson came to prominence with the release of his 2019 documentary, Daughters of Chibok, a virtual reality film on the abduction of the Chibok girls, which was the first African film to win “Best Virtual Reality Story” at the Venice International Film Festival.
Before that, his 2018 short virtual reality documentary about an orphaned boy living with PTSD in one of the largest camps for Internally Displaced Persons in northeast Nigeria, In Bakassi, screened at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival. The documentary short was the first virtual reality documentary created by a Nigerian filmmaker.
The 2025 Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards will take place on 25th and 26th June, 2025 in New York City, with 26th June slated for the Documentary Ceremony.