Brettkelly manages to transmit their infectious bravado and growing success…offering a reading of their sci-fi obsession as an escapist search for solace.” Filmmaker Magazine“

 

Festivals

 

Press

“In Crocodile, The Critics appear both in front of and behind the camera, while Pietra Brettkelly edits their words and images into their stories: their political engagement, heated debates, moments of doubt and despair, rifts and resistance, and the gradual professionalisation of their craft.

Their energy, vitality and determined will to invent and self-invent – a coming-of-age carried by the magic of the audiovisual medium – ultimately leave everyone smiling.” Berlin Film Festival Programme

 

IDA Magazine Feature PDF Interview 1.8mb by Hugo

Hugo Emmerzael is an Amsterdam-based film critic and programmer. He’s an editor of independent Dutch print magazine Filmkrant, and a contributor to outlets such as MUBI Notebook and Filmmaker Magazine.

 

SCREEN DAILY – Idris Elba

Idris Elba on how building “practical pathways” for African filmmakers will help diversify the industry

“Their story is moving and their tenacity inspiring. It shows a side of Africa I hadn’t seen on screen before” – Idris Elba

 

DEADLINE – Matthew Carey

Berlin Film Festival: ‘Crocodile’ Documents How Self-Taught Filmmakers From Nigerian Hinterlands Became Astonishing Creative Force

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER – Daniel Fienberg

‘Crocodile’ Review: A Young Nigerian Filmmaking Collective Gets a Fascinating, Frustrating Documentary Showcase

 

BUSINESS DOC EUROPE

Crocodile is a remarkable examination and celebration of a collective whose super low-budget sci-fi romps act both as a celebration of the films they love and the world they look to escape from.

THE FILM STAGE – Jordan Raup

BERLINALE REVIEW: Crocodile IS A CHOPPY YET INSPIRING PORTRAIT OF RESOURCEFUL FILMMAKING

 

THE MOVEABLE FEST

A Filmmaking Collective in Nigeria Sets their Sights on Other Worlds in the Compelling “Crocodile”

“Compelling… “Crocodile” inspires the same visceral reaction as the Critics’ work does in general” 

 

CRITIC (Germany online film magazine) – Martin Gobbin

Crocodile – Kritik

“In her documentary Crocodile, New Zealand director Pietra Brettkelly follows this group of young filmmakers over several years. With infectious joy, the young men sew a green screen, hand-wash their clothes, cook for each other, and edit footage filmed in the desert, a quarry, or their own neighborhood. We see a wildly laughing Nigerian Joker strolling through Kaduna, aliens landing in Africa, and Darth Vader facing off against a pink lightsaber because a crew member’s newly cast little sister insisted on that color. Initially, one is amazed by what the collective manages to achieve cinematically, despite their extremely limited resources—and how good it often looks. “The Critics” compensate for their material deficiencies with passion, visual creativity, and meticulous craftsmanship. They sew costumes, craft props, and if there’s yet another power outage, they bring out the portable generator. Pietra Brettkelly knows how to arrange the film material in a dramatically clever and captivating way, using her behind-the-scenes footage to trace the group’s development, but repeatedly weaving this documentary thread with fictional scenes from “The Critics”.”

 

CINEVERSE (Italy) – Luca Ferretti

Inside Crocodile: The Critics, Pietra Brettkelly and the rise of a Kaduna film collective

 

FILMKRANT (biggest Durch film magazine) – Kress Driessen

De documentaire begint in Berlijn

“I am curious about… Crocodile by Pietra Brettkelly and the collective The Critics about Nigerian handmade science fiction spectacles”

 

ABUS DE CINE

Festival Berlin 2026 – sélection films du Forum

“Crocodile” has already given us a most intriguing glimpse. It’s a documentary about a collective that invents worlds to better address contemporary realities (The Critics), through science fiction performances.”

 

RBB Radio Eins (Berlin affiliate of pubcaster ARD) – Knut Elstermann

Berlinale Talk – Crocodile

“A group of young people in Nigeria founded the collective The Critics. With the simplest of means and immense passion, they conjure up handcrafted sci-fi spectacles. Their own village becomes the backdrop, they sew their own green screen, and they cast children from the neighborhood. Their films transform everyday life into wild dreamscapes. In Crocodile, The Critics work both in front of and behind the camera, creating a story about political activism, moments of doubt and despair, conflict, and resistance.”

 

NEXT BEST PICTURE

CROCODILE – NBP

 

FESTIVAL BLOG

CROCODILE von The Critics, Pietra Brettkelly

“The film is not only an entertaining documentary about the life and art of The Critics, but also a convincing plea for the power of imagination and the joy of design. The audience leaves the cinema elated”

 

WHAT KEPT ME UP MAGAZINE (Nigeria) – Ikeade

Berlinale 2026: The Critics’ and Pietra Brettkelly’s ‘Crocodile’ Review (Documentary)

 

LETTERBOXD

LETTERBOXD COMMENTS

Photos of the Directors & Selected Stills

1st image – MAIN STILL entire directing team, red carpet Berlinale the Critics & Pietra Brettkelly copyright Crocodile Film Limited from left Richard Yusuff, Ronald Yusuff, Godwin Josiah, Pietra Brettkelly, Victor Josiah, Raymond Yusuff

Here is the film poster

 

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