The Critics are co-directors and co-producers of CROCODILE, working as an artists' collective under their umbrella company CLAN YUJO Ltd. Godwin Gaza Josiah, Victor Dahilo Josiah, Rejoice Yemilo Josiah, Raymond Joseph Yusuff, Ronald Joel Yusuff, Richard Yusuff, Lawson Titus, Rachael Yusuf Lil’ Rachael Josiah. Founded in 2015, they are driven “by the desire to create magical experiences through film for ourselves and our community.”
From Raymond Yusuff: I was born into a Yoruba family in Kaduna, a state in northern Nigeria. Kaduna is not our tribal land. And so I grew up hearing stories of other families moving back “home” to avoid tribal conflict. I cannot speak my indigenous language or the language spoken in the state I was born. I am an outsider in both cultures. Over the years I have used my point-of-view as a young person stuck between two different realities to become an observer, using these observations as inspiration for my work in film. My journey in film has been a push-and-pull relationship. At the age of 13, I pulled hard enough to begin experimenting with filmmaking and visual effects in secret. My parents wanted me to pursue a life in the sciences. In secret my siblings and I formed an artist group called ‘The cRiTiCs’. We forged ahead, motivating debate over our work, creating over 40 films. After completing our debut solo exhibition in Frankfurt, Germany, I returned to a harsh reality - I couldn’t speak about the exhibition because the word is alien to my people. This forced me to consider new methods of contextualizing how art can be perceived through film.
