Premiering at TIFF20, AKILLA'S ESCAPE tells the story of Akilla Brown (Saul Williams), a drug trader ready to get out of the game. When a routine hand-off goes wrong, Akilla captures one of the thieves, 14-year old Sheppard (Thamela Mpumlwama). As Akilla learns more of the young man's story and befriends his aunt Faye (Donisha Prendergast), Akilla sets out on a mission to rescue the youth from the gang that holds him under their thumb. In this 1on1, we speak to Williams, Mpumlwana and Prendergast about breaking the cycle of poverty, toxic masculinity in this world and speaking to the past.