When I was in university there were weekly screenings of old-school NFB movies at a local ice cream parlour. (The same place where now-famous Buck 65 used to occasionally rap for small crowds.)

There were the predictable screenings of that classic of classics, The Log Driver’s Waltz, the edge of your seat thriller, Octopus Hunt (check-out the awesome musical sequence at around 6′), and the perennial favourite, Cosmic Zoom.

My favourite short film by far is one I can’t seem to find in the NFB archives. It starts with a guy with an afro running up the stairs to the beat of some whack funk music. He climbs several flights, easing the audience into the rhythm of the music, before bursting into daylight on the roof. He then climbs into one of those 1970s-esque bubble helicopters, puts on his 1970s-esque earphones, and takes-off.

When he’s in the air the film’s title scrolls across the screen in exciting 3D lettering: “Traffic Copter”. The pace of the film then slows dramatically. The funk music dies, and you spend the rest of the 15 minutes listening to some guy explain the inner-workings of a traffic helicopter as he flies over bland 1970s Toronto landscapes.

The first time I saw this film I nearly fell-off my seat laughing.. and undoubtedly got some ice cream on my shirt.

One thing is for sure: if Traffic Copter had been produced in Nigeria they would have used the Ebenezer Obey song I’m going to post today as the soundtrack. Amazing stuff. You can grab it and more on the compilation Lagos All Routes, available at Dusty Groove.

ps- Thanks, Alex.

Ebenezer Obey & His Inter-Reformers Band – Eyi Yato / Elere Ni Wa