A war-weary hearing-impaired American journalist from the South, stranded overnight in a Senegalese airport, shares an unexpectedly tender meal with a charming young hustler — only to watch him move seamlessly on to his next mark the moment her back is turned.
DELAYED: Dakar, Senegal. 2010. Midnight. LILA (42), a hearing-impaired Southern photojournalist returning from a war assignment, learns her flight home has been delayed eight hours. Unable to escape the sharp cry of a baby nearby, she removes her hearing aids — and is immediately spotted by FRANCOIS (18), a charming Senegalese boy who carries her bag to the airport cafe. Lila is wary — she knows the hustle. She buys him dinner anyway. Without her hearing aids in, she leans in to hear him better — Francois misreads it as a come-on and turns on the charm. Lila snaps. A security guard intervenes, trips, and they both laugh. The tension breaks. Francois drops his act and tells her his real dream: to own a clothing store, to move his family to a house near the beach. Something genuine passes between them. Lila puts her hearing aids back in — a small, deliberate surrender of armor. Then the bill comes, and he is gone. Hours later, she spots Francois crossing the terminal and raises her hand — and watches him walk straight past her to the next middle-aged white woman behind her: "May I help you with your bag, Madame?" Lila walks forward into the crowd. Reality, and her flight, await.
Nikila (Nikki) Cole is an award-winning dual Canadian/American writer/producer/director with over 25 years of international experience. Her feature documentary RAY OF HOPE received a PGA Producer Mark, was In Consideration for the Academy Awards, shortlisted in five Canadian Screen Award categories, and streams on CBC Gem. Her dramatic short CATHERINE IN LOVE won the Golden Elephant Trophy at the Bangkok Movie Awards, shot on a Volume Wall as part of the DGC/Pixomondo/William F. White Virtual Production Workshop. MY FATHER, JOE won five international awards and is on Amazon Prime. THE BRIDE'S WEDDING won Best Feature Screenplay at the Jogja International Film Festival; SERPENT QUEEN won Best TV Pilot Screenplay at Oaxaca. Winner, C21 Content Canada International Co-Production Pitch Competition, TIFF 2025 (BLEEP ME!). Named Producer to Watch, MIPTV Cannes 2022 & 2023. Gemini Award winner. Selected for RDV Canada/Telefilm 'Meet the Series' Cohort (Series Mania/MIP 2021), leading to CMF/CICLIC co-development funding with French producer Virginie Lacombe. Austin Film Festival Second Rounder (THE OTHER MEDICI).
After showrunning 15+ factual series including ICE ROAD TRUCKERS and STORAGE WARS for History Channel, Netflix, CBC, BBC Kids and HGTV, she now develops scripted features including OPHELIA, a four-territory international co-production with scientific consultant Dr. Emilio Emini (former Merck Research Laboratories) and institutional support from the Mark Wainberg Centre for Viral Diseases, McGill University. Through her charity Tonembee Foundation (tonembee.com), she has spent 20 years educating girls and boys and introducing solar energy to a remote Kenyan village. Member: DGC, CMPA AI Committee, Alliance of Women Directors, Film Fatales, WIFT LA & Toronto. Dual Canadian/American citizen.
Lila - Becky Barlett
Francois - Emanuel Kabongo
