The Man Died, a feature film inspired by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka’s prison notes, is continuing its run of the festival circuits across the world following its successful outing on October 5 at the Quramo Festival of Words (QFest) 2024 in Lagos.
Though yet to be formally released to the theatre or streaming platforms, the film, written by UK-based scriptwriter, Bode Asiyanbi, directed by Abu Dhabi, UAE-based Prof Awam Amkpa and produced by Lagos-based Femi Odugbemi, has been enjoying outings at key spaces, including at the Africa Centre in London in July.
The global tour of the film is promoted by the Foundation for the Promotion of Documentary Film in Africa, conveners of the iREPRESENT Documentary Film Forum and promoters of the annual IREP International Documentary Film Festival.
Before hitting the global circuits, however, The Man Died, which stars a galaxy of renowned and notable names in the Nigeria film industry, is being considered for special screenings at educational institutions in Florence, Italy; Abu Dhabi in the UAE; Jo’Burg, South Africa as well at Ivy League institutions in the USA, including New York University; Harvard University; Oxford University; and at Ithaca College, among others.
The October 5 screening to an over-filled house of appreciative audience at the grand ballroom of Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, was the third outing since July 12 when the film had a “special premiere screening” at the Alliance Francaise, Michael Adenuga Centre in Ikoyi to symbolically mark the 90th birthday anniversary (July 13) celebration of the Nobel laureate.
The film, which is garnering volumes of critical acclaim, is in the review gaze of top-notch global cinematic gatherings such as the Berlinale in Germany, Catharge in Algeria, Jo’Burg Film Festival, SA; African Film Festival, New York, US, and FESPACO in Burkina Faso, among others. This is as it is also being reviewed by at least three major global streaming platforms and international distribution channels.
The Man Died will grace the screen in Ghana on October 11 on Accra Streamfest bill of the Labone Dialogues 2.0 hosted by New York University (NYU) Accra.
On the theme: Moving Images: Into the 21st Century, the Accra Streamfest is a two-day showcase of “the diverse voices in storytelling by emerging storytellers from across the continent,” according to the convener/curator, Dr. Frankie Edozien, head of NYU Accra, who added that between screenings, the participants drawn from different disciplines and countries will also engage in “thought-provoking panel discussions with filmmakers critics and industry leaders who are shaping the future of African film.” For this particular screening of TMD described as “An Exclusive Ghana Premiere at Streamfest,” key cast and crew members of The Man Died including the director, producer, associate producers and the lead cast, Wale Ojo (Wole Soyinka), will be having conversations with the audience after the screening on Friday, October 11 at 5pm.
Amkpa is also expected as the keynote speaker at the Accra Streamfest. Author of Theatre and Postcolonial Desires (Routledge, 2003), Amkpa is a director of film documentaries and curator of photographic exhibitions and film festivals. He has written several articles on representations in Africa and its diasporas, representations, and modernisms in theatre, postcolonial theatre, and black Atlantic films.
After Ghana, The Man Died, will continue its tour by gracing the screen of Film Africa Festival in London on October 27. Established in 2011, Film Africa is London’s biggest biennial festival celebrating the best African cinema from across the continent and diaspora organised by the Royal African Society. Film Africa Festival, according to the curator, Keith Shiri, cineaste and cinema activist, long-standing head of African Movie Award Academy, AMAA’s jury, “brings to diverse London and UK audiences a high-quality and wide-ranging film program accompanied by a vibrant series of events, including director Q&As, talks, and panel discussions; workshops and masterclasses.” Targeted especially at young audiences, Film Africa Festival also recognises and supports new film-making talents through the Baobab Award for Best Short Film and the Audience Award for Best Feature Film.
After London, The Man Died goes next to the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival, ENIFF in Enugu, November 27-30, where it will be the opening film at the Viva Cinemas, Enugu on November 27.
On the theme ‘Reimagine,’ ENIFF 2024, according to the festival director, Ujuakwu Akukwe, will focus on “how storytelling can reshape narratives and social impact.” The festival, stated Akukwe, “is inspired by the long history Eastern Nigeria has with Nollywood and the African Storytelling industry… It is a competitive festival, providing a platform and programs for independent filmmakers, artists and storytellers working in film and digital media. We screen films in all genres from around the world, and we give priority to female filmmakers.”
From Enugu, The Man Died will land at the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in November. A letter from curators of the globally renowned film fest to the producers Zuri24 Media, reads: “We are thrilled to inform you that your film has been officially selected to screen at the 13th edition of the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), taking place from November 3rd to 9th, 2024, in Lagos, Nigeria.”
Other itineraries for the film are being collated, according to the iREP programme directorate.
Produced by Zuri 24 Media, The Man Died, according to the synopsis on its website — www.themandiedmovie.com — is the story of Soyinka’s 27 months incarceration by the Nigerian government in 1967 at the cusp of the civil war. He was famously seeking a truce between Biafra and the Federal Government to allow time for a negotiated settlement of the conflict. It is fundamentally a personal account. Essentially, the subject found refuge from the brutality inflicted upon him by retreating into and living within his own mind. At times, he drifted about the frontiers of madness, hanging on to himself by a thread. At other times, he pondered, listened, and watched, like only the truly otherwise unoccupied can. Importantly, he managed to scrounge paper and a pencil from time to time and record his journey of ‘motionlessness.”
The producer, an accomplished storyteller, content producer, filmmaker, and media scholar, Odugbemi is the founder/CEO of Zuri24 Media Lagos, producers of the film. His screen credits over 25 years in the creative industries span feature films, multiple drama TV series and documentaries. He was one of the founding producers of the daily soap opera Tinsel as well as executive producer of several popular TV soap operas, including Battleground; Brethren; Movement JAPA, and Covenant, among others. Also, producer of several award-winning documentaries and feature films, Odugbemi is co-founder/executive director of the IREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival Lagos and a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
