Though yet to be officially released to the market, The Man Died, written by Bode Asiyanbi, directed by Awam Amkpa and produced by Femi Odugbemi for Zuri24 Media, since its ‘special-premiere’ on July 12, 2024 in Lagos to commemorate the Nobel laureate, dramatist, poet, essayist and human/civil rights activist, Soyinka’s 90th birthday, has had a series of home runs including on October 5 at the Quramo Festival of Words, QFest 2024, Lagos; and the Lagos Book and Art Festival, LABAF on November 14.
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In continuation of its whirlwind sweep across global festival circles, The Man Died, the feature film inspired by the prison notes of the Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, will be on screen at the 7th Jo’Burg International Film Festival, which runs March 11 to 16. It will be screened twice in Johannesburg, today, March 12 at Theatre on the Square, Sandton City, 8:00pm; and on Saturday, March 15 at the Nu Metro Cinema in Hydepark, at 1:00pm.
Same day, Saturday March 15, the film will also be at the African Film Festival, Atlanta, USA, where it will be screened from 3:00pm at the Cinefest Film Theatre 66 Courtland Street Southeast #262 Atlanta, GA 30303. Organised by the African Film & Arts Foundation Inc. (AFAF), the AFFATL, among other objectives, aims to “magnify and celebrate the visions, voices, lives and stories of people from Africa and the African Diaspora through the lens of film & the arts.”
It began its global tour in London in July 2024 as part of the Wole Soyinka at 90 celebrations jointly organised and hosted by the Africa Centre and the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange, WSICE. It returned to same London in October as part of the African Film Festival and also had an educational screening at the University of East Anglia, Norwich. It was screened on October 11 on the ‘Accra Streamfest’ bill of the “Labone Dialogues”, hosted by New York University, NYU Accra.
The Man Died 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 film stars a coterie of renowned names on the Nigerian screen, including Wale Ojo as Wole, Sam Dede as Yisa, Norbert Young (Prison Superintendent), Francis Onwochei (Prison Controller) and Edmund Enaibe as Commissioner; as well as international actors, London-UK-based Christiana Oshunniyi (Laide Soyinka), and Los Angeles, USA-based Abraham Awam-Amkpa (Johnson), among others.
The film has earned prestigious accolades, including ‘Best African Film That Tackles an Important African Issue’ at the 14th Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt. It also won ‘Best Screenplay’ at both the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in Lagos and the 35th Carthage International Film Festival in Tunis. Additionally, it claimed the ‘Best Audience Choice Award’ at the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival (ENIFF) in Enugu.
The current screenings across the seas are coming on the heels of its outing at the renowned Pan African Film Festival, PAFF, February 4 to 17 in Los Angeles; and at the famous “Nollywood in Hollywood”, the famous film exhibition project that spotlights Nigerian movies in the heart of Hollywood where it was “Opening Film” held at The Egyptian Theatre, considered one of Hollywood’s most prestigious film exhibition centres.
The Jo’Burg Film Festival (JFF) outing is the first time the film will be in the Southern part of Africa, having done two times each in Northern and Western parts of the continent.
Founded in 2019, the Jo’Burg Film Festival, promoted by Multichoice, is one of Africa’s most influential film festivals celebrating the best of cinematic works from across the continent. About 45 films are featuring in the 2025 edition. The TMD is in competition on the long feature category.
The promo from the directorate of the Jo’Burg Film Festival reads: “Wole Soyinka’s gripping prison memoir comes to life in The Man Died, a powerful autobiographical film that digs into the Nobel Laureate’s harrowing imprisonment without trial under a brutal military regime. A story of resilience and resistance, the film shows Soyinka’s unwavering defiance against oppression. Set to screen at the 7th edition of the Joburg Film Festival (March 11-16, 2025), the film has already made waves on the festival circuit, securing multiple awards.”
