Film adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s book ‘The Man Died’ to screen in Lagos

The private screening of ‘The Man Died’, the film adaption of a Wole Soyinka book, will take place in Lagos on July 12.

The event, the organisers tell TheCable, is in celebration of the Nobel laureate’s 90th birth anniversary ahead of a formal premiere.

During Nigeria’s Civil War in the late 1960s, Soyinka’s criticism of the military highhandedness landed him in prison for 22 months.

In 1962, two years after the war ended, the Nobel laureate published a memoir chronicling his experiences in prison.

The memoir explored themes like survival, perseverance, and resilience.

The film adaptation of ‘The Man Died’ was written by Bode Asiyanbi, produced by Femi Odugbemi, and directed by Awam Amkpa.

‘The Man Died’ features movie stars such as Wale Ojo (who played Soyinka), Chidi Mokeme, Sam Dede, Norbert Young, Francis Onwochei, and Edmund Enaibe.

Others on the cast are Segilola Ogidan, Simileoluwa Hassan, Christiana Oshunniyi, Ropo Ewenla, and Abraham Amkpa.

Speaking on the project, Amkpa said it is “not a biopic of the prison life of Soyinka but an expanded narrative on his prison experiences”.

The director said stories from Soyinka’s subsequent memoirs such as ‘Ibadan Penkelemes Years’ and ‘You Must Set Forth At Dawn’ were also included in the film.

On his part, Odugbemi said the film highlights “the brutal reality of political imprisonment and the relentless struggle for justice”.

Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, and poet, who was born on July 13, 1934.

In 2022, Soyinka’s ‘Death and the King’s Horseman’ published in 1975 was adapted into ‘Elesin Oba’, the Netflix film.

His notable works include ‘The Lion and the Jewel’ (1959), ‘The Trials of Brother Jero’ (1960), and ‘Aké: The Years of Childhood’ (1981).