Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka’s prison memoir adaptation “The Man Died” continues its international festival tour with upcoming screenings in Latin America and North America.
The feature film makes its Costa Rican debut today, Wednesday, April 23, at the Costa Rica African & Diaspora Film Festival, which runs through May 18. Organized by the Foundation for Art and Culture for Development, the festival focuses on Afro-descendant narratives in Limon and San Jose. Festival director Dr. Carol Patricia Britton Gonzalez specifically invited producer Femi Odugbemi, praising the film for “significantly contributing to our goal of amplifying Afro-descendant narratives often absent from theatres and cultural spaces.”
Following its Costa Rican screening, “The Man Died” will be featured at the prestigious 32nd New York African Film Festival on Tuesday, May 13, at the Film at Lincoln Center. The New York festival runs from May 7 to 29 across three venues.
Directed by Nigerian-American scholar and filmmaker Awam Amkpa and written by Bode Asiyanbi, the film chronicles Soyinka’s grueling 27-month solitary confinement during Nigeria’s Civil War. The story follows Soyinka, portrayed by Wale Ojo, as he finds strength through writing while imprisoned for seeking peaceful resolution to the Biafra conflict.
The production features an accomplished cast including Sam Dede, Norbert Young, Francis Onwochei, Christiana Oshunniyi, and Abraham Awam-Amkpa.
Though still unreleased to the general public, “The Man Died” premiered in Lagos in July 2024 to celebrate Soyinka’s 90th birthday. The film has since toured festivals and academic institutions in London, Accra, Johannesburg, and Atlanta. In March, it received multiple nominations, including Best African Film, at the Jo’Burg Film Festival.
Future screenings are scheduled for the African Theatre Association’s conference in Germany, along with showings at NYU, Harvard, Oxford, and the House of World Cultures in Berlin. Global streaming platforms are currently considering the film for wider distribution.
Produced by Zuri24 Media, “The Man Died” has been recognized as a powerful portrayal of human resilience and artistic expression, gaining momentum as a significant contribution to global African diaspora cinema.
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