‘The Man Died,’ the feature film inspired by Wole Soyinka’s prison notes of same title, has been selected to feature in the Costa Rica African and Diaspora Film Festival, holding April 23 through May 18, 2025. It will be screened on Wednesday, April 23.
The festival is organised by the Foundation for Art and Culture for Development, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting Afro-descendant cultures in the Costa Rican region.
In a letter of invitation, Carol Patricia Britton Gonzalez, executive director of the foundation, stated, that the film would be screened in the Limon province, the heart of the Afro-Costa Rican community and San Jose, the capital of the country.
“We are confident that your work will significantly contribute to our goal of amplifying Afro-descendant narratives, which are often absent from movie theatres, cultural centres and universities in Costa Rica,” wrote Dr Gonzalez in the February 19 letter addressed to Femi Odugbemi, the producer of the film.
Gonzalez avers that the participation of the film will not only enhance the festival programme, “but also help strengthen connections between filmmakers and audiences across the Global South.” She promised that the film, which is already dubbed into Arabic and French, will also be subtitled in Spanish as a “token of appreciation for the participation, as well as to facilitate its circulation in ither libero-American Festivals.”
Th Costa Rican outing is coming on the heels of the film’s strong showing at the 7th Jo’Burg Film Festival in March, where it won nomination in Best African Film, Best Editing and Best Film categories. Same March, while it was campaigning in South Africa, it recorded a successful outing at the Pan African University in Atlanta, USA.
Meanwhile in continuation of its global tour, ‘The Man Died,’ has also been selected for the 32nd New York African Film Festival, holding from May 7 through May 29 and is co-presented with Film at Lincoln Center (FLC – May 7 – 13), Maysles Cinema (May 15 – 18), and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM – May 23 – May 29). The film will, however, be screened at the prestigious Film at Lincoln Center on Tuesday, May 13.
The 105-minute flick has been elected as a star attraction at the upcoming African Theatre Association (AfTA) annual conference holding in Stuttgart, Germany in July. It is also being considered for special screenings at educational institutions in Florence, Italy; Abu Dhabi in the UAE; at New York University, Harvard University, and at Ithaca College, all in the USA; at Oxford University, in the United Kingdom; as well as at the House of World Culture in Berlin, Germany, among others. This is as it is also being reviewed by at least three major global streaming platforms, and international distribution channels.
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 Edmond Enaibe as Commissioner; as well as international actors including London-UK-based Christiana Oshunniyi (Laide Soyinka), and Los Angeles, USA-based Abraham Awam-Amkpa (Johnson), among others.
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