Join us for a special film screening, featuring a stellar Nollywood cast, light refreshments, and an engaging Q&A with the award-winning director, Awam Amkpa, Vice Provost for the Arts; Dean of Arts and Humanities; Professor of Drama, Social and Cultural Analysis at the New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).
The film, The Man Died, a powerful film adaptation of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s acclaimed prison memoir. Set during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), the film chronicles Soyinka’s imprisonment without trial by a military regime after his attempts to mediate in the conflict. Held for nearly two years—much of it in solitary confinement—Soyinka endured extreme isolation, deprivation, and psychological pressure, yet remained steadfast in his commitment to justice, truth, and human dignity.
Directed by Awam Amkpa and based on a screenplay by Bode Asiyanbi, the film brings to life Soyinka’s reflections on politics, culture, and the role of the intellectual in moments of crisis. Through a blend of stark prison scenes and reflective flashbacks, The Man Died reveals how writing, imagination, and moral conviction became tools of resistance. Soyinka’s clandestine prison writings—smuggled out on scraps of paper—emerge as acts of defiance and enduring testimony against state violence and censorship.
Featuring a strong ensemble cast including Wale Ojo, Sam Dede, Chidi Mokeme, Norbert Young, and Segilola Ogidan, the film offers both an intimate portrait of a writer under siege and a broader meditation on the entanglement of literature and politics. More than a biographical account, The Man Died situates Soyinka’s experience within the larger history of Nigeria’s civil war, illuminating the human cost of political conflict and the blurred lines of oppression and resistance.
At once a personal narrative and a national history, The Man Died stands as a compelling testament to artistic freedom, intellectual defiance, and the enduring power of speaking truth to power. It reminds us that even under the most repressive conditions, the human spirit—and the written word—can resist erasure.
This event is sponsored by the Tejumola Olaniyan Foundation, and supported by the African Studies Program and the Department of African Cultural Studies at UW-Madison
