Filmmaker Ogochukwu Umeadi has received recognition from the Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN) for his documentary No Let Dem Die, a film that examines the need to preserve Nigeria’s cinematic and cultural heritage.
Speaking with The Nollywood Reporter, Umeadi discussed the film’s DGN recognition, the importance of cultural preservation, and why Jos was central to the story.
Supported by the Nigerian Film Corporation and Goethe-Institut, the project emerged from a Post-memory, Post-archive workshop held in Lagos in 2024, where participants examined the history of Nigerian cinema and the challenges surrounding its preservation.
Rather than produce academic papers after the workshop, participants were encouraged to create films inspired by what they had learned.
“We could write and hope somebody reads it, or we could shoot and have people watch it,” Umeadi said.
He likened Nigeria’s neglect of its cinematic heritage to book burning, drawing inspiration from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. For Umeadi, films function as repositories of stories and collective memory, making their preservation essential to understanding Nigeria’s cultural history.
Returning to Jos, where he is based, he chose the city as the documentary’s central setting, using it as a microcosm through which to explore the broader national conversation around cultural preservation.
Umeadi also wanted the subject to reach audiences beyond academics, filmmakers, and cultural institutions.
“I didn’t want to make a film only Professors or Thinkers would get, but one about the man on the street, the Mai Ruwa, the Mai Shai, the Mai Suya and even an okada man,” he explained.
To make the subject accessible, Umeadi narrated the documentary in Nigerian Pidgin, combining interviews with artists, academics, thinkers and members of the public with archival footage documenting Plateau’s cultural heritage.
He said the combination helped audiences connect with the film’s central message.
“All these elements I think contributed to people relating to it and gravitating towards the message.”
As a documentary, No Let Dem Die features real people rather than actors. Umeadi deliberately brought together artists, thought leaders, academics, dancers, and members of the public, believing that familiar faces could make the call for cultural preservation feel more immediate.
“If people could see their peers advocating for cultural preservation, it will stop them in their tracks and it has been so ever since,” he said.
For Umeadi, the responsibility of preserving culture should not rest solely with custodians, curators, programmers or librarians.
“A lot of people don’t believe cultural preservation should be a thing they should focus on. They think it’s the job of the Custodians of culture, the curators, programmers, librarians etc.”
Although Umeadi has worked in filmmaking for years, much of his experience has been on other people’s productions. The recognition for No Let Dem Die, alongside its selections at several local festivals, has therefore given the project added significance.
Reflecting on the DGN recognition, he said: “I will paraphrase the better sounding dialogue of my screenwriting mentor, Aaron Sorkin, and say that if this is the Academy award of the DGN, surely it’s an honour to be nominated.”
