“The Man Died” Expands Global Tour, Targets Diaspora and Academic Circuit

“The Man Died”, the screen adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s prison memoir, is building on its early festival momentum with an expansive international tour that stretches across four continents, with stops at major film festivals, diaspora communities, and academic institutions.

The latest confirmed screenings include the African and African Diaspora Film Festival in Costa Rica (April 23–May 18) and the New York African Film Festival (May 7–13), adding new destinations to what has quietly become one of the most extensive global tours by a Nigerian film in recent years.

Since premiering on July 12, 2024, at the Alliance Française in Lagos in celebration of Soyinka’s 90th birthday, the film has followed an unusual path — moving beyond the typical Nollywood release model and instead positioning itself as a touring work of political cinema with academic and international relevance.

Directed by Awam Amkpa and produced by Femi Odugbemi through Zuri24 Media, “The Man Died” has so far screened at nearly 20 events, from commercial film festivals to curated conversations and scholarly conferences. Stops have included AFRIFF in Lagos, LABAF at MUSON Centre, the Jo’burg International Film Festival in South Africa, Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt, and the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.

The film was also recently confirmed for the 32nd New York African Film Festival, with a slot at Film at Lincoln Center on May 13, and will screen in Chicago in June as part of the African Diaspora International Film Festival.

This curated rollout has not only brought the film closer to African diaspora audiences but also embedded it in critical spaces for cultural discourse.

In addition to film festivals, “The Man Died” has appeared at events like the Quramo Festival of Words in Lagos, Labone Dialogues in Accra, and WSICE’s 90th birthday celebration at The Africa Centre in London.

Upcoming stops include the University of East Anglia (UK), the Stuttgart-hosted African Theatre Association Conference in July 2025, and academic venues under review in New York, Florence, and Oxford.

At its core, “The Man Died” dramatizes Soyinka’s 27-month solitary confinement during Nigeria’s civil war — a bleak, introspective period rendered on screen with Wale Ojo in the lead role. Other cast members include Sam Dede, Norbert Young, Christiana Oshunniyi, Francis Onwochei, and Abraham Awam-Amkpa.

The film’s tone is intentionally minimalist, capturing the psychological strain of confinement and the moral questions surrounding silence and complicity under dictatorship.

Along its tour, the film has quietly gathered awards: Best Scriptwriting at AFRIFF, Audience Choice Award at the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival, and Best Film Tackling an Important African Issue at Luxor. It also picked up nominations for Best African Film and Best Editing at the Jo’burg Film Festival, and for Best Feature Narrative at PAFF in Los Angeles.

While it has yet to secure a theatrical or streaming release, the team is reportedly in discussions with multiple global streaming platforms and distributors. That decision to delay a wide release may be part of a deliberate strategy to increase the film’s prestige appeal — one that has historically eluded many Nigerian dramas.

By foregrounding Soyinka’s legacy and focusing on politically engaged audiences across Africa, Europe, and North America, “The Man Died” is leveraging cultural diplomacy and diaspora curation to travel further than most Nigerian films typically do. Its reception so far suggests that there is still room for serious, literary adaptations in Nollywood’s evolving global footprint — if the rollout is slow, purposeful, and well-timed.