‘The Man Died’, the feature film chronicling Africa’s first Nobel Laureate for Literature’s 27 months imprisonment by the Nigerian government, won the Best Screenplay Award at the 35th Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia.
The film, among 14 other entries, emerged winners in the festival’s feature film category. Meantime, the Tunisian director, Lotfi Achour’s feature film ‘Les Enfants Rouges’ won the Grand Prize – The Golden Tanit, The Silver Tanit went to Palestinian director, Mahdi Fleifel’s ‘To An Unknown World’, and the bronze trophy to Senegalese director, Mamadou Dia’s ‘Demba’.
Founded in 1966, the annual Carthage Film Festival champions the causes of African and Arab countries whilst enhancing the Global South cinema in general. A total of 217 film from 21 countries were submitted this year across four film categories – Feature Narrative Films, Feature Documentary Films, Short Narrative, and Short Documentaries.
Prior to this award, “The Man Died’ has won two previous awards, Best Screenplay at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), and Best Audience Choice award at the Eastern Nigeria Film Festival (ENIFF).
Come January 9 to 16, the film will screen at the Luxor International Film Festival, Egypt, then Jo’Burg Film Festival in Festival, the African Film Festival, New York, US, and the FESPACO in Burkina Faso both in March, among others.
Written by UK-based Bode Asiyanbi, and directed by American and UAE-based filmmaker and film educator, Awam Amkpa, ‘The Man Died’ is produced by veteran filmmaker Femi Odugbemi’s company Zuri24 Media, and features a coterie of renowned Nigerian actors like Wale Ojo (Soyinka), Sam Dede (Yisa), Norbert Young (Prison Superintendent), Francis Onwochei (Prison Controller), Edmund Enaibe (Commissioner), UK-based Christiana Oshuniyi (Laide Soyinka), US-resident Abraham Awam Amkpa (Johnson) among others.
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