Zuri24 Media has announced the worldwide streaming release of The Man Died, a feature film adaptation of Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka’s acclaimed prison memoir of the same title. The film is now available to audiences worldwide on Amazon Prime Video.
https://www.digital.zenithbank.com/ZEQ/ZEQ-jan-2026/index.html#p=1The Man Died tells the deeply personal story of Soyinka’s 27-month incarceration by the Nigerian government in 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War.
Soyinka was arrested after seeking a truce between the Federal Government and Biafra to create an opportunity for a negotiated settlement to the conflict. His subsequent imprisonment became an extraordinary period of physical confinement and psychological endurance, which he documented in his memoir.
The film explores this experience from the perspective of a man forced into prolonged isolation and uncertainty. Faced with the brutality of incarceration, Soyinka retreats into his mind, reflecting, observing and confronting the psychological boundaries of confinement. His ability to find paper and pencil at different moments allowed him to document his experience and preserve his thoughts during what he described as a period of “motionlessness.”
According to the film’s synopsis, the story is fundamentally a personal account of survival, resilience and the power of the human mind in the face of extreme adversity.
Director Awam Amkpa, an actor, playwright, stage and film director, and curator of visual arts, brings a multidisciplinary perspective to the project. He is a Nigerian-American professor of drama, film, and social and cultural analysis at New York University in New York and Abu Dhabi. He is also the author of Theatre and Postcolonial Desires and has directed documentaries, curated photographic exhibitions and film festivals, and written extensively on African and diasporic representations, modernism, postcolonial theatre and Black Atlantic cinema.
The film is produced by Femi Odugbemi, accomplished storyteller, content producer, filmmaker and media scholar, through his Lagos-based production company.
With more than 25 years of experience in the creative industry, Odugbemi’s screen credits span feature films, television drama series and documentaries. He was among the founding producers of the daily television soap opera Tinsel and has served as Executive Producer on popular productions including Battleground, Brethren, Movement JAPA and Covenant, among others.
He has also produced several award-winning documentaries and feature films and is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the iREPRESENT International Documentary Film Festival Lagos. He is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Music also plays an important role in the film, with musician Afọwọ́slide contributing to its soundtrack. He described the opportunity as a privilege to create the music for the production, including tracks such as Take It Easy, Man and Love and Light. He also performs in the film alongside the Abínibí Groovy Band.
With its exploration of incarceration, conflict, resilience and the enduring power of artistic expression, The Man Died brings an important chapter of Nigeria’s history to a global audience.
