Fincho

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Fincho
Directed by Sam Zebba
Cinematography16mm colour film [1]
Music by Alexander Laszlo
Release date
  • 1957 (1957)
Running time
76 minutes [2]

Fincho is a 1957 Nigerian film by Sam Zebba, and the first Nigerian film to be shot in colour. The film deals with the titular character's attempts to make sense of the industrialization brought to Nigeria by European colonialists, the tension between tradition and innovation, and mechanization's threat to traditional labour. [3]

According to Zebba's self-published autobiography, the film was shot with Nigerian non-professional actors, and Pidgin dialogue dubbed by Nigerian students at the University of California, Los Angeles. The director contacted singer Harry Belafonte, who agreed to record an introduction for the film. The score was written by Alexander Laszlo, including the theme Fincho Song - which Zebba wrote, and then sang accompanied by a small Mexican band. [4]

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References

  1. Larry Richards (27 May 2005). African American Films Through 1959: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Filmography. McFarland. pp. 59–. ISBN   978-1-4766-1052-8.
  2. Steven G. Ohrn; Rebecca Riley (1976). Africa from real to reel: an African filmography. African Studies Association. p. 42. ISBN   978-0-918456-01-4.
  3. Human Resources Research Organization (1967). Technical Report. p. vii.
  4. Sam Zebba (March 2013). Aspects of My Life. iUniverse. pp. 111–113. ISBN   978-1-4759-7472-0.