Saworoide

Last updated

Saworoide
Saworoide cover.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Tunde Kelani
Written by Akinwunmi Isola
Produced byTunde Kelani
Yemi Shodimu
Starring
CinematographyTunde Kelani
Edited byKehinde Aje
Musediq Alayaki
Noah Akinmade
Music by Orlando Julius
Production
companies
Mainframe Films and Television Productions
Distributed byMainframe Films
Release date
  • 1999 (1999)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryNigeria
Language Yoruba

Saworoide is a 1999 Nigerian political drama film, produced and directed by Tunde Kelani. It stars Kola Oyewo, Bukky Wright, Lere Paimo, Larinde Akinleye, Peter Fatomilola, Kunle Bamtefa, Adebayo Faleti, Kayode Olaiya and Doyin Hassan. [1]

Contents

Saworoide depicts the setting of an old Yoruba norm in the town of Jogbo where a person can not be crowned king without a ritual which involves the playing of saworoide (English: brass bell talking drum). [2] It was listed as one of the 10 best-selling Yoruba movies. [3]

Plot

Opens in an ancient time in the town of Jogbo. The priest tells the king that there will be a pact between the citizens of Jogbo and their kings, using a brass bell in the ritual process, and that the ritual process would also be carried out of succeeding Kings.

A new king, Lapite (Kola Oyewo) has just been elected in Jogbo; there's been a long-standing saying that kings of Jogbo don't get to be influential and wealthy as kings of other territories. Lapite finds out from his friend and Chief, Balogun (Lere Paimo) that it is due to the old tradition of rituals made to kings, and as a result Lapite cheats the process. Balogun however later learns from the same elderly man who told him, that anyone who cheats the process faces the consequences of sharing his kingship with someone else, and that if he ever listens to the Saworoide (brass bell) being played, he would die of headache. Lapite as a result sends assassins to kill the family of Adebomi, who he considers to be threat (but they however didn't kill their kid), and also orders the capture of the custodian of Saworoide, Ayangalu (Ayantunji Amoo), along with his drum. Ayangalu is however tipped off by one of the chiefs and he escapes together with Adeboro's son, leaving behind Saworoide to be captured.

The new king takes another wife, Tinuola (Bukky Wright), who's already pregnant for her lover, but has been advised to keep it a secret so as not to lose the life changing opportunity of being a queen. Lapite connives with modern investors to start mass exploration of the town's resources, particularly logging, and nonchalantly destroying people's crops in the process. The Chiefs and King start to live a life of opulence, silencing the press by all means. Lapite also refuses to listen to the citizens of Jogbo who constantly stage protests against the goings on. As a result, militancy arises amongst the farm owners and they start to attack the workers on their farms, which led to the workers going on strike.

Lapite starts going against members of his cabinet, making arrests and becoming a tyrant. Some members of the farm owners' association consult the town priest, Amawomaro (Peter Fatomilola) and they are told that the only way out is to make sure the Adé idẹ (Brass Crown) is absent from the palace for 15 days. The militants seek external help; one of the logging firms gives funds, but secretly to use them naively for their own interest. They stage several attacks such as hijacking a ceremony to steal the king's crown, which is later recovered with the help of the logging firms after being given a bribe.

Aresejabata (Kunle Afolayan) starts to make friends with Araparegangan (Kabirat Kafidipe) the supposed daughter of Lapite. He opens up to her that while tipsy, that he is the son of Adebomi that was killed. Lapite finds out and orders the assassination of Aresejabata, not minding Arapa being killed in the process. Tinuola overhears and tells her daughter to run away along with Arese from the gathering and the village. The military stages a successful coup, killing Lapite; Officer Lagata (Kunle Bamtefa) takes over the government of Jogbo. Balogun and Seriki (Larinde Akinleye) again liaise with the new government.

The former militants plan to kill the new king by making Ayangalu, who has been in exile to play the Saworoide in Jogbo. One of the militants betray them and Ayangalu is arrested. Ayangalu has however used his drum to call on his son just before he is arrested. His son, Ayanniyi (Segun Oni) returns and plays the Saworoide just after Lagata is crowned, and he subsequently dies of migraine. The soldiers are hypnotized to be on the side of the people; Aresejabata received the initiation to become king.

Cast

Sequel

The sequel to Saworoide is titled Agogo Eewo and was released in 2002. Kelani announced that he was working on a prequel titled Iyan Esuru via his Twitter handle on 10 April 2021. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Nigeria</span> Nigerian film industry

The cinema of Nigeria, often referred to informally as Nollywood, consists of films produced in Nigeria; its history dates back to as early as the late 19th century and into the colonial era in the early 20th century. The history and development of the Nigerian motion picture industry is sometimes generally classified in four main eras: the Colonial era, Golden Age era, Video film era and the emerging New Nigerian cinema era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses Olaiya</span> Nigerian comedian, dramatist and actor (1936–2018)

Moses Olaiya, better known by his stage name "Baba Sala", was a Nigerian comedian, dramatist, and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art of the Kingdom of Benin</span> Art from the Kingdom of Benin

Benin art is the art from the Kingdom of Benin or Edo Empire (1440–1897), a pre-colonial African state located in what is now known as the Southern region of Nigeria. Primarily made of cast bronze and carved ivory, Benin art was produced mainly for the court of the Oba of Benin – a divine ruler for whom the craftsmen produced a range of ceremonially significant objects. The full complexity of these works can be appreciated through the awareness and consideration of two complementary cultural perceptions of the art of Benin: the Western appreciation of them primarily as works of art, and their understanding in Benin as historical documents and as mnemonic devices to reconstruct history, or as ritual objects. This original significance is of great importance in Benin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abeokuta</span> Capital city of Ogun State, Nigeria

Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; 77 kilometres (48 mi) north of Lagos by railway, or 130 kilometres (81 mi) by water. As of 2006, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 449,088.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigeria Entertainment Awards</span> Nigerian Award Ceremony

The Nigerian Entertainment Awards were established in New York City in January 2006. The awards recognize the contributions of African entertainers with a special focus on Nigerians.

<i>Confusion Na Wa</i> 2013 film by Kenneth Gyang

Confusion Na Wa is a 2013 Nigerian dark comedy drama film directed by Kenneth Gyang, starring Ramsey Nouah, OC Ukeje, Ali Nuhu and Tunde Aladese. The title of the film was inspired by the lyrics of the late Afrobeat singer Fela Kuti's song "Confusion". Confusion Na Wa won the Best picture at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards, it also won the award for Best Nigerian film. The film tells a story on how so many interconnected separate events come together to complicate the lives of people.

<i>Dazzling Mirage</i> 2014 film by Tunde Kelani

Dazzling Mirage is a 2014 Nigerian drama film, produced and directed by Tunde Kelani; it stars Kemi "Lala" Akindoju, Kunle Afolayan, Bimbo Manuel, Yomi Fash Lanso, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett and Seun Akindele. It also features special appearances from Adewale Ayuba, Sean Tizzle, Tunde Babalola and Steve Sodiya. The film is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Olayinka Abimbola Egbokhare, adapted to screen by Ade Solanke. It tells the story of a young sickle-cell patient and the various social and emotional challenges she is faced with.

<i>Auteuring Nollywood</i> Book detailing the scholarly analysis of events in the 2009 film The Figurine

Auteuring Nollywood: Critical Perspectives on The Figurine is a book released on 31 July 2014, detailing the scholarly analysis of events in the 2009 film The Figurine directed by Kunle Afolayan. The book is the first book in the history of Nigerian Cinema to be devoted to the work of a single Nigerian film director and it contains scholarly essays, which explores "the thematic focus and cinematic style employed in The Figurine". It also contains interviews with the cast and crew of the film and insights into the African and Nigerian film industry. Since its release, the book has been getting rave reviews from critics, educators and film scholars.

<i>Sango</i> (film) 1997 epic Nigerian film

Sango: The Legendary African King is a 1997 epic Nigerian film, written by Wale Ogunyemi, produced and directed by Obafemi Lasode. The film depicts the life and reign of the legendary fifteenth century African king Sango, who ruled as the Alaafin of Oyo and became an important deity of the Yoruba people.

Kabirah Kafidipe is a Nigerian film actress, director and producer. She is popularly known as “Araparegangan” for her role in Saworoide, a 1999 Nigerian film produced and directed by Tunde Kelani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Age of Nigerian Cinema</span> Motion used in Nigeria cinema pictures

Golden Age or Golden era are terms used in Nigerian film history to designate the motion picture industry of Nigeria from the late 1950s to the late 1980s. It captures the mode of visual and sound production, as well as the method of distribution employed during this period. This period began with the formal recognition of the Nigerian Film Unit as a sector in 1954, with the first film entirely copyrighted to this unit being Fincho (1957) by Sam Zebba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Nigerian Cinema</span> Phrase in Nigerian Cinema

New Nigerian Cinema or New Nigerian Cinema era is an emerging phase in Nigerian cinema, in which there became a major shift in the method of film production, from the video format, which came about during the video boom, back to the cinema method, which constituted the films produced in the Golden era of Nigerian cinema history. The films in the New Wave are specifically characterized by improved narrative complexity, aesthetic nuance, much higher budgets and advanced overall production values, when compared to video films from the second generation of filmmakers. They are mostly released theatrically, although some are still released directly on DVD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nollywood</span> Nigerian film industry

Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject of several controversies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omowumi Dada</span> Nigerian actress (born 1989)

Omowunmi Dada is a Nigerian actress, best known for her role as Folake in the M-Net television series Jemeji. She was also cast in the 2017 Yoruba language film Somewhere in the Dark, which won the award for Best Indigenous Film at the 2017 AMVCA Awards, and for which she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Yoruba) at the Best of Nollywood Awards in 2017. In 2018, Dada played the voice of the titular character in Nigeria's first animation full-length feature film, Sade.

<i>O Le Ku</i> 1997 Yoruba romantic drama film

O Le Ku is a 1997 Nigerian romantic drama film produced and directed by Tunde Kelani. It is an adaptation of Prof. Akinwunmi Ishola's novel of the same name. It was released in 1997 by Mainframe Film and Television Productions. It was made in two parts.

<i>Thunderbolt: Magun</i> Film

Thunderbolt: Magun is a 2001 Nigerian drama film directed and produced by Tunde Kelani. It was based on a book title Magun written by Adebayo Faleti and adapted for screenplay by Femi Kayode.

<i>Agogo Eewo</i> Nigerian film

Agogo Eewo is a 2002 Yoruba-language film and sequel to the 1999 film Saworoide. It was written by Akunwunmi Isola, and produced and directed by Tunde Kelani. It stars Dejumo Lewis, Deola Faleye, Lere Paimo and Larinde Akinleye.

References

  1. "Saworoide (1999)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  2. Eniola, Babatunde (3 January 2014). "THE MYSTERY 'SAWOROIDE'". Rough Africa. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  3. Ogundipe, Ayodele (2004). Gender and Culture in Indigenous Films in Nigeria (PDF). pp. 93–94.
  4. Nwogu, Precious (2021-04-19). "Exclusive: A 'Ṣaworoidẹ' prequel titled 'Iyán Èsúrú' is officially in the works!". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 2021-09-04.

Further reading