Daybreak in Udi

documentary · documentary · pre-history

Funded by Britain's Colonial Office and shot on location in Udi, in present-day Enugu State, this documentary follows a Nigerian community building a rural maternity home through collective self-help methods, and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1950.

Fun fact: It is often cited as the first Nigeria-set film to win an Oscar, and also won a BAFTA for Best Documentary, though it was a British Colonial Office production rather than a Nigerian-directed work.

Notes: Non-African-directed colonial-era production, included per methodology as clearly labeled pre-history era work; directed by British filmmaker Terry Bishop from a screenplay by Montagu Slater, funded by the Central Office of Information at the Colonial Office with a budget of roughly GBP 30,000.

Verification: verified · Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Poster source: Wikipedia