African Film Archive

Saworoide

1999 — Tunde Kelani — Nigeria

feature · drama, political · video-wave

Set in the fictional Yoruba town of Jogbo where a ruler cannot be crowned without the sacred talking drum, Tunde Kelani's Yoruba-language film uses the succession dispute to critique the political corruption and moral decay of 1990s Nigeria.

Fun fact: Saworoide means talking drum or brass bell, and Kelani both shot and produced the film himself before releasing a sequel, Agogo Eewo, in 2002.

Notes: Written by Akinwunmi Isola; runtime 105 minutes.

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

Poster source: Wikipedia