SHAIHU UMAR, settled in northern Nigeria at the end of the 19th century, begins with a conversation between students of Islam and their respected teacher, Shaihu Umar. Asked about his origins because of his wisdom, he begins to tell his story. Coming from a humble background, Umar is separated from his mother after the death of his father and the banishment of his stepfather. On his subsequent ordeal, marked by slavery, he goes through several trials until he is adopted as a son by his Arab master Abdulkarim. He attends the Koran school and is appointed Iman as an adult. After a dream he decides to look for his mother.
Adamu Halilu shot SHAIHU UMAR in Hausa in 1976. The film is based on the 1955 story of the same name by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, which has been reprinted several times. Balewa was Prime Minister of Nigeria from 1957 to 1966. For a long time the film was considered lost. In 2016, negatives and film copies were rediscovered in the archive of the Nigerian Film Corporation and restored by the Arsenal - Institute for Film and Video Art with the support of the German Embassy in Abuja.
Includes a 52-page booklet with texts about the film (in English) and an introduction by Didi Cheeka about SHAIHU UMAR at Arsenal Cinema in 2019.
DVD details
Language: Hausa
Subtitles: English
Length: 137 min.
Aspect ratio: Widescreen
Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0
Rating: Program information according to §14 JuSchG
Release date: 1.3.2020
Price: 16,90 €
An Archive außer sich project.
