New York-based film distribution company ArtMattan Films has revealed the restoration of the 1976 movie “Shaihu Umar.” The film, directed by Adamu Halilu, is based on a novella by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first prime minister.
The restoration process was carried out by the Berlin-based Arsenal Institute, working from the original negative. ArtMattan Films, founding sponsors of the New York African Diaspora International Film Festival (NYADIFF), has acquired the distribution rights for the restored film.
The movie, rediscovered in 2016 when negatives and prints were found in the Nigerian Film Corporation’s archive, depicts the life story of the titular character, Shaihu Umar, an Islamic scholar. The narrative unfolds in northern Nigeria and traces Umar’s journey from modest beginnings, separation from his mother, trials of slavery, to his adoption as a son by his Arab master.
“The film’s significance lies in its rediscovery as a cultural and historical depiction of Nigeria during a transformative period in African history, produced during a period that was not far removed from independence,” stated the report by Akoroko.