Cinema
Ajani Ogun
Ola Balogun · 1976
Synopsis
Ajani is a young hunter. A local notable has taken from his mother the land his father had left him, using the papers and the backing that this requires. Ajani sets out to take it back, and discovers that he will have to stand up to two powers at once, that of the elders and that of the offices. Music and dance carry the story from beginning to end.
Context
The director, trained at IDHEC and without any film structure in his own country, had set up his own company, the Afrocult Foundation, and organised the screenings himself. He drew on the Yoruba travelling theatre, whose troupe and manner he adopted: the title role went to an actor from those theatres, two of whose sons are filmmakers today. It was not his first feature film, but it is the one that found its audience.
Who it is for
In Yoruba, with no French version. There is nothing to know in advance: the music carries as much as the dialogue. It helps to know the travelling theatre of the Yoruba towns, whose very emphatic acting may come as a surprise.
Prizes and reception
The first commercial success of Nigerian cinema, and the title that gave birth to an industry. It is the first feature film in the Yoruba language.