Kongi's Harvest (film)
Encyclopedia
Kongi's Harvest is a 1973 film directed by Ossie Davis
, from a screenplay
by Wole Soyinka
based on Soyinka's 1965 play Kongi's Harvest
.
. It was the first production by a company set up to help Nigerians produce films that would change perceptions about Africa.
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
, from a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, where he was recognised as a man "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence", and became the first African in Africa and...
based on Soyinka's 1965 play Kongi's Harvest
Kongi's Harvest
Kongi's Harvest is a 1965 play written Wole Soyinka. It premiered in Dakar at the Negro Arts Festival. It was later made into a film of the same name film of the same name, directed by Ossie Davis.-Plot:...
.
Production
The film was shot in NigeriaNigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. It was the first production by a company set up to help Nigerians produce films that would change perceptions about Africa.
Plot
President Kongi (Soykina), the dictator of an African developing nation, is trying to modernize his nation after deposing King Oba Danlola (Onikoyi). The different tribes are resisting unification, so he tries to reach his goal by any means necessary, including forcing government officials to wear traditional African outfits and even seeking advice from the man he deposed.Cast
- Wole SoyinkaWole SoyinkaAkinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, where he was recognised as a man "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence", and became the first African in Africa and...
as President Kongi - Rasidi Onikoyi as King Oba Danlola
- Femi Johnson as Organizing Secretary
- Nina Baden-SemperNina Baden-SemperNina Baden-Semper is a British actress of West Indian descent, best known for her role as Barbie Reynolds in the controversial sit-com of the 1970s, Love Thy Neighbour. She has appeared mainly in character parts in TV, most recently in the ill-fated revival of Crossroads in 2002...
as Segi - Orlando MartinsOrlando MartinsOrlando Martins was a pioneering black actor in film and on stage. In the late 1940s, he was one of England's most prominent and leading black actors, and in a poll conducted in 1947, he was listed among England's top 15 favorite actors.-Life:...
as Dr. Gbenga - Dapo Adelugba as Daodu