The classic “Shehu Umar”,a film adaptation of the book written by Sir Abubakar
Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s Prime Minister in the First Rebublic, has recieved World
premiere at the 68th annual Berlin
International Film Festival in Germany.
The 2018 edition of the prestious Berlin International
Film Festival is holding frFebruary 15 to 25, and the film is selected for both
press and industry screening at the festival and has also been slated to
entertain quests at the grand finale of the festival on Feb 25.
Mr Astone Danjuma,an official of the Nigerian
Film Corporation (NFC) who is part of the Nigeria delegation to Berlin, said
the film received ethusiastic applauds on its first screening day.
According to him, over 350 stakeholders,
including actors and filmmakers from
across Europe and other parts of the world, representatives of the German Government
from the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany,as well as industry watchers
gathered to premiere this legendary Nollywood film.
He said the premiere was followed by a ‘Nigerian Day
Happy Hour’, a reception put together
for Nigerian delegates by the Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Hon. Yusuf Tuggar.
Danjuma said dignitaries at the event include Dr
Chidia Maduekwe,Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Coporation (NFC) who led
the Nigeria team to Germany,Alh Umaru Dembo,who is the lead character in the
film, Prof. Christy Best, Rector of the National Film Institute and Mrs Akudo Nwosu, Director of Entertainment and
Creativity at the Federal Ministry of Information and Orientation.
He said Alh. Adedayo Thomas, Executive Secretary
of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) and other stakeholders
from Africa were also present.
Shehu Umar is a story of African slavery written in 1966, but was published in 1971,and
thereafter adapted for a film in 1976 by Adamu Halilu, the pioneer Managing Director of the Nigerian Film Corporation.
The German Government sought to restore and digitised the film in
line with modern technological advancement, using the expertise of the Arsenal
Institute of Film and Video Archives Berlin, Germany.