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Kongi's Harvest
Kongi's Harvest
Directed by	Ossie Davis
Written by	Wole Soyinka
Produced by	Francis Oladele
Starring	Wole Soyinka; Orlando Martins; Rasidi Onikoyi; Femi Johnson; Nina Baden-Semper; Dapo Adelugba;
Cinematography	Åke Dahlqvist
Edited by	Jerry Gränsman
Music by	Chris McGregor
Production; companies	Calpenny Nigeria Ltd; Herald Productions; Omega Films;
Release dates	May 1970 (Sweden); February 1973 (United States); 1973 (Nigeria);
Running time	85 minutes
Country	Nigeria
Language	English

Kongi's Harvest is a 1970s Nigerian drama film directed by Ossie Davis. The film was adapted from a screenplay by Wole Soyinka adapted from his 1965 play of the same name.^[1]^[2] Soyinka, a Nigerian playwright, poet, and the first African to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, also starred in the leading role as the dictator of an African nation.^[3]^[4]

The film was produced by Francis Oladele's Calpenny Nigeria Films. The story revolved around the degeneration of personal rule in independent Africa and satirizes the resulting tyranny in terms of the confrontation between a populist politician and a traditional ruler. It is said that the film reflected the rising trend of dictatorships and tyrannical rule in Africa in the 1970s.^[5]

Production

The film was shot in Nigeria.^[6]^[7] It was the first production by a Nigerian indigenous company and its aim was to change perceptions about the country and the African continent.^[8]^[9]

The film is based on a play created by Wole Soyinka, who also appears in the film as Kongi. In an advertisement that appeared at the time of the film in The New York Times, Soyinka dissociated himself from the film and denounced the major changes that had been made to his screenplay.^[10]

Plot

President Kongi (Wole Soyinka), the dictator of an African developing nation, is trying to modernize his nation after deposing King Oba Danlola (Rasidi Onikoyi), who is being held in prison. However, Kongi's real ambition is that of presiding over the Festival of the New Yam, a spiritual privilege of the king. Kongi struggles to take authority over the festival as King Oba Danlola had chosen to remain in prison rather than give up the last of his power to Kongi.^[11] The spiritual privilege is left to Danlola, who is the kings nephew and heir, and is shown to grow prized yams on his farm. Kongi attempts to find a way to make Danlola submit to his demands.

A third man is introduced into the film, the idealist Daodu. Daodu is the head of a group of young dissidents, who opposes the traditional political system on the one hand and the ferocious modern dictatorship on the other. Daodu's lover Segi owns a bar where Daodu is shown to spend most of his time. Segi is later revealed to have been Kongi's former lover.

The different tribes resist unification and Kongi attempts to reach his goal by any means necessary, including forcing government officials to wear traditional African outfits and seeking advice from the man he deposed. Kongi eventually demands tribute from Danlola in the form of a yam, an important food in the culture. Kongi also uses 5 men convicted of Treason as bargaining chips in the battle for the yam. The day before the festival of the yams, two of the men escape, and one survives.

When Kongi is on the verge of obtaining the yam the next day, the army rebels, and the soldiers take the power into their hands. In a climactic scene at the harvest ceremony, Kongi is shot dead. The final scene depicts the escaped man, Dr. Gbenga, giving a propagandist speech over the same radio once used by Kongi.

Cast

Wole Soyinka as Kongi
Rasidi Onikoyi as King Oba Danlola
Femi Johnson as Organizing Secretary
Nina Baden-Semper as Segi
Orlando Martins as Dr. Gbenga
Dapo Adelugba as Daodu

References

^ Gugler, Josef (1997). "Wole Soyinka's Kongi's Harvest from Stage to Screen: Four Endings to Tyranny". Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines. 31 (1): 32–49. doi:10.2307/485324. ISSN 0008-3968.
^ Gugler, Josef (1999). "African Writing Projected onto the Screen: Sambizanga, Xala, and Kongi's Harvest", African Studies Review, Vol. 42, No. 1 April 1999.
^ "Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth review – Nigeria unmasked". the Guardian. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
^ "Kongi's Harvest: From Stage to Screen - The Centenary Project". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
^ "Kongi's Harvest: From Stage to Screen - The Centenary Project". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
^ Davis, Ossie (20 September 1970). Movies; "When Is a Camera a Weapon? The Camera As Weapon", The New York Times.
^ Rosenblum, Mort (4 April 1970). "Black Africa's First Full-Sized Movie", Los Angeles Times.
^ Bolwell, Edwin (15 July 1967). "Tarzan's Africa may be up a tree; U.S.-Nigerian Film Company Would Change Image", The New York Times.
^ Bunce, Alan (1 September 1970). "'There is a constant thread in all I've done'", The Christian Science Monitor.
^ Kerr, Walter (21 April 1968). "Tantalizing but Blurred". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
^ "Film card". Torino Film Fest. Retrieved 28 October 2021.