THINGS FALL APART - Exhibition Opening

The Kultur Ensemble Atlanta (a collaboration between the Goethe-Zentrum Atlanta and the Alliance Francaise d’Atlanta) is excited to present:

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the premiere of the Nigerian-German movie “Things Fall Apart” in Atlanta and discover the story of the groundbreaking African film, its deep ties to Atlanta, the Black film industry, Black heroes, Oscar winners, Civil Rights, and ATL’s rise as a global city.

at Gallery 72

CURATORS: Akinbode Akinbiyi and Gisela Kayser

The son of filmmaker Francis Oladele, Lanre Oladele, will be present at the opening and part of a panel discussion on the impact of the novel and the movie in Nigeria, the USA, and beyond.

WHAT TO EXPECT

6:00 PM open

7:00 PM reception and speeches

HOSTS & ORGANIZERS

Kultur Ensemble Atlanta ( & )

Modern Film Archives, Berlin

&

German Federal Office for Foreign Affairs /

EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION

Created in 1971 in Nigeria, little was known about the circumstances and the making of the film Things Fall Apart until the images were discovered in the estate of the late film director Jason Pohland.

The exhibition, a cross-cultural collaboration, showcases the long lost documents of the making of the film with a collection of still photo prints by accomplished cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt.

The film and the exhibition highlight the connection and struggle between Africa and the West, between generations and cultures, and also the story of Nigerian-Atlantan collaboration, the shaping of modern, global Atlanta and Sister Cities relationships, the Black film industry, African royalty, and ATL-local high-profile changemakers.

The 1974 premiere of Things Fall Apart in Atlanta draws direct connections to the election of Maynard Jackson in the same year, as the Nigerian co-producer, legendary filmmaker Francis Oladele, was his brother-in-law. Moreover, the premiere was directly connected to the founding of the Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs and the establishment of the Atlanta-Lagos Sister City partnership, which both celebrated their 50th anniversary just recently.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Nigerian executive producer Francis Oladele (1932-2015) established Calpenny Nigeria Films Limited – the first independent film production company in Nigeria – in 1965 with the intention of providing a platform for artistic expression in a more profound way and opening the Nigerian arts to an international audience. Oladele succeeded in hiring the American Ossie Davis, a close friend of Malcom X and very active in the civil rights movement, as director for this first project. Things Fall Apart, Oladele‘s second feature film, is another key part of the beginnings of Nigeria’s Pre-Nollywood movie industry. The film, made by a few international but mostly local crew members, was directed by German director Jason Pohland.

In Germany, the film premier triggered a series of official trips to five West African countries immediately afterward expressing the growing importance of German-African partnerships.

In the US, the film premiered a full four years after production in Nigeria due to an apparent difficulty in finding a distributor for the film.

Under the patronage of Maynard Jackson, the first African-American mayor of Atlanta, the African-American society attended the premiere in 1974. Chinua Achebe and Francis Oladele, Maynard Jackson’s brother-in-law, were among the 200+ guests.

The photographs in the exhibition show Chinua Achebe on set, the Ugandan princess, lawyer and later diplomat Elizabeth of Toro, who shortly after shooting the film became Uganda‘s foreign minister; the in 1899 in Lagos born actor Orlando Martins – Nigeria‘s first international film star – in his last role as Obierika; John Sekka, the popular Senegalese actor in the leading role of Obi Okonkwo; co-founder of Lagos Freedom Park Iyabo Aboaba in her role as Bisi.

Other crew members later made great careers in the film industry: the still photographer Stephen Goldblatt became a director of photography, shot Batman films and was nominated twice for an Oscar; the assistant editor Alhaji Arulogun became one of Nigeria’s pioneer broadcasters and later headed several ministries for the state government of Oyo State; Ivan Sharrock, the sound mixer, won two Oscars.

ASSOCIATED EVENTS

Film Screening "Things Fall Apart"

Date, time, and loation TBA

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Gallery 72, 72 Marietta Street NW, Atlanta, United States