Toronto, Canada – August 21, 2024 – Nigerian filmmaker Onyeka Nwelue’s highly anticipated biopic “Other Side of History” is set to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 12th. The film offers a captivating glimpse into the pre-independence era of Nigeria, focusing on the enigmatic life of Emeka Ojukwu, the charismatic leader of Biafra.
Nwelue’s cinematic vision takes audiences on a journey through Ojukwu’s flamboyant lifestyle, his love for highlife music, and his interactions with influential figures of the time. The film showcases Ojukwu’s charismatic personality, hosting extravagant parties and inviting legendary musicians like E.T. Mensah and Bobby Benson to perform.
“Other Side of History” boasts a stellar cast, featuring Makinde Adeniran as Wole Soyinka, Emeka Darlington as Chinua Achebe, and Hero Daniels as Chris Okigbo. The film also includes Emeka Okoye as Olusegun Obasanjo, Ugo Stevenson as Philip Effiong, and Jammal Ibrahim as Yakubu Gowon.
Nwelue’s meticulous attention to detail and his ability to humanize historical figures make “Other Side of History” a captivating film. The film challenges viewers to rethink the legacies of Ojukwu, Soyinka, and their contemporaries, presenting them as individuals shaped by their time and circumstances.
Director’s Bio
BORN in 1988, Onyeka Nwelue is a Nigerian scholar, filmmaker, jazz musician and publisher, who has published over 25 books, the most popular being the crime fiction Lovers’ Awards-winning The Strangers of Braamfontein, described by Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, as ‘raunchy.’
He left for India when he was 18 years old, where he wrote his first novel, The Abyssinian Boy, which won the TM Aluko Prize for Fiction and the Ibrahim Tahir Prize for First Book in 2009. He was nominated for the Future Awards Africa thrice.
Nwelue was an Academic Visitor to the University of Oxford and Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge. He was a Visiting Research Fellow at Ohio University; and Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg.
Currently director of Africa Center Mexico, Nwelue’s latest offering, “The Nigerian Mafia: Mumbai,” is first in a 10-book series, set in 10 countries. It was longlisted for the 2023 Chinua Achebe Prize and won the 2023 ANA Prose Prize. It’s currently being developed for film by Indian filmmaker, Ramesh Raparthy.
