The Fuji Documentary
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| The Fuji Documentary | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Saheed Aderinto |
| Produced by | Saheed Aderinto |
| Starring | Kollington Ayinla, Salawa Abeni, Sefiu Alao, Ropo Ewenla, Rashidi Ayinde Merenge |
| Cinematography | Saheed Aderinto |
| Edited by | Aderibigbe Abiola Provost |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Languages | English, Yoruba |
The Fuji Documentary is a historical documentary film produced and directed by Saheed Aderinto.[1][2] The first episode titled Mr. Fuji: Barry Wonder details the life and times of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister (1948–2010), the creator of Fuji Music. It premiered in Ibadan in February 2024. Subsequent episodes of The Fuji Documentary will be released over ten years.[3][1]
Critics, which include popular culture scholars, historians, and filmmakers, have described The Fuji Documentary as "a landmark in popular music documentation," "a must-see," "powerful," "trailblazing," "an oratorical-historical masterpiece" by "a master of the subject and a brilliant visual narratologist."[4]
Mr. Fuji: Barry Wonder has a total of 35 individual cast and 96 cast in total. They include Fuji artists, poets, professional actors, visual artists, journalists, biographers, and friends and family members of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. Some of the notable casts include General Kollington Ayinla, Queen Salawa Abeni, late Isiaka Iyanda (Sawaba), Alhaji Sefiu Alao (Baba Oko), Alhaji Rashidi Ayinde (Merenge), and journalists and Fuji artists biographers such as Dayo Odeyemi, Wale Ademowo, Akintunde Akinteye, and Tunde Busari. Professional actors, including Ropo Ewenla, Moji Wonah, Olanireti Falade, and Adebisi Dedeke, were also featured in the documentary.
Screenings
Mr. Fuji: Barry Wonder premiered in Ibadan in February 2024 as part of Barryfest, the biennial carnival, celebrating the legacies of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister.[5][6] Since then, it has been screened at film festivals (such as the iRepresent International Documentary Film Festival), college campuses (Cornell University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ghent University, University of Lagos, Florida International University, The Polytechnic, Ibadan), public spaces, such as bars and restaurants, and academic conferences such as the African Studies Association of the United Kingdom Conference (Oxford, UK), the Lagos Studies Association Conference (Lagos, Nigeria), and the American Historical Association Conference (New York City, United States).[7][8][9][10][11]
Plot
Mr. Fuji: Barry Wonder opens with a general introduction to the creative efflorescence of the 1970s, made possible by millions of dollars in revenue from the global oil boom. Fuji made its transition from a religious musical genre, performed only during the holy month of Ramadan, to a secular all-year-round music, because of the transformation in the Nigerian musical culture during the 1970s, allowing several musicians to achieve enormous financial and creative success.
The documentary then went into the life history of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, from his birth in Lagos in 1948, to the challenges he encountered growing up, and the numerous musical competitions he participated in as a teenager. It then chronicles his first recorded album in 1966, his enlistment into the Nigerian army in 1968, and the birth of Fuji music as a distinct genre by the second half of the 1970s.[12][13]
Different sections of the documentary focus on how Fuji was introduced to the global world through Barrister's international tours, the break-up of his band, the creative genius of his lead percussionists (especially Kamoru Ayansola and Aderoju Yekini), his creative process, family life, his political art, his fight with publicist Olabisi Ajala, death in December 2010, and the attempts by his global fans to promote his legacy.