Wole Soyinka expresses discomfort over biopic
By Tosin Brown
Renowned Nigerian playwright and novelist Wole Soyinka has revealed his discomfort with public exposure of his private life, particularly when it is depicted in films or documentaries.
In a recent interview with CNN, Soyinka admitted that it pains him to see aspects of his life turned into material for public consumption.
“No. Let me put it this way, turning anything in my life into something other people can watch pains me,” he said. “I assisted them in trying to locate a house in which I hid and operated during the civil war.”
He continued, “They were looking for something similar to what we used during that period. But it’s not just about me; it’s also about a particular era. I might watch it eventually, but not immediately. Even this very interview we’re doing, I won’t watch. It always takes a while for me to bring myself to watch anything involving me.”
Soyinka, a Nobel laureate, was responding to questions about the adaptation of his memoirs on his prison years, which have now been turned into a movie titled The Man Died.
