Rediscover a major work of Nigerian film history in its 50th anniversary year.
Filmed in Hausa in 1976 by Nigerian director Adamu Halilu, Shaihu Umar is a landmark of pre-Nollywood Nigerian cinema and an important work for the study of African film, history, literature, Islam, slavery, and cultural memory.
Based on the acclaimed novel by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who later became Nigeria’s first prime minister, the film is set in northern Nigeria at the end of the 19th century. Through the life journey of Shaihu Umar, it explores displacement, slavery, Islamic education, family separation, spiritual development, and the search for identity and belonging.
Long considered lost, Shaihu Umar was rediscovered when its camera negative was located in the Nigerian Film Corporation archive in 2016. The film was subsequently digitally restored by Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art with the support of the German Embassy in Abuja. The restored version premiered at the Berlinale in February 2018.
In 2026, fifty years after its original release, Shaihu Umar offers students and educators an exceptional opportunity to engage with a rarely seen chapter of Nigerian and African cinema history.
Recommended for courses and collections in: African Studies • Africana Studies • Film & Media Studies • Nigerian History • African History • Hausa Studies • Islamic Studies • African Literature • Slavery Studies • Postcolonial Studies • Film Preservation and Archival Studies
SYNOPSIS
Set in northern Nigeria towards the end of the 19th century, Shaihu Umar begins with a discussion between Islamic students and their renowned teacher, the wise Shaihu Umar.
Asked about his origins, Umar recounts the extraordinary story of his life. Born into a modest family, he is separated from his mother after the death of his father and the banishment of his stepfather. His subsequent journey is marked by displacement, enslavement, hardship, and profound personal transformation.
Eventually adopted by his Arab master, Abdulkarim, Umar attends Koranic school and later becomes an imam. Following a powerful dream, he resolves to search for the mother from whom he was separated as a child.
Through Umar’s journey, the film examines slavery within Africa, Islamic education and spirituality, family and belonging, and the social world of 19th-century northern Nigeria.
ABOUT THE RESTORATION
Nigerian filmmaker and film critic Didi Cheeka has worked for years to reassess and preserve Nigeria’s cinematic heritage. He initiated the archive project Reclaiming History, Unveiling Memory, dedicated to restoring, digitizing, and curating rediscovered Nigerian films.
Shaihu Umar, one of the most significant works uncovered through this effort, had long been considered lost. The rediscovery of its camera negative in 2016 made the reconstruction of the film possible.
Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art restored the film with the support of the German Embassy in Abuja. The digitally restored version premiered at the Berlinale in February 2018.
FILM DETAILS
SHAIHU UMAR Directed by Adamu Halilu Epic Drama | Nigeria | 1976 | 142 min. Hausa with English subtitles
Based on the novel Shaihu Umar by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
CAST
Umaru Ladan — Shaihu Umar Mairiga Aliyu — Fatima Husaini Mohammed — Umar, age 3 Umaru Dembo — Makau Assad Yasin — Abdulkarim Harira Kachia — Kaka
CREW
Director Adamu Halilu
Screenplay Adamu Halilu, based on the novel of the same title by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Directors of Photography Yusuf Mohammed, Zakari Yusufu
Editing Edwin Apim
Sound Baba Gana
Production Design Assad Yasin
Producers Umaru Ladan, Umaru Dembo
Produced by Federal Ministry of Information (Federal Film Unit Kaduna)
ABOUT ADAMU HALILU
Adamu Halilu was born in Adamawa State, Nigeria, in 1936. He studied screenwriting and editing in London. In addition to directing feature films, Halilu wrote screenplays and participated in the production of nearly 70 documentary films. He died in 2001.
Selected Filmography
1963 — Mama Learns a Lesson, 48 min. 1971 — Child Bride, 70 min. 1976 — Shaihu Umar 1978 — Kanta of Kebbi 1981 — Moment of Truth, 90 min. 1982 — Zainab
Bio- and filmography based on Berlinale 2018 materials.
