In the Shadow of a Saint

Drama

Cast
Djimon Hounsou
Chiwetel Ejiofor

Logline

A heart rendering account of the turbulent relationship between writer Ken Saro Wiwa and his son Ken Wiwa set against the backdrop of Saro Wiwa's fight for his people.

Synopsis

In 1994 Ken Saro-Wiwa one of Nigeria’s most celebrated writers was wrongfully accused and imprisoned for murder by the country’s dictatorial regime. IN THE SHADOW OF A SAINT is the story of Ken and his estranged son Ken Jr. As Ken Sr. sits in prison, father and son secretly exchange letters in an attempt to reconcile. Finally, Ken Jr. bows to world pressure and campaigns to save his father’s life. But the campaign to save him fails: on November 10th, 1995, Ken Saro- Wiwa is hanged and the world is outraged.

Nigeria was becoming a dangerous country for Ken Saro-Wiwa and as his militancy grew he sent his wife and children to live a life of privilege and safety in London. At home in Nigeria Ken lead half a million people of the Ogoni tribe in a peaceful protest against the corrupt military dictatorship and the oil companies that siphoned billions of dollars in oil revenues and destroyed their rich Niger delta farmlands. Ken Saro-Wiwa gambled everything for justice, his people, his family and ultimately his life.

Who was Ken Saro-Wiwa and what drove a man from a small tribal village in Nigeria to become one of the great political activists of the 20th Century? How did he rally half a million Ogoni to resist a dictatorship and the even more powerful multi-national oil companies in the largest peaceful protest since Ghandi? In doing so, how did he manage to threaten the Nigerian government to such an extent that they defied international pressure to save Ken’s life and murder a popular and innocent figure?