{{Short description|Nigerian documentary film}} {{Infobox film | name = The Fuji Documentary | director = Saheed Aderinto | producer = Saheed Aderinto | starring = Kollington Ayinla, Salawa Abeni, Sefiu Alao, Ropo Ewenla, Rashidi Ayinde Merenge | cinematography = Saheed Aderinto | editing = Aderibigbe Abiola Provost | released = {{Film date|2024}} | runtime = 118 minutes | country = Nigeria | language = English, Yoruba }} thumb|The Fuji Documentary Screening in Lagos|252x252px thumb|314x314px|Director at iRepresent Documentary Film Festival '''''The Fuji Documentary''''' is a historical documentary film produced and directed by Saheed Aderinto.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Aderinto |first=Saheed |date=2024-04-01 |title=Fuji music in Nigeria: new documentary shines light on a popular African culture |url=https://theconversation.com/fuji-music-in-nigeria-new-documentary-shines-light-on-a-popular-african-culture-224976 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Owolabi |first=Adekunle |date=2024-05-15 |title=New Documentary Explores Fújì Music's Rich Tapestry |url=https://theafricadailypost.com/313416/culture/music/new-documentary-explores-fuji-musics-rich-tapestry/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=The Africa Daily Post |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Rapheal |date=2024-02-03 |title=Barrifest 2024 holds in Ibadan |url=https://thesun.ng/barrifest-2024-holds-in-ibadan/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|access-date=2024-12-23 |newspaper=The Sun|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
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."<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Olawoyin |first=Oladeinde |date=January 26, 2024 |title=Review: Mr Fuji: Barry Wonder – First episode screams respectful admiration |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/features-and-interviews/662249-review-mr-fuji-barry-wonder-first-episode-screams-respectful-admiration.html?tztc=1 |access-date=2024-12-23 |newspaper=Premium Times}}</ref>
== Cast == ''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. thumb|Screening in Miami, Florida|304x304px
== 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Online |first=Tribune |date=2024-02-03 |title=Sikiru Ayinde Barrister's fans hold BarriFest 2024 in Ibadan |url=https://tribuneonlineng.com/sikiru-ayinde-barristers-fans-hold-barrifest-2024-in-ibadan/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |newspaper=Nigerian Tribune|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Busari |first=Tunde |date=2024-02-19 |title=Passion, fashion in holy wedlock at Ayinde Barrister Festival - |url=https://thetabloid.net/passion-fashion-in-holy-wedlock-at-ayinde-barrister-festival/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=The Tabloid |language=en-US}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chikelu |first=Chinelo |date=2024-03-17 |title=Seven Films To Headline The 2024 IREP International Documentary Film Festival |url=https://leadership.ng/seven-films-to-headline-the-2024-irep-international-documentary-film-festival/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |newspaper=Leadership|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Film Screening: The Fuji Documentary - Ep 1: Mr. Fuji, Barry Wonder (2024) |url=https://events.cornell.edu/event/film-screening-the-fuji-documentary-ep-1-mr-fuji-barry-wonder-2024 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Cornell |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title='Madu,' 'Loot and the Lost Kingdoms,' Others to Headline iREP|url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/03/17/madu-loot-and-the-lost-kingdoms-others-to-headline-irep/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |newspaper=This Day}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=At iREP, 'Righting the Future' Through Hope, Resilience|url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2024/03/27/at-irep-righting-the-future-through-hope-resilience/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |newspaper=This Day}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=138th Annual Meeting (January 3-6, 2025) |url=https://aha.confex.com/aha/2025/webprogram/meeting2025-01-06.html |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=aha.confex.com}}</ref>
== 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-05 |title=Review: Admiration sets the tone in first episode of musical documentary Mr Fuji: Barry Wonder |url=https://dandavidprize.org/mr-fuji-barry-wonder-first-episode-screams-respectful-admiration/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Dan David Prize |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Aderinto |first=Saheed |title=Fuji music in Nigeria: new documentary shines light on a popular African culture |url=https://news.fiu.edu/2024/fuji-music-in-nigeria-new-documentary-shines-light-on-a-popular-african-culture |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=FIU News |language=en}}</ref>
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.
== Scenery and location == ''The Fuji Documentary'' was shot in Nigeria, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The Nigerian locations include the Tunde Odunlade Art Gallery (Ibadan); the Institute of African Studies and the Wole Soyinka Arts Theatre (University of Ibadan); The Museum of Natural History and the Department of Creative Arts (University of Lagos); the National Archives of Nigeria, Ibadan; the Department of Music Technology (The Polytechnic Ibadan); The J. F. Ade Ajayi Library (Ibadan); The Oyo State House of Assembly (Ibadan), among private homes and public spaces.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=2024-04-08 |title=Fújì music in Nigeria: new documentary shines light on a popular African culture |url=https://torontospark.ca/fuji-music-in-nigeria-new-documentary-shines-light-on-a-popular-african-culture/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Toronto Spark |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |date=2024-04-10 |title=Fújì music in Nigeria: new documentary shines light on a popular African culture |url=https://pancouver.ca/fuji-music-in-nigeria-new-documentary-shines-light-on-a-popular-african-culture/ |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=Pancouver |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Reception == Professor Emerita Karin Barber says of the film: "The director and producer of the film, Professor Saheed Aderintọ, is a leading cultural historian and authority on Nigerian popular music. Though factually detailed and sophisticated in approach, the dominant note is one of respectful admiration for a unique cultural figure [Sikiru Ayinde Barrister]. The film is beautifully put together and entirely captivating—a landmark in popular music documentation. Àjànàkú kọjá "Mo rí nǹkan fìrí", bá a bá rérin, ká a sọ pé a rérin! [It's impossible to deny sighting an elephant.]"<ref name=":2" />
Jesse Weaver Shipley, the John D. Willard Professor of African and African American Studies and Oratory at Dartmouth College comments that "Saheed Aderinto is a masterful storyteller who successfully brings his prodigious skills as a historian to documentary filmmaking. This film brilliantly tells the story of Fuji music as it emerges in the cultural efflorescence of post-independence Nigeria and then goes global. This film is a must-see for music fans and anyone interested in understanding the creative spark currently igniting Nigerian music, film, and art."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adisa |first=Folorunso Fatai |date=2024-12-25 |title=The Fuji Documentary: A Scholarly Tribute to Sikiru Ayinde Barrister’s Enduring Legacy |url=https://newsreporters.com.ng/2024/12/25/the-fuji-documentary-a-scholarly-tribute-to-sikiru-ayinde-barristers-enduring-legacy/ |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=News Reporters |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Dami Ajayi submits that ''The Fuji Documentary'' is "an overwhelming experience, in a good way. It is a well-deserved and wholesome profile of the music genre Fuji and its frontal innovator, Barrister Sikiru Ayinde, a.k.a. Mr. Fuji. This timely intervention from a seasoned academic, Professor Saheed Aderinto, who is vocal about his love for Fuji…[He] provides us with a tender story explored with academic rigour and profound cultural understanding. His scholarly approach to the subject matter is sure to stimulate your intellectual curiosity."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ajayi |first=Dami |date=2024-12-07 |title=57. A Layered Love Letter to Fuji Music |url=https://damiajayi.substack.com/p/57-a-layered-love-letter-to-fuji |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=London Listening Sessions}}</ref>
Fatai Adisa Folorunso remarks: "The clear visuals, crisp sound, and seamless narrative transitions make the documentary not only engaging but also educational ... Aderinto's work gives us a multifaceted approach that combines the skills of a journalist, critic, cinematographer, historian, entertainer, and academic to produce a comprehensive and compelling piece ... ''The Fuji Documentary'' is a tour de force that blends academic rigor with artistic flair. Professor Aderinto's ability to weave cultural history with personal narratives makes this work an invaluable resource for understanding Sikiru Ayinde Barrister's Fuji's legacy."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bagbansoro |first=Olamilekan Uthman |date=2024-12-27 |title=The Fuji Documentary: Saheed Aderinto’s Masterpiece On Sikiru Ayinde Barrister And The Evolution Of Fuji Music |url=https://gatekeepersnews.com/2024/12/27/the-fuji-documentary-saheed-aderintos-masterpiece-on-sikiru-ayinde-barrister-and-the-evolution-of-fuji-music/ |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=Gatekeepers News |language=en-US}}</ref>
Another reviewer submitted: "As a leading social and cultural historian of modern Nigeria, Aderinto brings this important musical tradition to those who may have never even heard the word "fújì." He’s traveled to Lagos, Ibadan and other cities, visiting libraries, museums and universities to interview different fújì artists. Everything he learned, Aderinto shared in real-time with his deeply engaged audience on social media — part of his commitment to make research accessible to all people."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nicoletti |first=Angela |title=The history of fújì music |url=https://news.fiu.edu/2025/memories-history-in-music?fbclid=IwY2xjawIEFLJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQKf2e0z_xdcCecoPrKuw0WViThwnY1UGmmgfzzc-fPd86cDOJPLpL_rTQ_aem_5v6VY-GsYboqE8B-9Lx-gQ |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=FIU Research Magazine |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuji Documentary, The}} Category:2024 films Category:Nigerian documentary films Category:2024 documentary films