In August 2022, his daughter, Temi Bandele
announced his sudden death at the age of 54. The cause of his death was not
disclosed at the time.
In a report published, The Guardian
UK revealed that Bandele committed suicide in August 2022.
The British platform reported that Bándélé
took his life a day after he had a conversation with his editor, Hannah Chukwu,
about the novel he was working on, Yorùbá Boy Running, after which he sent
her a revised version of the manuscript.
“On the following day, the 54-year-old
filmmaker, playwright, and novelist took his own life,” the newspaper reported.
It continued, “He left behind an impressive
and strikingly varied body of work: the film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, which took seven years to make; stage
versions of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko and
Lorca’s Yerma; poetry, screenplays and several novels including 2007’s Burma
Boy, which told the story of his father’s harrowing and brutal experiences as a
British army soldier in the second world war.”
Temi Bandele, the daughter of the late
Nigerian filmmaker and writer, believes her father was content with his last
work, Yorùbá Boy Running.
She expressed that he knew it was going to
be the last words that he was writing. "And you can really feel the energy
of that," she said.
"He wanted it to be the beginning of
multiple conversations that would happen when he wasn’t here." This
perspective highlights her father's intention behind the novel and the weight
of his creative vision before his untimely passing in August 2022, UK Guardian
reports.
Biyi Bandele's sudden death shocked the
literary and film communities. He was mourned by family, colleagues, and
friends worldwide.
Bandele's impressive body of work includes
the critically acclaimed film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's
"Half of a Yellow Sun”, stage productions of classics like Chinua Achebe's
"Things Fall Apart", poetry collections and novels, including
"Burma Boy," a powerful narrative based on his father's experiences
as a British soldier during World War II.
Bandele was born in Kafanchan, Kaduna
State, to parents from Abeokuta, Ogun State. He pursued his passion for the
arts by studying Dramatic Arts at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo
University) in Ile Ife.
His talent was recognised when he won the
BBC Playwriting Competition, after which he relocated to England, where he
built a successful career as a writer.
Before his d3ath, he directed and adapted
the screenplay for ‘Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman’ in 2022, a film based on
Wole Soyinka’s classic drama, ‘Death and the King’s Horseman.’ This adaptation
was produced for EbonyLife Films and released on 28 October 2022.
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