Author: Ikeade

Principal photography begins on Black Harvest, written and directed by James Amuta, known as a producer on notable EbonyLife projects like Oloture, Blood Sisters and highly anticipated Elesin Oba (The King’s Horseman); and on Bolanle Austen-Peters-directed projects such as Man of God and yet-to-be-released Collision (also known as Collision Course, a screenplay he also scribed, winning the best screenplay at the 2021 AMAA and best film West Africa at the 2022 AMVCA). First Look: Stan Nze and Anthony Monjaro Come Face to Face with Danger in Olatunbosun Amao’s ‘Troublous Weekend’ Right: James Amuta, writer, director, producer and director of photography.…

Breaded Life, a 2021 cinema release by Biodun Stephen which debuted on Netflix, was our critic pick in June. A number of 2021 Nollywood cinema releases will be available to stream on Netflix this month: Prophetess, My Village People and The Ghost and The Tout Too. Brand new Nollywood titles in cinemas are Yahoo+, Money Miss Road, Choke and Hey You. Outside Nollywood, Get Out director Jordan Peele returns with his third horror flick, Nope. In The Gray Man, the Russo Brothers direct Netflix’s most expensive film yet, an action thriller starring Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling. The Best Nollywood…

Falling into rabbit holes on YouTube is quite easy. Even easier if it’s a subject you’re not well versed in, but has piqued your curiosity due to an appealing title or thumbnail. And in the case of Giannis Antetokounmpo, it was a video whose title was coined out of his story— from sleeping in gyms to making it into the NBA across the Atlantic. Beyond the relatability of seeking motivation for my personal life, I enjoyed watching various clips with the Bucks and their NBA title win and seeing him as the Milwaukee people’s boy, gladly using up my annual…

In May, Tunde Kelani’s Ayinla (Netflix) and Biodun Stephen’s A Simple Lie (cinemas) were our critic picks. Looking forward to June, Nollywood psychological thriller House of Money (Ile Owo) is set for cinemas, Dr. Sid’s directorial feature debut, The Order of Things, reboot/remake of a Nollywood classic, Glamour Girls, on Netflix and Akin Omotoso’s Giannis Antetokounmpo biopic, Rise,  premieres on Disney+. The Boys returns on Amazon Prime with a third season, Suicide Squad spinoff Peacemaker lands on Showmax, Rowan Atkinson popularly known as Mr. Bean stars in Netflix series Man Vs Bee and a Korean remake of Money Heist debuts…

Director Kenneth Gyang takes a brief look at scaling up with EbonyLife Studios, co-directing Netflix’s first original Nigerian series and makes the case for nudity as a narrative device. Many things can go wrong when making a film, most especially in the filmmaking clime of Nigeria. And everything that could go wrong showed up during the making of Kenneth Gyang’s first feature film, Confusion Na Wa, a 2013 indie film starring Ramsey Nouah, OC Ukeje, Ali Nuhu and Gold Ikponmwosa. The filmmaker has detailed these challenges in a series of tweets over the years and a popular thread on indie…

The Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) is Nollywood’s most revered award. Not many would like to admit, but it is—like many other things in the industry— unsurprisingly problematic. Since there is not much to analyze about the nominated and winning films of the 8th edition, here we go with tackling these problems. With these proposed suggestions, let’s have in mind that we are trying to create an award ceremony where fashion commentators have lesser relevance than film commentators. Both can exist, but it has been the other f word than what the actual f word of the night should…

Starring Deyemi Okanlawon (Swallow), Ini Dima-Okojie (Namaste Wahala), Nancy Isime (Omo Ghetto: The Saga), Gabriel Afolayan (For Maria Ebun Pataki), Kate Henshaw (Chief Daddy 2), Kehinde Bankole (Prophetess), Genoveva Umeh (One Lagos Night), Uche Jombo (Devil in Agbada), Daniel Etim Effiong (Happiness Ever After), Ramsey Nouah (Fisherman’s Diary) and Ibrahim Suleiman (The Man for the Job), EbonyLife’s Blood Sisters—created by Temidayo Makanjuola—is currently streaming on Netflix. Try out the quiz below ‘Blood Sisters’ Review: A Bloody Promising Affair Between Netflix and EbonyLife Other quizzes: WKMUp Quiz: How Well Do You Know Kunle Afolayan’s Movies?WKMUp Quiz: How Well Do You Know…

Chiemeka Osuagwu explains to WKMUp his approach to penning The Blood Covenant, tackling a theme Nigerians are familiar with, and what he believes Nollywood screenwriters could do as they navigate a cold industry—even viewers could help, all it takes is one comment. Osuagwu draws from personal experience for a familiar topic—money ritual— that has been tackled frequently in Nollywood, for which the industry received huge criticism from the government. As a TV writer who has over 600 hours under his belt, he has worked on web series MTV Shuga Naija; AfMag’s Hush, Unbroken, and Enakhe, Forbidden; as a head writer…

Netflix titles, like highly anticipated EbonyLife’s Blood Sisters, GreoH Studios’ Ayinla and Tunde Kelani’s 2014 sickle cell drama Dazzling Mirage, pave the way for more Nollywood offerings in May. In cinemas, Inkblot’s romcom, The Perfect Arrangement, and Bidoun Stephen’s The Wildflower will premiere. Foreign titles set to premiere are Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and indie sensation Everything Everywhere All at Once. TV shows Stranger Things and Love, Death and Robots return on Netflix, Obi-Wan Kenobi lands on Disney+, Apple TV+ spy drama Tehran, and HBO Max’s comedy-drama Hacks return for their sophomore season. Highlight of New…

Adenrele Owen Olowu—the making of a Nollywood auteur who understands the depth of less is more. Shortly after snagging the big prize at the recently concluded Film Rats Club festival, The Annual Film Mischief, Owen Olowu sat down with WKMUp to discuss the production of his winning film, Songs of Ubong; his filmmaking style referred to as VAR; his influences found in highly visual auteurs; and current industry debates.  The winning short film, Songs of Ubong, would happen during a courtesy visit to actor Wale Ojo’s house, which provided him with enough ingredients to undertake the impromptu project, which also stars…