Author: Michael Kolawole

Malaika, directed by Steve Sodiya, blends traditional Yoruba theatre and New Nollywood to deliver an average movie with social commentary. The movie revolves around Tutu (Toyin Abraham Ajeyemi), a successful yet hot-headed woman grappling with infertility after five years of marriage to Dr. Ebuka Njoku (Emeka Ike). The opening scenes vividly capture Tutu and her husband’s successful life before leaping into Tutu’s miscarriage and anger issues. The narrative unfolds with montages depicting Tutu’s heart-wrenching multiple miscarriages, leading to an emotional moment where she angrily scatters the once joyfully prepared baby room. This emotional journey lays the foundation for the film’s…

Bank Alert is a comedy drama with an intriguing storyline. The financially distressed protagonist receives a whopping sum of money in his bank account which leads to trouble when the supposed owner comes for him. In a chaotic twist, our protagonist must juggle more than his newfound wealth. He runs helter-skelter, joining forces with the frantic protagonists of Sugar Rush and Ololade, and forming an unintentional squad of financial misadventurers desperately seeking refuge.  Directed by Akay Mason (Day of Destiny), the film introduces a fresh perspective to the sudden wealth trope, infusing it with a unique blend of suspense and…

In the heart-wrenching psychodrama 4:4:44, which is inspired by a true event, we witness an extraordinary love story between a couple: a wife grappling with mental illness, and her devoted husband facing public scrutiny for diverting community health trust funds to cater for his wife’s medication and well-being. Directed by Izu Ojukwu (Amina), the love story in 4:4:44 is with a gleam of dark, malevolent eyes, and loyalty. Set in the early 1940s to the 60s, we revisit the turbulent marriage of Hillary Nweke and Theresa Izuoba Nweke, who are played by Seun Akindele and Richard Mofe-Damijo, and Efe Irele…

EXCLUSIVE: From the shining lights of theatre stages around the world to the klieg lights and silver screen of Nollywood, Olarotimi Fakunle’s artistry knows no bounds. Though some may consider him a newcomer, theatre enthusiasts know better—Fakunle is a seasoned actor with a rich resume of performances, directing, and theatrical knowledge. Long before he delighted the audience with his memorable performance in Jadesola Osiberu’s Gangs of Lagos, Fakunle had already stamped his name on theatre stages around the world. In Defense of ‘Gangs of Lagos’ and The Future of Our Films Over a Skype call, we had our interview, where…

True to its title, Gangs of Lagos, Prime Video’s debut African original film, directed by filmmaker Jadesola Osiberu, depicts an impoverished and chaotic neighborhood that bursts into a bloodbath. A hybrid work that integrates components of drama and gangster, the film locates its action in Isale Eko (downtown Lagos). The film premiered on Prime Video on April 7, 2023, starring Tobi Bakre, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Chike Osebuka, Chioma Akpotha, and Iyabo Ojo. In parallel to City of God (2002) and Gangs of New York (2002), the film is set in a present inflected with subtle dystopian facts—local hustlers with illegal operations,…

Anthonieta Kalunta’s proficiency in enacting her role as the cool-headed but vigorous lead character Aisha, in Desmond Ovbiagele’s critically-lauded movie, The Milkmaid, is so spell bounding that it won her accolades and awards. The Milkmaid tells the story of how Boko Haram, the extremist group that has destroyed Nigeria’s northeast and some countries in West Africa, kidnapped more than 250 schoolgirls in 2014 from the town of Chibok. In the 2020 film, inspired by the iconic photo of two Fulani milkmaids on the Nigerian 10 Naira note, Aisha and her younger sister Zainab (Mariam Booth) are abducted by the extremists…

Although born in Lagos, when he was five, he was taken to Abeokuta to live with his paternal grandparents. While in Abeokuta, he was exposed to Yoruba novels and music. By the time he was nine, he was already reading and writing. Later, he started reading D.O. Fagunwa’s books to his grandfather. His first glimmer as a filmmaker started from his childhood ideas of shadows from the headlights of automobiles passing across the wall of his grandfather’s compound. He discovered photography in Standard Six when he befriended a boy whose father was a photographer and possessed a box camera. Kelani’s…