NollywoodWeek: Nollywood has drawn sustained criticism for its reductive portrayals of women. This tendency emerges from a convergence of socio-cultural frameworks—particularly established patriarchal norms—and external narrative inheritances traceable to Classical Hollywood Cinema, privileging archetypal characterization and gendered narrative binaries. This is further reinforced by industrial conditions that have traditionally favoured formula-driven production.
In recent Nollywood, there has been a more sustained effort to complexify female representation. Onobiren, directed by Famous Odion Iraoya (Finding Nina) from a screenplay by producer Laju Iren (Saving Amanda), is a new addition to this trajectory. The film introduces Roli (Ruby Akubueze), a thriving entrepreneur who has found success through her training in fishing. Framed through an appearance on #WithChude—Chude Jideonwo’s talk show known for its emotional disclosures—she narrates her life: from a difficult childhood in a fishing village in Warri to her search for greener pastures in Lagos, where her story begins to find a silver lining.
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The film’s seriousness on its explicit engagement with womanhood is first indicated in its title, which translates to woman in Itsekiri. Subtitled “A Woman’s Story,” it extends beyond the story of a single woman to those who surround her. In Onobiren, womanhood is constructed as a spectrum; transcending the archetypal binary of “virtue” or “vice” through the autonomy and pragmatism of its female characters.
Against her mother’s wish, Roli accepts an offer from Mama Temisan (Patience Ozokwo), who in her desperation for a grandchild decides on finding her son Temisan (Deyemi Okanlawon) a new mistress. Roli sees it as an opportunity to go to Lagos with hopes of finding better opportunities. Rebecca (Bisola Aiyeola), Mama Temisan’s daughter-in-law, on the other hand is burdened by the absence of a child in her marriage, and constant pressures from her mother-in-law. Producing the familiar stereotypical “wicked mother-in-law” trope, but in Onobiren this trope exists to be deconstructed. Acknowledging Roli’s search for better opportunities, Rebecca decides instead to support her, a decision that would eventually turn both their lives around for better, and those of the women in Roli’s community.
While the film is an exploration of womanhood, it doesn’t do so in isolation. Through figures such as Papa Roli (Gabriel Owarone) who despite traditional disapproval, takes her fishing as a child, insisting that the sea does not recognize gender; and Temisan, whose solidarity with his wife persists against maternal pressure. The film frames female identity through a network of relational support. Its controlled incorporation of faith-based themes—particularly forgiveness and redemption—as practical rather than superficial qualities is noteworthy.
While the film’s existence in itself can feel like a prayer answered—given its apparent subversion of the stereotypical Nollywood woman—this impression is only sustained for an audience that ignores how that subversion is executed. Its rather controlled lead performances are burdened by the recitative, speech-like delivery of its supporting cast, resulting in uneven performance quality across the film. This imbalance becomes more pronounced in scenes containing performances from both primary and secondary cast.
The film is also littered with dialogue and narrative conveniences that sometimes reduce dramatic moments to explanation. Early on, the death of Roli’s father is indicated through a close-up of a withering hand, a dubious gesture that appears too cheap to be taken seriously. Later on, Rebecca’s now peaceful mother-in-law serves her pepper soup, prompting the line: “But pepper soup is usually for women that just put to bed, our prince here is a gift from God through adoption.” The line imposes information that can be organically conveyed, reducing the moment to explanation. In both cases, meaning is delivered too conveniently, rather than constructed through formal and narrative organization.
Although the film foregrounds interconnectedness, its extensive use of a shallow depth-of-field visually isolates characters—from each other and their surroundings—emphasizing individuality. In closeups, the actors’ faces are rarely in full focus, drawing attention to minor physical features with no narrative purpose. I cannot help but think of how it aligns with the logic of quick internet tutorials that emphasize shallow depth-of-field as synonymous to “cinematic” quality.
Onobiren, as a result of its soft rigour, leaves much to be desired. Nevertheless, it is an important film whose noble intent should be recognized by audiences and emulated by Nollywood practitioners.
Onobiren is a production of Laju Iren Films, screening at NollywoodWeek 2026. It premiered in cinemas on March 6.
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Side Musings
- Mama G (Patience Ozokwo) plays the role of a wicked mother- in-law that is eventually redeemed in a script written by a pastor. Free at last! Hallelujah somebody!
- The film at times addresses its own flaws. We realize Roli has disobeyed her mother through a simple gesture of her ignoring her mother’s call. Naturally, one would expect a more overstated depiction judging from the film’s logic. Rigour is seemingly not absent, just not sufficient.
