For the fourth edition of our Critics Poll, participating critics could select their top 5 films from a list of 88 released films across cinemas and streaming services (Prime Video, Showmax and Netflix most notably). And they were awarded points as stated below:
1st place: 10 points, 2nd place: 5 points, 3rd place: 3 points, 4th place: 2 points, 5th place: 1 point
The results of the Critics Poll, which also includes the best performances and directors, differ from What Kept Me Up’s list which we publish annually in the first week of December.
More critics returned for this year’s edition, with freelancers still dominating the active professionals in the industry. Other participating critics are from online publications like Afrocritik, Culture Custodian, and NollyCritic. Representing the Instagram publications include Marapolsa Reviews and It’s A Wrap. Lastly, audiovisual outlets like Tito’s Second Channel, EkweReviews and Iroko Critic got involved.
In the directors and performances categories, each critic could select 3 names in each category, with each mention counting as votes for the filmmaker/actor. Once again, the names with at least 2 votes have made it to the list.
(Consideration window: Films released to the general audience for the first time between December 1, 2024 – November 30, 2025).
Films of The Year
- My Father’s Shadow (cinemas)
- The Fire and The Moth (Prime Video)
- Say Who Die (Prime Video)
- Over The Bridge (cinemas)
- Freedom Way (cinemas)
- The Herd (premiered in cinemas, now streaming on Netflix)
- My Mother is a Witch (cinemas)
- Blackout (cinemas)
- Suky (Prime Video)
- Something About The Briggs (cinemas)
Directors of The Year
- Taiwo Egunjobi (Fire and The Moth)
- Akinola Davies Jr. (My Father’s Shadow)
- Paul Utomi (Say Who Die)
- Afolabi Olalekan (Freedom Way ), Tolu Ajayi (Over The Bridge)
- Okechukwu Oku (Blackout), Ola Cardoso (Suky), Daniel Etim-Effiong (The Herd)
Performances of The Year
- Mercy Aigbe (My Mother is a Witch), Sope Dirisu (My Father’s Shadow)
- Toyin Abraham (Ori Rebirth), Amal Umar (The Herd), Zainab Balogun (Landline), Ozzy Agu (Over The Bridge), Daniel Etim-Effiong (The Masked King), Gideon Okeke (Blackout), Adebowale Adedayo (Freedom Way), Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman (The Herd)
The names of the participating critics and how they voted can be seen here.
Become a patron: To support our in-depth and critical coverage—become a Patron today!
Join the conversation: Share your thoughts in the comments section or on our social media accounts.
Track Upcoming Films: Keep track of upcoming films and TV shows on your Google calendar.
1 Comment