Reviews
‘Alive Till Dawn’ Review: Nigeria’s Claimed First Zombie Apocalypse is Derivative, Politically Oblivious, and an Illusion of Innovation
The Nollywood horror genre has declined over the years. This can be attributed to a combination of moral and religious panic, alongside the industry’s formulaic mode of operation. Over time, Nollywood has found other formulas […]
Sundance 2026: Praise Odigie’s ‘Birdie’ Review (Short Film)
Sundance: In Birdie, Praise Odigie Paige evokes an ideal countryside with scenic shots of a home nestled in fields of green and a stream cutting through. There are no neighbours and it is isolated from […]
Sundance 2026: Olive Nwosu’s ‘Lady’ Review
Sundance: Some film endings comfort. Others provoke and leave us uneasy. Some quietly ask us to act. In these moments, the final frame becomes the film’s last word, the image that follows us out of […]
Short Film Review: Uchenna Ugwu’s ‘I Too, Crave Death’ Carries Heart and Soul, But Burdened By Visual Impatience
The almost absent representation of mental health in our films reflects our collective social and cultural ideologies concerning the topic. People struggling with psychological challenges are often labelled as confused, mad, or even possessed. At […]
Short Film Review: Jeremiah John’s ‘Market People’ is a Tale of Bodies Seeking Warmth in a Cold World
“Aiyé l’òjà, ọ̀run n’ilé” is a lifelong Yorùbá adage that translates to ‘life is a marketplace, home lies beyond (heaven). It reflects on the transient nature of existence; life is full of trade-offs, people come […]
‘Behind the Scenes’ Review: Funke Akindele’s December Blockbuster is Surely Relatable, Likely to Be Profitable, But Creatively Stuck
The Funke Akindele moral lesson cinematic universe has been expanded with the addition of her latest, Behind the Scenes. Co-directed by Tunde Olaoye, it is a film that follows the wealthy, benevolent Ronke Fernandez, who […]
S16 Film Festival 2025 Reviews: ‘My Jebba Story,’ ‘Obi is a Boy,’ ‘About Sarah’ and More
Traces Of The Sun S16 Film Festival: Directors working in the ten-to-thirty-minute range for short films can fracture time, dissolve narrative causality, or abandon dialogue entirely, treating form itself as the primary subject rather than […]
S16 Film Festival 2025 Reviews: ‘Ode!,’ ‘70×7,’ and ‘The Passage’
The Passage S16 Film Festival: In The Passage, South African filmmaker Ntokozo Mlaba shoots scenes with a jazzy lightness that veers into an almost supernatural aura. The scenes are slightly elevated from real life with […]
News
The Filmjoint Awards 2026: Full List of Award Winners
The third edition of The Filmjoint Awards 2026 took place on February 7 at Alliance Française in Lagos, celebrating short films, filmmakers, actors, and creative teams who bring these short stories to life. This year’s […]
Kava Releases First Set of Short Films With Fatimah Binta Gimsay’s ‘#Messy’ Collection
Kava, the streaming platform founded by Inkblot Studios and FilmOne Studios, is staying true to its promise of providing a space for short films, with the release of #Messy, a new collection featuring three short […]
Arie and Chuko Esiri Secure NEON Distribution Deal for ‘Clarissa’
Filmmaking brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri have secured a distribution deal with acclaimed American independent film production and distribution company NEON for their upcoming title, Clarissa. An adaptation of “Mrs. Dalloway” by Virginia Woolf, the […]
‘Lady’ Wins at Sundance, But Nigeria’s Actors Had to Watch From Home
Award ceremonies are always regarded as an actor’s biggest night. For the cast of Lady, that moment unfolded from a distance. Despite winning the Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble at the just-concluded Sundance, and […]
‘Mothers of Chibok’ and The Return of Nigerian Documentaries to Cinemas
Between the peak streaming years and today, Nigerian documentaries skipped cinemas entirely. Streamers like Netflix were testing out ideas. Festivals provided prestige. And urgency-driven independent docs could be found on YouTube. That context makes Joel […]
Neptune3 Studios Announces New Project in ‘Best Friends in The World’ Universe
The Best Friends in the World universe is growing up. Neptune3 Studios is taking the beloved series into feature-film territory with a new project, titled Best Friends in the World: The Year Between. The film […]
Play Network Announces ‘Silent Night,’ A Nigerian Reimagination of The Birth of Jesus Christ
The Nativity story is heading to Nigerian screens, but not exactly as told in the gospels. Play Network has announced a new project, Silent Night, a reimagining of the birth of Jesus Christ retold within […]
No Nigerian Title in Berlinale 2026 Main Competition Lineup, Strong Presence in Other Sections
Earlier this month, we published a story on Nigerian talents to watch across early 2026 international film festivals. Since the end of December, major festivals including Sundance, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and the Clermont-Ferrand […]
Essays
Is Nollywood’s Future on the Big Screen or Online?
There was a time when going to the movies in Nigeria meant calling friends, buying tickets, and heading to the cinema for a big release. During the week, students and NYSC members could walk into […]
‘Freedom Way’ is the Most Important Nollywood Film of Our Present Lives
Inspired by David Ehrlich proclaiming The Naked Gun as the most important movie of the summer for Americans—arguing for the return of pure comedy—I’m proclaiming Freedom Way as the Nollywood film of this period of […]
JJC Skillz Makes Solo Theatrical Return with Action Thriller ‘Hakeem Seeking Justice’, Five Years After ‘Omo Ghetto’
JJC Skillz, real name Abdulrasheed Bello, will return with Hakeem Seeking Justice, his first theatrical release since his work on Omo Ghetto: The Saga in 2020. The new movie, also known simply as Seeking Justice, […]
‘What No One Knows’ Review: The Cost of Forgetting Women in a Nigerian Female Friendship Tale
A bond that has existed across time and media, strengthened by adversity and a world that is often against their existence, is female friendship. This forms the core of What No One Knows. The dynamic […]
‘The Odds’ Are With Nollywood as Loup Garou in Collaboration with Kids Against Cubicles Screen Their Betting-Themed Dramedy
Music creatives coming into the Nollywood space is a propaganda we will always fall for. These creatives have a knack for creating stunning pictures with an expressive style that fits the quality of production on […]
Encounters 2025: ‘Mothers of Chibok’ Review
It can be daunting trying to follow every bit of news in the wake of a tragedy. It can be downright Herculean trying to separate legitimate information from baseless sentiment, or worse, rumours and propaganda. […]
