Reviews
‘Alahun: The Weaver’ Review: Dare Olaitan’s Long-Awaited Epic Adventure Return Takes Too Long to Get Going
Dare Olaitan returns to the director’s chair with Alahun: The Weaver, a Yoruba epic adventure filled with spirits, mythical creatures, and an unlikely hero at its centre. The film asks many questions, such as what the measure of a true hero is, and how love can transcend societal limitations.
Locarno Open Doors 2026 Review: ‘Concrete Moves’, ‘Time to Change’, ‘sKINs’, ‘Submergido’ and ‘Goat’
The following five short films screened as part of the 2026 Locarno Open Doors, taking place from August 5-10, 2026. The five directors were also invited to take part in the Open Doors Directors programme. […]
Short Film Review: Adebayo Oduwole’s ‘When Tari Met Voke’ Makes a Familiar Meet-Cute Feel Alive
Few things are better than a romantic comedy that keeps both of its promises. Very few things. (A plate of smoky party jollof, perhaps.) I suspect this, among other reasons, is behind the runaway success […]
‘Remi and Nneoma’ Review: A Nollywood Biblical Retelling Too Devoted to Become Its Own Story
The Bible, like any other text, exists to be adapted and retold. Its stories are constantly updated for language and context. The King James Version for the purists who want little lost, The New International […]
‘On Different Grounds’ Review: Nollywood Veterans Elevate Mildred Okwo’s Uneven Romantic Comedy
A Nigerian wedding party, as much as it is a celebration, is often a power play. A place where influence is tested, alliances are forged and a pecking order is established. There is a clashing […]
‘Blood Sisters’ Season 2 Review: EbonyLife’s Netflix Thriller Expands Its World of Excess, for Better and Worse
In a rare Nigerian series continuation on Netflix, Blood Sisters returns four years after its first season in 2022, picking up directly from the Ademola family shooting. While Uncle B (Ramsey Nouah) dies from the […]
‘MKO’ Review: Ose Oyamendan Revisits the Wound of June 12 and Nigeria’s Greatest Political What-If (Sheffield DocFest 2026)
Hope, they say, is a very, very stubborn thing. It survives military coups. It survives broken promises. It survives politicians campaigning the language of change and turning around to enforce the language of power just […]
‘Call Of My Life’ Review: Uzoamaka Power Dials into the Nigerian Romcom Canon with Heart and Familiarity
The definition of a romcom is a well-documented and defined concept, parameters are often rigid and the story must follow a formula: hot boy plus beautiful girl plus almost fantastical meeting equals forever after. Dammy […]
News
NOSC Selects Damilola Orimogunje’s ‘Dear Ajayi’ as Nigeria’s Entry for the 99th Oscars
Following Nigeria’s last official submission to the Academy in 2024 and an absence in 2025, Damilola Orimogunje’s Dear Ajayi has been selected as the country’s official pick for the International Feature Film category at the […]
Nollywood Distilled: The Stories That Mattered This Week
Agbara Nla: The Return rewrites the West African box office record books, Dear Ajayi expands its international festival journey, Nigeria strengthens its Film Africa presence, and new campaigns begin for The ICU, and Issakaba: The Return in this week’s Nollywood Distilled.
‘Dear Dearest Michelle’ Sets Sharon Rotimi, Chabod Oyejide and Nosakhare Ijebor as Leads Ahead of Film-Theatre Recording
Sharon Rotimi (R), Chabod Oyejide (M) and Nosakhare Ijebor (L) will lead the cast of Dear Dearest Michelle, the third instalment of Tarahh’s A Play by Tarahh series, which will be recorded live for a […]
Chinazaekpere Chukwu’s Feature Debut ‘Her Daughters’ Mother’ Among Nigeria’s Strong Presence at Film Africa 2026
Chinazaekpere Chukwu makes her feature debut with Her Daughters’ Mother, selected to screen at Film Africa 2026 on October 28 at the newly launched EbonyLife Place London. Directed and written by Chukwu, Her Daughters’ Mother […]
Seven Years Later, Lights Camera Africa! Film Festival Returns to Give Independent Filmmakers Another Home
A festival built around gathering people in one room had to pause when gathering itself became impossible. Lights, Camera, Africa! last held in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic came soon after, making the in-person experience at […]
Segilola Ogidan Wraps Psychological Thriller ‘The I.C.U.’, First Film in Planned ‘Hospital Chronicles’ Trilogy (EXCLUSIVE)
Segilola Ogidan has wrapped principal photography on The I.C.U., a high-stakes psychological thriller inspired by a deeply personal near-death experience and marking her third feature as director. The film, shot earlier this year in Lagos, […]
Nollywood Distilled: The Stories That Mattered This Week
EbonyLife Place London prepares to open, Black Market sets a Guinness World Record, The Spectacular Death of Prisca earns a TIFF honourable mention, Lateefah Mayaki joins AuthenticA Series Lab, and more in this week’s Nollywood Distilled.
Josh Olaoluwa and Vincho Nchogu’s Joint Sophomore Project, ‘A Fantastic Tale’ Heads to 2026 Cinekid Junior Co-Production Market
One year after their collaboration on One Woman One Bra earned them a Venice world premiere, Nigerian producer Josh Olaoluwa and Kenyan director Vincho Nchogu are taking their next project, A Fantastic Tale, to the […]
Essays
BBNaija, MasterChef and Nigeria’s Long Relationship with Foreign Unscripted Television
For the better part of two decades, Nigerian television has been significantly shaped by unscripted formats that originated abroad. Some became institutions. Others disappeared quietly. Most recently, MasterChef Nigeria concluded its debut season in mid-July, […]
AFRIFF 2024: ‘Recall’ Review
AFRIFF: The ambiguity of spirituality has always been a point of conversation in Kunle Afolayan’s films. One of his most popular films, The Figurine, places you in a conundrum at the end where you wonder […]
AFRIFF 2024: ‘Freedom Way’ Review
AFRIFF: In Freedom Way, we are presented with a lesson in the ripple effect of bad governance. The ways policies affect all levels of society are on display: the poor who long for the most […]
AFRIFF 2024: ‘The Legend of the Vagabond Queen Of Lagos’ Review
AFRIFF: Poverty is a deeply Nigerian condition. It weaves through our lives, some with worse wear than others; but there is no existence in Nigeria not impacted by poverty. It is also an orchestrated condition, […]
AFRIFF 2024: ‘Phoenix Fury’ Review
AFRIFF: To weave a fictionalized past and present into a working tapestry of film is a test of many aspects of the process: the writing must be tight and every excess must be trimmed; the […]
AFRIFF 2024: ‘The Man Died’ Review
AFRIFF: To adapt a book is a struggle of ideas, to adapt a Soyinka book is a struggle of ideas and style, to adapt The Man Died is a struggle of ideas, style, form and […]
