Reviews
‘Over the Bridge’ Review: Tolu Ajayi’s Impressionistic Portrait of a Corporate Man Undone by Ambition
Everyone speaks in Tolu Ajayi’s Over the Bridge: the characters with their voices, and the rivers, the fishes, the music with their own voice. No direct communication passes between them, yet meaning emerges all the […]
‘The Serpent’s Gift’ Review: Kayode Kasum’s Latest Cultural Offering Blurs Between Authenticity and Spectacle
When Kayode Kasum released Afamefuna: An Nwa Boi Story in 2023, it sparked a cultural moment, particularly among Igbo audiences who celebrated its homage to the Igbo apprenticeship system (nwa boi), a notable concept of […]
Venice 2025: ‘Saint Simeon’ Review (Short Film)
Venice: Saint Simeon, written and directed by Olubunmi Ogunsola, begins with a last supper reminiscent scene. There is food, there are disciples of the church, and just like in the gospel, there’s a secret —this […]
Short Film Review: Victor Daniel and Olamide Adio’s ‘Mother’ Avoids Sensationalism in a Forbidden Love Story
Olamide Adio and Victor Daniel make one of the simplest yet complex films. Mother, their latest short film, has all the elements of a simple love story, but it’s about a forbidden one. Known for […]
Short Film Review: Ifeanyi Barbara Chidi’s ‘PLS RT’ Buffers on a Strong Premise
PLS RT begins with Kasope Briggs captured in a wooden crate; frightened, unaware of her location and begging to be released. She brings out her phone to make a video to try and upload to […]
BlackStar 2025: ‘Why the Sun & Moon Live in the Sky’ Review (Short Film)
BlackStar: One of the philosophies I hold closely about cinema is that it belongs to everybody. It’s a medium open not only to the mainstream but also to the storytellers on the fringes, whether they’re […]
BlackStar 2025: ‘Leaving Ikorodu in 1999’ Review (Short Film)
BlackStar: In the Rashida Seriki-written and directed short film, nostalgia is a vehicle both literally and figuratively. The couple drive through Lagos in a vintage Mercedes Benz revisiting the past through symbolic stops like the […]
BlackStar 2025: ‘Food For The Soul’ Review (Short Film)
BlackStar: Chisom Chieke’s short film unfolds almost uncertainly, like a painting in progress whose artist is in conflict with their muse. There is a quiet tension that simmers within Adanma (Karen Obilom) and Trey (Marcus […]
News
‘Osamede’ Trailer Introduces a Chosen Benin Warrior Amid Ancestral-Colonial Clash
The trailer for Osamede runs just under two minutes, but it wastes no time drawing the viewer into its world It introduces a historical-fantasy drama rooted in the Benin Kingdom, a moment when British colonial forces […]
Nollywood at TIFF: Industry Icons Call for Quality, Sustainability and Stronger Distribution
At the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Nollywood’s brightest names came together for the Nollywood Brunch, a candid industry conversation hosted by producers Charles Okpaleke (Charles of Play) and Moses Babatope. Guests included familiar screen […]
Akinola Davies Jr’s ‘My Father’s Shadow,’ Idris Elba’s ‘Dust to Dreams’ and Kenyan-Nigerian Production Among BFI London Film Festival Lineup
The 69th BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its lineup, with three Nigerian films among the official selections. The festival, which runs from 8 to 19 October 2025 in London and across the UK, will […]
Chukwu Martin’s ‘We Danced & Danced’ Signals New Culture Studios’ Creative Reactivation
Fifty years after producing TV drama Iya Wura, directed by Demas Nwoko, New Culture Studios has returned with a new project—though this time, not in the form of a traditional comeback. Instead, the studio describes […]
‘Spider-Man’ Trilogy and Disney Classics to Screen Again at Filmhouse Cinemas in Nigeria
Filmhouse Cinemas has announced a slate of classic titles returning to the big screen across August and October. As mostly a home-video-first audience, many of us first experienced these films at home. But nothing compares […]
A Tale of Two Prime Video Extremes on Nollywood Film Club
Yes, Prime Video is still releasing titles in Nigeria. In August, three titles dropped on Prime Video: Finding Nina (a Nemsia production), Say Who Die (while not marketed under Nemsia’s label but executive-produced by BB […]
Abbesi Akhamie’s ‘The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí’ Wins Three Awards at FAME Shorts Film Festival
FAME Week: Abbesi Akhamie took home three awards at the 2025 FAME Shorts Film Festival in Cape Town, South Africa, for her film The Incredible Sensational Fiancée of Sèyí Àjàyí, including Best Short Film. The […]
Winners at the Inclusive Lens Awards at 2025 FAME Week Africa
FAME Week: Cape Town welcomed the second edition of the Inclusive Lens Awards on Tuesday, 2 September 2025, during FAME Week Africa at the MIP Africa Theatre. The ceremony honoured storytellers who are changing the […]
Essays
Nollywood’s Variety Show Era is Here!
The simultaneous rise of Nollywood-themed talk and variety shows is no coincidence. It points to an industry entering a new phase, one where a few are pushing to value introspection as much as output, legacy […]
2022 Critics Poll: List of Participating Critics and How They Voted
We have broken down all of the individual votes that were counted as part of the 2022 What Kept Me Up Critics Poll. You can find the full list of this year’s results here. Events […]
2022 Critics Poll: The Best Nollywood Films, According to 21 Nigerian Critics from Around the World
The Milkmaid, a 2020 release that finally became accessible through Amazon Prime Video, leads the pack in this list of the 10 best movies from 2022. Juju Stories and Eyimofe were not added to the […]
‘Ijakumo’ Review: Toyin Abraham’s Revenge Thriller Packs Everything But Leaves You with Nothing
On a small scale, like your neighborhood pastor whose altar was discovered to have a pot buried beneath it or Muslim clerics who were found to have been abusing wards placed in their care, and […]
‘Avatar (The Way of Water)’ Review: The Metaphor Heightens in Long-Awaited James Cameron Sequel
I remember, over a decade ago, getting a glimpse of the last ten minutes of a movie someone was watching on their PC. I saw some blue beings fighting against humans, and the blue beings […]
The S16 Film Festival Encourages Filmmakers to Speak Unique Language—A Critic’s Notes
My exams ended on December 9, 2022, and the S16 Film Festival started film screening on December 10, 2022. Ogun state is about 2 hours away from Lagos. But when you factor in the ever-present […]
