Reviews

Short Film Review: Idiagi Ernest Eromosele’s ‘The Audition’ Expands His Zero-Budget Introspective Musing on The Nigerian Youth
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. As we wrote in our review of Idiagi Ernest Eromosele’s previous short film The […]

‘Reel Love’ Review: Timini Egbuson’s Debut Cinema Production Combines Romance Drenched in Influencer Culture
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. From staging a relationship to fulfill an inheritance clause, posing as a couple to […]

Berlinale 2025: ‘Dreamers’ Review
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. The title of my favourite Nigerian migration drama, Eyimofe, carries a tinge of dream […]

‘Summer Rain’ Review: Bolaji Ogunmola’s Made-For-YouTube Romantic Flick is Sappy But Charming
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. Crafting an original modern romance is a daunting task. While audiences devour these stories, […]

‘This is Love’ Review: The Interior Lives of Queer Nigerian Couples in Victor Ugoo Njoku’s Tender Documentary
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. Prior to Victor Ugoo Njoku and Neec Nonso’s feature-length documentary, This is Love, there […]

‘Princess On A Hill’ Review: Onyinye Odokoro Portrays A Two-Faced Morally-Conflicted Heroine in Showmax’s Work-Place Drama
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. The epigraph at the pilot episode of Princess On A Hill poses […]

Sundance 2025: ‘BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions’ Review
How can Black voices across continents reunify in a world shaped by colonialism and exploitation? This is the central question posed by BLKNWS: Terms and Conditions, an ambitious, experimental documentary by acclaimed visual artist Kahlil […]

War Stories and Memories from Sundance 2025
We live in volatile times, many are quick to point out. But haven’t we always? There’s always a looming conflict on the horizon or one raging in the background, whether or not it receives media […]
News

Rise Interactive Studios’ Upcoming AI-Themed Film ‘Makemation’ Sets Sights on Easter Cinema Release
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. African youth, particularly girls, are leveraging artificial intelligence and technology to tackle some of […]

Nollywood Film Club Revisits Supernatural Classic ‘Diamond Ring’
At this point, it is no news that fewer Nollywood films are getting global releases, something that had mostly become common in recent years thanks to Netflix and Prime Video. But with fewer “strategic” acquisitions by Netflix — and those limited to Africa — global audiences are left with only Circuits, the fledgling, proudly African streaming platform.

Nora Awolowo’s Rixel Studios Begin Extensive Global Rollout For ‘Red Circle’
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. Corn kernels and firearms are getting ready to pop as Red Circle, a crime […]

WKMUp Secures Key Funding as Part of Groundbreaking Alliance
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. We’re thrilled to announce that What Kept Me Up has been awarded €20,000 in […]

MUBI Acquires Rights To Akinola Davies Jnr’s Debut Feature ‘My Father’s Shadow’, Starring Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. MUBI, a global streaming service known for its curated selection of films, has acquired […]

The Filmjoint Awards 2025: Honouring the Year’s Best Short Films
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. The Filmjoint, a platform dedicated to celebrating creativity in short-form storytelling, hosted the second […]

Eva Anya Joins What Kept Me Up as New Managing Editor
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. Eva Anya has officially joined us as our new Managing Editor, working within our […]

Cheta Chukwu’s ‘Love is a Deeper Shade of Red’ Selected for Red Sea Lodge 2025
Dear reader, help us understand your Nollywood preferences by filling out our audience survey—your input is invaluable and deeply appreciated! Click this link. Cheta Chukwu continues his international strides, with the selection of his war drama Love […]
Essays

7 Lessons We Learned from Ebuka Njoku and Yahoo+, His Indie Debut Success
How easy is easy filmmaking? On a Twitter Spaces session with WKMUp on Saturday, July 16, co-hosted by film critic Jeremiah John, Ebuka Njoku joined us to discuss Yahoo+, his debut feature currently receiving rave […]

‘Inside Life’: Wole Ojo Lands in Prison and Navigates a Courtroom Showdown in Official Trailer
EXCLUSIVE: Sillo Studios has unveiled the official trailer of their debut feature, Inside Life, directed by Tope Adebayo, one of the directors behind 2022 box office hit King of Thieves. Inside Life follows the story […]

‘Hey You’ Review: What is Really Going On?
Anthill Studios gives Nollywood lovers something different in this supposed sultry and sexy drama. Young tech bro Abel (Timini Egbuson) is addicted to porn and frequently visits Fans Alone, a website where he meets online […]

‘Vanity’ Review: Stale Small Screen Marriage Drama
Nollywood is significantly evolving, especially with the bold recent horror entry of Dare Olaitan’s Ile Owo, and the well-crafted story in Yahoo+ making it to cinemas; perhaps there’s still hope. Even though Nollywood plots are frequently mundane, […]

Movies and TV Shows Coming in August
Indie success Yahoo+ by Ebuka Njoku was our critic’s pick in July. Netflix will once again be offering three 2021 Nollywood titles this month. Moses Inwang’s pandemic-set story Lockdown, Lasisi Elenu in a fantasy drama […]