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  • 2022 has been a weird year for Nollywood and we haven’t even celebrated valentines yet. Kicking things off with Chief Daddy 2, a lot has been said about the industry and the type of stories filmmakers are choosing to tell these days. Breaking out from the mold and creating a path that is uniquely theirs, female directors in Nollywood  have been killing the game in an industry and country with odds stacked against them. Set to tell a wide range of stories from hustling gangs on the streets to groundbreaking remakes sure to light up the big screen, these are the female directors to watch out for this year. 

    Jadesola Osiberu 

    Since popping up on the scene, Jade has served as the brains behind one of Ndani TV’s biggest hits, Gidi Up, directed one of the few solid rom-coms Nollywood has put out in a long time, Isoken and also worn the producer hat for the 2019’s blockbuster hit, Sugar Rush and last year’s biographical drama, Ayinla. 

    This year, Jade is set to return back to the director’s chair with the gritty Gangs of Lagos. Starring Adesua Etomi, Tobi Bakare, Chike, Yvonne Jegede, Pasuma and the Ikorodu Boiz, this project is a complete 180 from her previous works as she delves into the dangerous lives of the gangs of Isale Eko, Lagos. 

    Blessing Uzzi 

    After many years working as a producer and directing music videos for everyone from Waje to Cobhams Asuquo, Blessing is set to make her full-length directorial debut with No Man’s Land. Shot late last year with a star-studded  cast that includes Sola Sobowale, Omawunmi Dada and Seun Kuti making his acting debut, this film features a shit load of violence and guns and we’re all here for it. 

    Bunmi Akajaiye

    You not know her name (yet), but Bunmi Akajaiye is the director behind some of our favourite projects including: Ndani TV’s Skinny Girl in Transit, Toke Makinwa and Falz’ Therapy and last year’s ad-heavy The Smart Money Woman Series. Having transitioned to film with My Wife & I starring Ramsey Noah and Omoni Oboli, Bunmi is set to take on her biggest project yet, the highly anticipated remake of Glamour Girls for Play Network and Netflix. While details surrounding the film are still under wraps, we know it’ll feature the ensemble cast of Toke Makinwa, Nse Ikpe Etim, Sharon Ooja, Joselyn Dumas and Lily Afe. 

    While Play Network’s remakes have been more misses than hits lately, there’s just something about this project that lifts our hopes. 

    Ema Edosio 

    Ema Edosio started out making music videos under the direction of Clarence Peters, but it wasn’t until she dropped her debut film, Kasala in 2018, that she officially caught our attention. The coming of age film followed a group of teenage boys on a chaotic trip to fix a car they “borrowed” and bashed on the way to a party. Making a comeback nearly four years later, we’re expecting to see Emma’s new film, Umuemu Eseme: The Sins of My Father, which features Gina Castel, Charles Etubiebi and Chimezie Imo some time this year. 

    Kemi Adetiba 

    This is Kemi Adetiba’s world and we’re all just living in it. She started the owambe movie trend with 2016’s The Wedding Party and as if that wasn’t enough, in 2018, she shook up the industry, introducing us to Eniola Salami in King of Boys (long as hell, but we’re used to it now). Even though she made history as the first Nigerian director with an original series for Netflix with King of Boys: The Return of the King, Kemi is currently working on a secret project. No information on when it’s coming out or what it’s about, but for now, we’ll hold on to this tweet which confirms our gut feeling that something huge is coming 

  • These days, most Nollywood films focus on the lives of the upper and middle-class residents of the city, ignoring a large part of its population. Foreign accents, miscast actors, and the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge characterize what we’ll like to call “Lekkiwood”. While these movies may kill it at the box office, here are some of the films that capture Lagos with a bit more nuance.

    Confusion Na Wa

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J_oSNR2Etg

    Picture this: two local champions (O.C Ukeje and Gold Ikponmwosa) discover a phone, blackmail its owner (Ramsey Noah) based on the content they found, and then have their lives go to shit just because they couldn’t mind their business. Taking inspiration from films like Magnolia and Crash, Confusion Na Wa is a dark comedy flick that follows a group of strangers and explores the way their worlds collide over 24 hours. While the film is set in an anonymous Nigerian city, its chaotic storyline and scenes are a perfect depiction of what it means to live in Lagos – one minute you’re on your own and the next thing, wahaleaux! 

    Kasala!

    Hollywood has given us its fair share of coming-of-age comedies. From Friday and Juice in the 1990s to Superbad in the late 2000s, stories chronicling the crazy misadventures of the American youth have always been in full supply. Ema Edosio’s 2018 comedy Kasala! makes a brave attempt at capturing this feeling for young Nigerians. Set in Surulere, the film follows four young boys who find themselves in serious trouble after they bash a borrowed car on the way to a Lagos party. It is funny, crazy, and all over the place: three words that describe Lagos. 

    Ghost And The House Of Truth 

    As fun and exciting as Lagos can be, there is an undeniable sense of danger the city also presents to its inhabitants. One film that does its best to capture this danger is Akin Omotosho’s Ghost and the House of Truth. A 9-year-old goes missing on her way from school, and her working-class mother teams up with a pregnant police officer in a bid to bring her home. Diving deep into  the darker side of Lagos we experience in real life but rarely at the cinema, it finds both ugliness and beauty in areas like Makoko and Iwaya. For Lagosians who navigate these places, it feels good to finally see a reality they can associate with.  

    Oga Bolaji 

    Before director Kayode Kasum gained popularity for films like Sugar Rush and Fate of Alakada, he made Oga Bolaji, a film that captures the essence of Lagos in the simplest of ways. Oga Bolaji shows the unpredictable nature of Lagos while asking that its characters get up and try again no matter what. It follows its title character and his chance encounter with a little girl that changes his life forever. You know that resilient hustling spirit that wakes us up in Lagos? Oga Bolaji does its best to bring that to the screen. 

    The Wedding Party

    It is easy to blame this film for the current state of Nollywood. An ensemble cast, a wild family event, and crazy marketing made The Wedding Party one of the highest-grossing Nollywood films of all time. Since then, almost every film has been trying to recreate that blueprint. Nothing says Lagos more than a lavish aso-ebi-filled wedding.

  • Do you think you can identify these movies from just 5 clues? Take the quiz:

  • Do you really know a lot about Nigerian movies? Prove yourself here:

  • Tell us the Nigerian movies you’ve watched and we’ll guess your age:

    Select the Nigerian movies you’ve watched:

  • Warning: Spoilers ahead.

    Before we get into this review you need to understand one thing about me – I live for bad movies and shows. I exclusively watch the CW, and the moment I see a tweet about a show being bad I immediately add it to my ‘to-watch’ list. Emmy or Oscar worthy shows or movies that have all the critics raving about how it mirrors society and provides room for us to process our collective trauma? Meh. Binge-worthy trash shows or movies that are painfully exaggerated and obviously rooted in a fantasy that is very out of this world? My jam! Knowing this, you can understand why the moment I heard we would be having a Bollywood-Nollywood love drama I was excited. Two movie industries that were built on exaggerated storylines giving us their love child? Namaste Wahala just has my name all over it.

    Naturally, I don’t watch movies like this expecting jaw-dropping writing or acting but Namaste Wahala definitely pushed the envelope. The acting in this movie, especially in the scene where RMD (an actor I love not just because he is my sugar daddy of choice but also because he has consistently proven to have the acting chops you would expect of a veteran) meets his daughter’s beau for the first time and isn’t okay with him being Indian is so unbelievably wooden I believe I can stake a vampire with it. Frodd, of Big Brother Naija fame, had maybe three lines and somehow gave one of the worst performances I have ever seen in my life. And this is coming from someone who has spent considerable time watching the youths in church act out dramas during youth week. The line delivery for almost the entirety of the movie is my current source of joy but only because of how awful it is. The actress that plays Meera, the mother of Raj, our male protagonist, delivers every line like she is amused by herself. She reminds me of those friends who start laughing at their funny story before even getting to the punch line. Her scene with her taxi driver at the airport is so bad I watched it three times. The attempt to put so many Nigerian (and Indian) mannerisms and references into one scene is hilariously awful and unrealistic. That said, she is easily one of the best characters in the movie. And the scene where she called out RMD for not being too smart gave me endorphins. 

    Namaste Wahala isn’t a bad watch, especially for people who watch and love Bollywood or Nollywood movies. I enjoyed the cultural fusion and the cinematography is top tier. The actors and actresses are really beautiful – I have plans to have babies for almost everyone in the cast. That said, the writing stressed me. In one of the early scenes, Didi, our female protagonist who is played by Ini Dima-Okojie, sits down for breakfast with her family – I love extravagant breakfast spreads in movies – and says ‘‘this looks so yummy’’ and picks up a piece of fried yam. Here’s the thing, fried yam doesn’t look yummy. Fried yam exists, for better or worse. No one has ever looked at a piece of fried yam and thought ‘‘this looks yummy.’’ A similar thing also happens in another of the later scenes when Meera, Raj’s mother, takes a bite of the indomie Didi made for Raj to get an idea for the food Didi has been making for her son. She bites into it and then goes ‘wow’. First of all, calm down. It is indomie, cold indomie at that. Let’s not oversell it. Speaking of overselling it, the product placement in this movie was so violent. By the time I was done, I felt like I owed the brands and products they were pushing money for some reason. It was a lot. Don’t worry, I’ll go to the restaurants this week.

    I could go on and on about Namaste Wahala. Premo who is played by Osas Ighodaro had no reason to be so annoying because Didi not working in the company was good for her and would have allowed Premo advance in her career. There’s also the fact that the movie just sang away three months of Didi and Raj’s relationship and let’s not forget that Angie told Raj that Didi was ‘very, very single’ and if any of my friends ever did that I would ask them to explain what that means because my not having a serious relationship for half a decade is not enough reason for me to be pimped out, please. I am not going to touch the scenes where they were supposed to be serious lawyers because if I do that, I am afraid of what I’ll say. 

    So final word? Eh. I enjoyed watching it and I think hopefully, this means we’ll be having more movies like this – cheesy and fun – but with better writing and not so wooden acting. Perhaps even some Christmas-themed movies. Hell, give us a New Yam festival themed-movie just for the culture. 

  • Last year, Netflix finally and officially came to Nigeria. This means they opened a social media account dedicated to Nigerian content on their streaming service and increased their Nigerian content on the service as well as commissioned more Netflix Originals to be made. However, the sheer number of movies and shows on Netflix are overwhelming leaving many confused on exactly where to start and this is where we come in. We rounded up the five Nigerian movies you need to watch on Netflix right now.

    Living In Bondage – Breaking Free

    Living In Bondage – Breaking Free, a well-done sequel to the Nollywood late nineties classic Living In Bondage, is arguably one of the best Nollywood movies ever. Featuring a star-studded cast, and an interesting take on the classic poor-but-good and intelligent -boy-is-pressured-to-engage-in-money- rituals and almost palpable chemistry between Ramsey Nouah and then-newcomer Swanky JKA, it doesn’t take much to see why the movie was an instant hit. Currently available to stream on Netflix, we highly recommend you see it if you haven’t.

    Iyore

    https://youtu.be/_AIlljkR52o

    Starring Rita Dominic, Joseph Benjamin and Okawa Shaznay, Iyore has a certain type of elegance that is rare to find. The movie explores reincarnation and love across different lifetimes and in its way, shows how humans repeat mistakes over and over even when given multiple chances. Placing two different lives of the same soul against each other – one in modern times and the other in the ancient Benin empire – the true joy in this movie is finding out what is the same across the different lives and what is different.

    Sugar Rush

    If you like hearty humorous comedic films then Sugar Rush is likely just the movie for you. Sugar Rush is delightfully chaotic and more than makes up for the occasional continuity and consistency issues with easy laugh scenes. Perfect for a weekend or even a weeknight watch if the goal is lighthearted escapism.

    The Figurine

    With beautiful cinematography, Kunle Afolayan merges several Nollywood horror tropes in a beautiful and scary tale about two friends who find a statue that bestows seven years of good luck to anyone that finds it before granting them seven years of horrible luck following it. The movie stars two of Nollywood’s best – Ramsey Nouah and Omoni Oboli – playing across each other giving some of their best performances yet.

    Phone Swap

    Nse Ikpe-Etim has a way of elevating just about everything she stars in to a new level of elegance, a thing that she has had all the way back to staring in the aptly named early 2010s Nollywood movie Blackberry Babes. In Phone Swap, Ikpe-Etim shines through giving the comedy film the boosts it needs to be on this list. The film chronicles the hilarious happenings after a fashion designer and a businessman end up switching phones at an airport. If feel-good unrealistic romantic comedies are your jam, we highly recommend Phone Swap.

  • Any young Nigeria born before the beginning of this millennium knows that Super Story was a defining part of our childhood and lives. Premium content Gen Z can probably not relate to. Let’s take you back to the beginning. How well do you remember and know your award winning  Super Story?

  • Nollywood has always depicted Nigerian society in different crazy ways, but nothing compares to how they depict exactly how Nigerian wives should behave. It’s amazing and highkey hilarious, honestly. Let me give you a few examples.

    These people will just be making marriage to be fearing somebody. Where’s the nearest convent, abeg?

    1. Marry as a virgin

    But on your wedding night, bust several moves. Shey the knowledge comes with the ring, at least for women? Men have to get their knowledge the more… manual way, obviously.

    2. Throw it down in the kitchen

    Looking like this, no less. If you’re not Martha Stewart mixed with The Kitchen Butterfly, are you even worth marrying? You will just push your husband into the hands of the next woman that can cook! Shey, it’s food cooked by someone else he came to use his life to eat.

    3. Get pregnant in the first few months.

    In fact, if you don’t get pregnant on your wedding night there must be something wrong. To Nollywood, any good wife will birth a son first, so act accordingly. It’s simply common sense and a little biology. Also, don’t forget to keep having babies till your husband can no longer afford them, but never ever add weight, look tired or complain.

    4. Never accuse your husband of cheating even if you catch him red handed.

    And if it’s paining you too much that your husband fell into the orifices of another woman, you need to apologise for not being enough and performing your duties to satisfaction. If he should continue, get your Bible or Quran and pray because it must be jazz.

    5. Be obedient.

    If your husband says ‘jump’, you better pack your breasts and start jumping.

    6. Always look good.

    Even if you’re just leaving the delivery room. As soon as that baby drops, the weight should drop too. In fact, leave that place with your baby, makeup and heels. After all, you don’t want to push him into the hands of another woman.

    7. Be more forgiving than Jesus.

    If your husband slaps you, just grab his collar, call him by his name and say “you slapped me?!” Then go ahead and insist that he kill you without delay. And when he should get on his knees, shed two tears and insist that the devil made him do it, forgive him. You’re a good wife.

    8. Clean the house like that’s what you were born to do.

    A Nigerian husband can only survive in the cleanest of homes and environments, so of course, it is your duty as a good wife to make that happen. The house must always be sparkling!

    9. Always always look sexy.

    But only in the house! So you can titillate his senses as you bend down to perform every little task. You have to stay on top of that sexy game!

    10. Don’t bother him unnecessarily. Even when you think it’s important, it’s not important to him.

    Even if you also have a job, you must always remember that your husband has had a long day, so you must never ask him to help around the house, help with the children, or even inconvenience him by falling sick. Don’t make him look outside the home for complete laziness.

    11. Respect his family. He doesn’t have to respect yours o but you must respect his family.

    Even if his younger siblings are younger than the last born of your family, you must always call them ‘sister’ or ‘brother’. Show that you have home training if you don’t want to go back to your father’s house that they weren’t chasing you from in the first place.

    12. You had better get out of bed first in the morning.

    You must never let your husband wake up after you. What kind of wife are you?! You should have been doing “one or two things” before he opens his eyes. This includes but is not limited to cooking, cleaning, and preparing the kids for school. You get up before him on weekends even, to handwash his underwear.

    13. Ensure food is always fresh and hot.

    Whether you have a job or not, all food your husband eats must be fresh and hot. Don’t ask me how you’re supposed to do that – I’m not married to your husband with you.

    14. Please what else did we leave out?

    Drop a comment below!

  • Nollywood has come a really long way, and that is greatly due to the amazing work of some iconic actors and actresses. We grew up with these stars, and we absolutely love and appreciate their work. Keeping up with them, we look at where some of them are now.

    Clarion Chukwurah

    If you ever watched Nollywood movies back in the day, there’s no way you don’t know the beautiful Clarion Chukwurah. Always playing interesting and daring roles, the award-winning actress who is also the mother of popular music video director Clarence Peters, is currently living her best life in the United States, doing great humanitarian work.

    Richard Mofe-Damijo

    Ah, RMD… Nollywood’s Denzel Washington. He’s a handsome award-winning actor and former Delta State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism. He’s still acting and on our screens, much to our delight.

    Eucharia Anunobi

    You can’t not know Eucharia. Her roles were so daring and exciting! She’s a true screen goddess. The beautiful actress is now a pastor at a church in Egbeda, Lagos.

    Saint Obi

    You should know this name, as well as the face. Obinna Nwafor, who is more popularly known as Saint Obi, is one of those Nigerian actors that you just had to look out for back in the day. He was in everything! Lucky for us, even though his main focus now is business, he still graces our screens.

    Liz Benson

    Another absolutely beautiful screen goddess, Elizabeth Benson is also a philanthropist, but best of all, she still acts!

    Pete Edochie

    Chief Pete Edochie is an award-winning actor, considered one of Africa’s most talented, and one of Nigeria’s favourites, despite his many roles as a wicked/evil man. He has given us many funny quotes and memes, and we absolutely love him! Although he no longer acts like before, we’re quite happy to know that he’s alive and doing well.

    Patience Ozokwor

    Patience Ozokwor is a musician, fashion designer, gospel singer and award-winning actress. Like Pete Edochie, she has played a lot of wicked/evil roles, but we still love her like that! She’s an evangelist now, but she still acts, to our great delight. She’s definitely one of Nigeria’s most talented actresses.

    Sam Dede

    Sam Dede is an award-winning actor, director, politician and lecturer. He has starred in such iconic movies as Issakaba and Igodo, so you just know that this man was badass back in the day! He is currently a senior lecturer of Theatre Arts at the University of Port Harcourt but still acts from time to time, and is doing quite well.

    Regina Askia

    When you think of Regina Askia-Williams, I’m sure stunning beauty first comes to mind. An ex-beauty queen, Regina shot to fame as the Most Beautiful Girl In Nigeria in 1989, then went on to become an award-winning actress. She is now a family nurse practitioner in the US, a healthcare and educational activist, television producer, writer, and public speaker.

    Zack Orji

    Zachee Ama Orji was one of the ultimate baby boys that year. He is an award-winning actor, director, producer and filmmaker, as well as a pastor. He still graces our screens, and is even better than before!