News

If you’ve held the signature Nollywood melodrama against the first 10 minutes of Niyi Akinmolayan’s The House Of Secrets and left the screen, you’ve missed out on the fantastic tonal shift that transpires when you expect it the least. And from that point on, the Nigerian thriller-drama takes the most unexpected leaps; the impressively unforeseeable shifts from color to black and white only singing of what’s at the heart of the movie. Because more often than not, The House Of Secrets is more a wonderfully tragic love story than anything else.

Spoilers Ahead

Plot Synopsis: What Happens In ‘The House Of Secrets’?

There’s something disquietingly phony about just how nice her family is being to Sarah as the wheelchair-bound woman finishes up her journal that she bases on the lovesick neighborhood couple. There’s a reason why she’s strangely startled by the sound of a...

Book

“Irrfan: Dialogues with the Wind,” a book about the experiences of Geneva-based filmmaker Anup Singh who directed the late Indian actor Irrfan Khan in two acclaimed films — “Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost” (2013) and “The Song of Scorpions” (2017) — will be published by Copper Coin on Feb. 14. Khan, India’s then best-known actor globally with credits including “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) “Life of Pi” (2012) and “The Lunchbox” (2013), died in 2020. The book was revealed on Jan. 7, on what would have been Khan’s 54th birthday.

In the book, Singh offers an intimate glimpse into the working relationship between a director and an actor as they trudge through mutual wariness, uncertainties, and blunders and during the course of the journey reveals an insight into the creative processes of both artists. The duo had a third project planned together — “Lasya” — before the actor was taken ill.

The book has a foreword by Indian cinema legend Amitabh Bachchan,...

Amazon Prime Video is continuing its push into the African market by signing a second exclusive licensing agreement with a production company based in Nigeria.

The streamer has inked a multi-year deal with Lagos-based Anthill Studios, which is behind local theatrical hits including Prophetess, Day of Destiny and ElevatorBaby. The agreement sees Prime Video become the exclusive global streaming home for Anthill’s slate of cinema releases following their theatrical runs in Nigeria.

This is the second such deal Amazon has struck in as many months, following its pact with The Wedding Party production company Inkblot Studios.

“We are very excited to bring Anthill’s upcoming slates of popular Nollywood movies to Prime Video customers around the world,” said Ayanna Lonian, Prime Video’s Director of Content Acquisition and Head of Worldwide Major Studio Licensing Strategy. “We want to showcase the very best of Nollywood and authentic African stories to...

One year ago, as thousands of global film and TV industry reps descended on Berlin for the European Film Market, executives from Nigerian production and distribution powerhouse FilmOne Entertainment had good reason to feel optimistic. The company had recently unveiled a $1 million film fund with China’s Huahua Media and South Africa’s Empire Entertainment, an unprecedented pact for the Nigerian movie industry. Production on the first film financed by the fund had just begun, and it looked like the start to a promising year.

That would change in a matter of days, as the coronavirus pandemic arrived in the West African nation, shuttering cinemas for five months and halting production in the prolific Nollywood film biz. Yet the industry rallied in the months ahead, and by year’s end, FilmOne had produced seven feature films in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. “We were able to get these films...

When an extravagant, exuberant billionaire patriarch drops dead at the dinner table, a mad scramble for his fortune ensues among his extended family, household staff and a few mistresses. EbonyLife, the Nigerian lifestyle TV network and production company, is also hoping to strike gold with “Chief Daddy,” a new ensemble comedy starring some of the most famous actors in Africa’s most populous nation.

Founded by media mogul Mo Abudu, EbonyLife has produced the two top-grossing Nigerian movies of all time. Its new film is slated for a Dec. 14 release and stars veteran thesps Funke Akindele, Kate Henshaw, and Joke Silva, as well as multi-hyphenate entertainer Folarin “Falz” Falana.

“Even we haven’t…done a feature film that has this much star power,” Abudu said.

Abudu became a household name in Nigeria more than a decade ago with her long-running daytime talk show, “Moments With Mo.” Since then, she has...

Nigerian metropolis Lagos is the focus of the eighth City To City showcase at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) as top brass anoint two international Rising Stars.

Tiff’s latest line-up announcement also featured extra selections in Galas and Special Presentations, among them Walter Hill’s (Re)Assignment, Philippe Falardeau’s The Bleeder, David Leveaux’ The Exception (pictured), Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake and Terry George’s drama The Promise.

A vibrant crop of Contemporary World Cinema entries includes Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius, Danis Tanović’s Death In Sarajevo, Marie Noëlle’s Marie Curie, The Courage Of Knowledge and Akin Omotoso’s Vaya.

Hirokazu Kore-eda brings After The Storm to the Masters showcase, alongside Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams, Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Once Again.

Rounding out the...

Nigerian capital Lagos is the focus of the eighth City To City showcase at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) as top brass anoint two international Rising Stars.

Tiff’s latest line-up announcement also featured extra selections in Galas and Special Presentations, among them Walter Hill’s (Re)Assignment, Philippe Falardeau’s The Bleeder, David Leveaux’ The Exception (pictured), Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake and Terry George’s drama The Promise.

A vibrant crop of Contemporary World Cinema entries includes Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius, Danis Tanović’s Death In Sarajevo, Marie Noëlle’s Marie Curie, The Courage Of Knowledge and Akin Omotoso’s Vaya.

Hirokazu Kore-eda brings After The Storm to the Masters showcase, alongside Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams, Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, Cristian Mungiu’s Graduation, Gianfranco Rosi’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Fire At Sea and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Once Again.

Rounding out the...

The Toronto International Film Festival is mere weeks from kicking off, yet the annual fall fest is showing zero sign of slowing down when it comes to announcing the titles that will round out this year’s event. Today’s announcement brings with it a number of Cannes favorites, including Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or-winning “I, Daniel Blake,” Olivier Assayas’ divisive Kristen Stewart-starring “Personal Shopper” and Pedro Almodovar’s “Julieta.”

Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’

The slate will also play home to the Dardenne Brothers’ latest, “The Unknown Girl,” which has reportedly been through an edit since it debuted at Cannes earlier this year. Other standouts from Cannes include Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Aquarius,” Boo Junfeng’s “Apprentice,” Cristian Mungiu’s “Graduation,” Brillante Ma Mendoza’s “Ma’ Rosa” and Cristi Puiu’s “Sieranevada.