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Amake (Uche Nwadili) is an admirably strong, independent and intelligent 39-year-old Nigerian woman. She runs a successful business and her husband Nonso (Nonso Odogwu) is a "modern" man who loves and respects her. Together, Amake and Nonso are financially secure enough to afford anything that they need; but despite their affluence and progressive opinions, Amake and Nonso still feel tremendous social pressure about not having a male heir to their family's name. That heightened pressure is certainly not healthy for a woman who is at risk of encountering difficulties with pregnancy because of her age. At the onset of Chika Anadu's B for Boy, Amake has just reached the third trimester of her pregnancy. She refuses to allow the doctors to tell her the sex of the baby, partly out of fear and partly out of stubburn refusal to comply with societies' wishes. Amake is perfectly content with their...

★★★☆☆ Umut Dağ's Kuma (2013) brought the unconventional marital arrangement of second wives into UK cinemas earlier this year to impressive effect, and the practice appears again in Chika Anadu's B for Boy (2013). A markedly differing scenario to Kuma, this potential successor is in place to take over spousal duties should the current wife fail in her familial responsibilities. It's just one aspect of Anadu's heartfelt maternal drama that tackles the considerable pressures placed on Nigerian women to bare sons. Amaka (Uche Nwadili) has a loving husband in Nonso (Nonso Odogwu) as well as an adorable daughter.

Female offspring do not, however, make suitable heirs and there is a great sense of expectation that the heavily pregnant Amaka's second child will be the much-desired boy. The couple's relative maturity has put Nonso's traditional family - specifically his overbearing Mama (Ngozi Nwaneto) - on edge. As a precaution, a new young wife has been arranged for Nonso,...