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The Platform is folding into Paramount+. Tyler Perry's stake is gone . And for Black filmmakers, the questions are bigger than the headlines Tyler Perry Theo Wargo/WireImage The news broke Friday with the kind of quiet corporate language that tends to mask seismic shifts. Paramount, BET's parent company, will fold BET+ into Paramount+ beginning in June, migrating more than 1,000 hours of content originals, movies, and specials, to the flagship streamer.   The six-year-old pla

In the last decade, across film, TV, music and other media, there has been a notable shift in how consumers engage with tart. Access to previously distant data and unmasking of the celebrity mythos a la social media, among other factors, have made it such that fans are more invested in the product, producers, and the business. A random Hollywood enthusiast living on the other side of the planet can easily tell you what actors and directors make the most money. Disagreements a

Our breakdown of 3 significant Black moments from the 2026 BAFTAs: Wumi Mosaku's upset win, Ryan Coogler's historic Sinners victories, and My Father's Shadow impact . From L-R: Wumi Mosaku, Ryan Coogler, and Akinola Davie Jr.  The 2026 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards  took place yesterday, 22nd February 2026, at the Royal Festival Hall, London. The Awards, which serve as one of the major stops in the 2026 Awards season, leading up to the Oscars in March, pr

First look at The Black Book 2 - Old Scores   Source: What Kept Me Up Nigerian Director Editi Effiong ’s 2023 action thriller The Black Book ,  is set for a sequel, The Black Book 2 - Old Scores , produced by his company, Anakle Films, in collaboration with Emmy-nominated producer Nicky Weinstock ’s ( Severance , Escape at Dannemora , Bridesmaids , Queenpins , Thelma ) Invention Studios, as seen in an exclusive report by The Hollywood Reporter  and announcements made via soci

Exclusive interview: Akinola Davies Jr., Rachel Dargavel & Funmbi Ogunbanwo discuss making My Father's Shadow, Nigeria's first Cannes competition film. From L-R: Akinola Davies Jr., Rachel Dargavel, Funmi Ogunbanwo, Wale Davies, and Sope Disiru.  Image: Fatherland Productions Some films announce themselves quietly, arriving without fanfare before lodging themselves somewhere deep and permanent. My Father's Shadow , the debut feature from Nigerian-British filmmaker Akinola Dav

Netflix ’s Love Is Blind entered its tenth U.S. installment in Ohio carrying a familiar paradox: a new location, but narrative structures and audience reactions that feel increasingly predictable. Victor St John and Christine Hamilton (Love is Blind Season 10)| Netflix Netflix's Love Is Blind entered its tenth U.S. installment in Ohio carrying a familiar paradox: a new location (Ohio), but narrative structures and audience reactions that feel increasingly predictable. At ten

Nile-Distributed Mother’s Love Advances Global Festival Campaign Star of the evening, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, in Ade Bakare London. Image: Sammy Oguejiofor  Los Angeles, California- February 16, 2026 Following a successful international festival trajectory from the Silicon Valley Africa Film Festival (SVAFF) to the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)   Mother's Love , the directorial debut of Nollywood legend, TIME 100 honoree, and global screen force Omotola Jala

Pamela Adie's ìfẹ́: The Sequel premieres at BFI Flare 2026. Nigerian LGBTQ filmmaker's narrative debut explores queer love and identity in Lagos.  Nigerian LGBTQIA+ Filmmaker Pamela Adie ’s narrative debut feature   ìfẹ́: The Sequel  is set to make its  its world premiere on March 23, 2026 at the 40th edition of the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival . The film, which is the highly anticipated follow-up to the 2020 short  ìfẹ́  will be showing at BFI Southbank, London,

Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose legacy extended from marching with MLK to running for President twice and shaping Black American history, dies at 84.  The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr., one of the most significant civil rights leaders in American history, has died at 84. According to a statement  from his family, Jackson passed away peacefully on Tuesday morning. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and had been battling Progressive Supranuclear

You know that feeling when you stumble on an old Nollywood or Ghallywood film on YouTube and suddenly it's 3 AM and you're crying over a love triangle that involves juju, class warfare, and at least two people pretending to be dead, BlackBerry in hand? That's " jakusco" energy, the beautifully chaotic,  melodramatic African love stories from the late 90s to the early 2010s that defined a generation, with raw emotional performances that prioritized drama and cultural depth.  I

The Akunna Cook-led fund, intending to deploy $50 million in support of audio-visual content made by African and African-diaspora creators, has set up an advisory board.  In an exclusive announcement via The Hollywood Reporter , also shared via their newsletter, the Next Narrative Africa Fund (NNAF),  a content and media investment vehicle targeting $50 million in support of audio-visual content made by African and African-diaspora creators, has unveiled a 13-member advisory

Birdie at Sundance 2026: Nigerian-American director Praise Paige Odigie crafts a moving portrait of a Biafran refugee family navigating loss and identity Once upon a time, a mother and her two daughters lived in the American countryside. They were from another country, building a new life in the aftermath of a war between their people and those whom they once called compatriots. The older daughter believed her father was dead. Mother and younger teenage daughter believed he w

Netflix special proves the comedian wasn't conspiracy theorizing; he was just early Katt Williams  opens his fourth Netflix special, The Last Report , by doing something you don't see enough in comedy these days: acknowledging God. Not as a punchline, not as a setup, but as genuine gratitude. "I'm God's own," he declares early in the hour, and it sets the tone for what becomes a masterclass in truth-telling wrapped in hilarious packaging. Released February 10, "The Last Repor

Pan African Film & Arts Festival showcases dynamic range of storytelling from established auteurs and emerging voices (February 16-22) Los Angeles  - The 35th Pan African Film & Arts Festival  returns to Los Angeles February 16–22, 2026, bringing together a compelling slate of Black cinema that spans continents, and generations. As one of the premier platforms  for African diaspora storytelling, PAFF 2026 offers audiences a front-row seat to the evolution of Black filmmaking,

Why the Lupita Nyong'o Helen of Troy controversy exposes Hollywood hypocrisy: From White Jesus to Egyptian gods, accuracy only matters for Black actors. What should be a non-issue has quickly devolved into ugly Internet discourse about race and historical accuracy, flawed as the latter is.  Elon Musk says Christopher Nolan  "has lost his integrity." The crime? Rumoured casting of Lupita Nyong'o  as Helen of Troy in his upcoming epic The Odyssey , set to premiere July 17, 2026

What the T-Mobile–Netflix deal quietly teaches creatives and media founders about long-term value By Sahndra Fon Dufe , Partnerships Lead SVAFF There’s a reason T-Mobile didn’t bundle Paramount+ or Max; and it’s not because Netflix has better shows; though that’s debatable depending on who you ask and what week it is. The Netflix On Us  program, launched in 2017 and refined through multiple iterations since, represents something far more calculated than a customer perk. It’s

Review: Olive Nwosu's Sundance 2026 debut Lady explores sisterhood and sex work in Lagos with spirited ambition but uneven execution. Jerry Chiemeke reports Image Credit: Sundance Nigerian-born filmmaker Olive Nwosu 's feature debut Lady  (2026) announces itself with ambition as it wafts on an intriguing backdrop: an inverted view of the Lagos lagoon, two childhood friends perched on a dilapidated shack, and the shadow of trauma that will reverberate through the film's 92-min

Twenty-four years after Halle Berry's historic Oscars win, Black women remain trapped in a ‘supporting role win hole’.  By Sahndra Fon Dufe On March 24, 2002, Halle Berry  became the first Black woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. In her tearful acceptance speech for Monster's Ball , she declared the moment was "for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened." Twenty-four years later, the door remains o

How Black actors are shaping the conversation in this Awards season.  By Sahndra Fon Dufe The 2026 Actor Awards nominations arrived with a record-breaking seven nods for One Battle After Another , but the real story extends beyond any single film's dominance. Black actors secured five individual nominations across the film categories (two in the TV category), distributed across leading, supporting, and ensemble categories in ways that reveal progress, but also persistent patt

Looking for film funding or festival entries? Explore the January 2026 Black Film Wire guide to resources for filmmakers across the global Black diaspora. 2026 is heating up to be an exciting year for film and TV. For budding and established black talent, this also represents multiple opportunities to upskill, exhibit work on larger stages, and secure funding for passion projects. It is to this end that Black Film Wire  has put together an extensive list of available opportun