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Inside the 2025 Nigerian Box Office Five-Part Series | Market Intelligence Initiative The Films That Defined Nigeria's 2025 Box Office Behind the Scenes made history. But the real story is what the full top-10 list tells us about where Nollywood is headed. Nigeria's cinema market generated ₦15.6 billion in total box office revenue in 2025, across 2.8 million admissions — a 48% year-on-year revenue jump and a second consecutive year of attendance recovery. Those are the headline numbers. But the story of which films earned that money, and how, reveals a lot more about what Nigerian audiences actually want from cinema in 2025. Behind The Scenes  rewrote the record books. Released on December 12, 2025, it became the first Nollywood title in history to cross ₦1 billion in the same calendar year of release — doing it in just 19 days. It posted the highest single-day gross of the year on Boxing Day, generated ₦1.32 billion in total box office, and single-handedly accounted for approximately 45% of December's entire box office take. It is now the third highest-grossing Nollywood film of all time. Gingerrr , distributed by Cinemax and released in September, became the breakout surprise of the year — grossing ₦522.9 million, finishing as the sixth highest-grossing Nollywood film ever, and proving that the December window is not the only road to commercial success. Oversabi Aunty  followed Behind The Scenes into December and collected ₦480.1 million from 83,011 admissions. Two culturally rooted comedies dominating a single month's calendar: that pattern is not accidental. Ori: The Rebirth  performed in a different lane entirely — a drama released in May that grossed ₦419.6 million, crossing ₦400M outside of the festive window. It confirmed what genre observers had been arguing: event-led drama with strong cultural framing can hold its own year-round. Reel Love , released on Valentine's Day, grossed ₦356.8 million — making it the highest-performing Nigerian romance at the box office in recent memory and confirming that release-date alignment with cultural moments remains one of the sharpest tools a distributor has. Iyalode , released in June, added ₦306.4 million, while Labake Olododo  (March, ₦264.3M), Owambe Thieves , The Herd , and Abanisete: The Ancestor  rounded out a top 10 that was remarkably diverse in genre, tone, and release timing. What the data says:  The era of every serious Nollywood film queueing for a December slot is ending. Five of the top ten performed in non-festive windows. Audiences showed up when the film gave them a reason to — premiere energy, cultural relevance, strong word-of-mouth. The calendar became a competitive weapon in 2025. Studios and filmmakers that understood this won.

From Seedance 2.0's cease-and-desist battle with Disney to the first AI-directed features reaching theatrical release, the creative industry faces a structural transformation. For Black filmmakers, the moment carries both historic opportunity and familiar risk. The letter arrived on a Tuesday. Disney's legal team sent ByteDance a cease-and-desist  demanding the immediate removal of Seedance 2.0's training data, alleging the AI video platform had ingested a library of copyrighted characters: from Star Wars to Marvel to The Simpsons, without authorization, licensing, or compensation. Within 48 hours, Paramount had filed  its own complaint. SAG-AFTRA followed. The legal machinery of the world's largest entertainment conglomerate had been activated against a video generation tool that, as of the previous week, most of the industry had barely heard of. The speed and force of Hollywood's response reveals something more important than any individual copyright dispute: the industry now recognizes that AI-generated video is not a future problem. It is a present one, and it is moving faster than the legal frameworks built to contain it. What that acceleration means for Black filmmakers specifically  for directors, producers, writers, and visual artists who have navigated a studio system historically resistant to their work  is a question that deserves more than a footnote in the broader conversation about artificial intelligence and creative labor. Seedance 2.0: What It Is, What It Does, and Why Hollywood  Panicked Seedance 2.0  is a video generation model developed by ByteDance, the Beijing-based parent company of TikTok. Released in February 2026, the platform allows users to generate cinematic-quality video footage from text prompts alone, not rough approximations, but material that independent reviewers and industry observers described as approaching professional visual effects quality. Demonstrations circulated widely across social media showing action sequences, atmospheric establishing shots, and character-driven scenes generated from single-sentence inputs. Comparisons were made to the arrival of DeepSeek earlier in the year: another Chinese-developed AI system that arrived without the industry's permission and immediately redefined expectations of what the technology could produce. Disney CEO Bob Iger.  Source: CNN Disney's cease-and-desist alleged that ByteDance had trained Seedance 2.0 on proprietary IP without authorization, treating the company's characters, likenesses, and narrative assets as effectively free training data. Paramount's subsequent filing expanded the scope of the dispute, citing alleged infringement across its portfolio including South Park , Star Trek , and SpongeBob SquarePants . The Human Artistry Campaign, whose membership includes SAG-AFTRA and the Directors Guild of America, called  the platform "an attack on every creator around the world." ByteDance responded by affirming its respect for intellectual property rights and committed to strengthening existing safeguards, a statement that satisfied few parties. "The question is not whether AI will generate film content. Disney's own partnership with OpenAI's Sora platform confirms the answer to that question. The argument is about who controls the terms." The most instructive detail in the Seedance 2.0 dispute is not the cease-and-desist itself but what it sits alongside. Disney has simultaneously pursued aggressive litigation against ByteDance while entering a commercial licensing arrangement with OpenAI for its Sora video generation platform, with curated AI-generated content set to stream on Disney+. The intellectual property argument and the commercial AI partnership coexist without apparent contradiction. The question is not whether AI will generate film content. Disney's own actions confirm the answer to that question. The argument is about who controls the terms. For independent filmmakers  including those who have historically been excluded from the studio system  that distinction matters enormously. The tools exist. The legal frameworks around their use are being written in real time by the most powerful players in the industry. Whether those frameworks preserve access for independent creators or consolidate power among major studios will define the next decade of film production. The AI Creative Landscape: February 2026 in Review The Seedance 2.0 dispute, while dominant in coverage, was not the only significant development in AI and creative technology this month. A broader survey of the sector reveals an industry in active, turbulent transformation. ElevenLabs Co-Founder Mati Staniszewski. Source: vestbee Voice Technology and the Likeness Question ElevenLabs  released a significant update to its real-time voice synthesis platform this month, addressing longstanding latency issues that had limited its commercial application. The updated system produces near-instantaneous voice replication that reviewers described as difficult to distinguish from live human speech, with accurate reproduction of tone, pacing, breath, and regional accent. The advancement has direct implications for actors, voice artists, and broadcasters. The U.S. Copyright Office has ruled  that work created solely by AI cannot be copyrighted, but federal protections around voice likeness remain inconsistently defined across states, and no comprehensive federal legislation has passed. The gap between technological capability and legal protection continues to widen. Production Automation: Krea's Prompt-to-Workflow Creative AI platform Krea launched  prompt-to-workflow this month, a system that converts a single text description of a creative task into a full automated production pipeline. For independent filmmakers and small production companies, the implication is a meaningful compression of both timeline and budget at the pre-production and visual development stages. The tool is being positioned as a collaborative resource for creators rather than a replacement for creative labor, though the distinction will be tested as adoption scales. UNESCO's Economic Warning The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization released its annual cultural monitoring report  in February, issuing projections that received limited coverage relative to their significance. The report estimated that generative AI could drive income losses of 24 percent for music creators and 21 percent for those working in audiovisual sectors by 2028, with AI-generated content flooding global markets faster than policy responses can be developed. The same report noted that the majority of professional artists have now integrated AI tools into their workflow in some capacity, presenting the paradox of a technology that simultaneously threatens industry incomes and is being adopted by the same industry to remain competitive. Awards Season's Counter-Signal Against this backdrop, the current awards season has tilted noticeably toward films that foreground human emotional interiority, with works including Hamnet , Sentimental Value ,  and   Frankenstein  leading critical conversations. The trend represents a market signal  prestige cinema audiences are, at least for this cycle, gravitating toward work that positions itself in deliberate contrast to AI's aesthetic register. Whether that positioning represents lasting cultural preference or a transitional moment remains to be seen. Divergence in the Executive and Talent Ranks The range of responses from actors, directors, and executives reflects an industry that has not reached consensus  and may not. Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey at the Variety-CNN Town Hall where McConaughey's controversial AI statement emerged.   Source: Variety Matthew McConaughey , in a widely circulated conversation with actor Timothée Chalamet, offered what observers characterized as among the most pragmatic assessments to come from the talent community. McConaughey argued that actors who approach AI primarily as a moral issue rather than a strategic one are likely to cede control  of the terms on which it enters the industry. His recommendation  that talent protect their likeness, voice, and image through legal ownership structures proactively  reflects a position grounded less in enthusiasm for the technology than in a candid assessment of its trajectory. George Clooney addressed  the question from a different angle, describing the visual capabilities of OpenAI's Sora 2 as genuinely alarming to industry figures who had previously dismissed AI video as low quality. "The quality was much better and it's scary," Clooney said. He also noted having encountered unauthorized AI-generated content featuring his likeness  content he described as dangerous rather than merely inconvenient. Directors have been less measured. Guillermo del Toro stated  he would not use AI in his work under any circumstances. Rian Johnson described the technology as making every aspect of filmmaking worse. Bong Joon-ho, speaking at the Marrakech Film Festival, addressed  the subject with characteristic dryness. James Cameron, 72, has prohibited  generative AI from his productions while separately developing proprietary AI tools to accelerate his own workflow, a distinction he considers meaningful. The Human Artistry Campaign , backed by more than 700 signatories including Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett, Questlove, and Vince Gilligan, has organized opposition around the specific issue of training data  arguing that AI companies profited from copyrighted creative work without authorization or compensation, rather than opposing AI development categorically. "The talent agencies are already exploring representation agreements with AI-generated performers. Emily Blunt's response was brief: 'Come on agencies, don't do that.'" Talent agencies, meanwhile, are exploring representation agreements with AI-generated performers, digital actors built from consented human likenesses who exist both within narrative content and on social media, capable of audience interaction outside the film frame. Emily Blunt's response  to news of agency discussions on the matter was brief: "This is really, really scary. Come on agencies, don't do that." IndieWire offered a counterpoint to the more alarmist projections, arguing that current AI capabilities remain demonstrably limited in the areas that define prestige performance: nuanced emotional delivery, physical stillness, the specific register of grief or restraint that audiences read as authentic. The viral AI clips that have generated the most attention tend to feature action and spectacle, not the quiet scene between two people in a room that constitutes the majority of dramatic cinema. The First AI Films: From Experiment to Theatrical Release The question of whether AI can make a film has moved from speculative to documentary in the space of eight months. Official poster for Post Truth.  Source: IMDb  Post Truth , a feature-length documentary by Turkish artist Alkan Avcıoğlu , became the first fully AI-generated film to receive a wide commercial theatrical release, opening across 58 locations in July 2025 and receiving substantive critical engagement despite significant industry skepticism about AI-produced work. The Sweet Idleness , releasing this month, represents a more structurally ambitious experiment. The film is directed by FellinAI, an AI agent given genuine creative autonomy over aesthetic and narrative decisions. The production uses human actors who have consented to the existence of their digital counterparts, and those digital performers maintain active social media presences that allow audience engagement outside the theatrical experience. The subject matter  a dystopian future in which employment has nearly ceased to exist  provides an uncomfortable parallel to the conditions surrounding its own creation. OpenAI is backing Critterz , an AI-animated feature targeting a Cannes Film Festival introduction in May 2026. The project is positioned as significantly more cost-efficient than traditional feature animation, a claim that, if validated in production, carries significant implications for an animation industry already under substantial economic pressure. In India, Intelliflicks Studios  is completing the country's first entirely AI-generated feature, integrating image generation, video animation, audio synthesis, and lip-synchronization tools across a single production pipeline. The primary technical challenge the studio has cited is character consistency  generative AI's probabilistic architecture means that a character's appearance subtly shifts between scenes without deliberate corrective intervention. Human actors present no equivalent problem. What This Means for Black Filmmakers:  The structural conditions of Hollywood's gate-keeping have been documented extensively and do not require rehearsal here. The persistent underrepresentation of Black directors at the studio greenlight level, the funding gaps at independent production, the institutional requirement that Black-led films demonstrate commercial viability before being granted the resources routinely available to comparable white-led projects  these are known conditions. What has changed is the technological environment in which those conditions now operate. The case for AI tools as a meaningful equalizer is not theoretical. Production capabilities that required eight-figure budgets five years ago are becoming accessible at independent scale. A director with strong creative vision and limited capital can now develop visual materials, proof-of-concept sequences, and pre-visualization content at a quality level that was previously unavailable to them. The barrier to demonstrating a film's visual potential, historically a significant obstacle for underfunded independent projects seeking studio or investor attention, is being materially lowered. "The barrier to entry won't be capital. It will be imagination. That sentence sounds like liberation. It also requires scrutiny." The barrier to entry won't be capital. It will be imagination. That sentence sounds like liberation. It also requires scrutiny. AI video models are trained on existing visual content. Existing visual content  the commercial film and television archive that constitutes the primary training corpus for most major models  reflects the aesthetic priorities, the casting defaults, the lighting standards, and the narrative frameworks of a studio system that has historically underrepresented Black creatives both in front of and behind the camera. Several AI researchers have flagged that current video generation models demonstrate measurable inconsistency in producing naturalistic representations of Black characters across extended content. The bias is not a function of intent. It is a function of data. The implications are direct: a tool positioned as a democratizing force carries within its architecture the aesthetic assumptions of the industry it is theoretically disrupting. Black filmmakers who adopt these tools without engaging with how they were built, what they were trained on, what their defaults are, where their limitations concentrate  risk building on a foundation that has been shaped by the same exclusions they are attempting to work around. Director Noel Braham at Essence Fest.   Source: Essence At the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture , Emmy-nominated director Noel Braham and creative technology executive Shavone Charles addressed this directly. Braham encouraged Black creatives to approach AI as a collaborative instrument rather than a shortcut, arguing that meaningful use requires genuine engagement with the creative process. Charles pressed further, emphasizing that participation in the AI era must extend beyond consumption of finished tools to include understanding of how those tools are built, trained, and monetized. "We have to be inside the brain of AI," Charles said, "not just consuming it." That framing, not just consuming it, is the relevant standard. The AI creative economy is being built now. The training datasets are being assembled now. The aesthetic defaults are being established now. The decisions being made in 2026 about what AI learns to recognize as cinematic, as dramatic, as beautiful, as commercially viable, will shape the outputs of these tools for years. Black filmmakers who engage with those decisions  who contribute to training data, who work with developers on bias correction, who build AI-native production practices on their own terms  are positioned differently than those who wait to see what the system produces and then attempt to work within it. The African American Film Marketplace has engaged this question directly, noting that AI tools can extend creative autonomy and resource access for independent filmmakers, but only if the community moves deliberately to shape tool development rather than simply adopting tools after the fact. The distinction between shaping and adopting is not rhetorical. It determines who the technology is built for. Conclusion: The Terms Are Being Written Now The Seedance 2.0 dispute will be resolved through litigation, negotiation, or both. The AI-directed films releasing this month will be reviewed, debated, and placed in a historical context that is still being formed. The celebrity statements will continue. The tools will continue to improve. What will not wait is the question of who participates in building the infrastructure of the AI creative economy and on what terms. The window in which those foundational decisions are being made  about training data, about default aesthetics, about whose creative labor is valued and compensated and whose is simply absorbed  is open now, and it is not open indefinitely. The history of the film industry suggests that Black creatives who engage the moment of transition actively, rather than responding to the industry that emerges from it, are better positioned than those who do not. The tools are genuinely more accessible than anything that has preceded them. The risks are also genuine. Both things are true, and neither excuses the other. The argument for engagement is not that AI is good for Black filmmakers. It is that the alternative  ceding the terms of this transition to those who have always set the terms  is worse.

A shocked Michael B. Jordan receives his Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Lead Role. Source: Actor Awards The 32nd annual Actors Awards  (fka The Screen Actors Guild Awards/SAG-AFTRA Awards) held on Sunday March 1, 2027. It proved to be a mix of upsets, expected wins, and exciting moments, with Sinners  setting the tone for the night with two wins. In a shocking yet deserving twist, Michael B. Jordan  took home the statuette for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Motion Picture) for his role as the Smoke-Stack twins; Viola Davis’ excited announcement would serve as one of the more memorable moments of an already incredible night. Sinners  won the coveted prize for a film ensemble.  Other upsets on the night include Keri Russell  ( The Diplomat ) winning in the Best Female Actor in a Leading Role (Drama Series) over Rhea Seehorn   ( Pluribus ) .  Harrison Ford  was presented with the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award for his decades-long contribution to the craft of acting. In his acceptance speech, the Indiana Jones and Star Wars  icon said, “Success in this business brings a certain freedom that comes with responsibility to support each other, to lift others up when we can. To keep the door open for the next kid, the next lost boy who's looking for a place to belong. I'm, indeed, a lucky guy. Lucky to have found my people. Lucky to have work that challenges me. Lucky to still be doing it. And I don't take that for granted.” As the Awards season trudges to a close, the Actor Awards outcomes appear to be somewhat predictive for some of the outcomes in the Oscars race. The Best Supporting Actress race has now seen different winners at the BAFTAs  ( Wunmi Mosaku  - Sinners ), Golden Globes  ( Teyana Taylor  - One Battle After Another ), and Critics’ Choice  ( Amy Madigan  - Weapons ), with the latter also winning at the Actors Awards. Similarly, the Best Supporting Actor race had different winners at the Critics Choice ( Jacob Elordi  - Frankenstein ), Golden Globes ( Stellan Skarsgård  - Sentimental Value   ) and BAFTAs ( Sean Penn  - One Battle After Another ), with the latter picking up yesterday's statuette.  The full Awards list can be found below:  Film Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Frankenstein  Hamnet Marty Supreme One Battle After Another Sinners — WINNER Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Chase Infiniti ( One Battle After Another ) Emma Stone ( Bugonia ) Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)  — WINNER Kate Hudson ( Song Sung Blue ) Rose Byrne ( If I Had Legs I'd Kick You ) Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Ethan Hawke ( Blue Moon ) Jesse Plemons ( Bugonia ) Leonardo DiCaprio ( One Battle After Another ) Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)  — WINNER Timothée Chalamet ( Marty Supreme ) The Sinners cast receive their Award for Outstanding Performance by A Cast in a Motion Picture Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Amy Madigan (Weapons)  — WINNER Ariana Grande ( Wicked: For Good ) Odessa A’zion ( Marty Supreme ) Teyana Taylor ( One Battle After Another ) Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another) Jacob Elordi ( Frankenstein ) Miles Caton ( Sinners ) Paul Mescal ( Hamnet ) Sean Penn (One Battle After Another) — WINNER. Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture F1. Frankenstein Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning — WINNER One Battle After Another Sinners Television  The Piitt cast receive their Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.  Source: Actor Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Abbott Elementary Hacks Only Murders in the Building The Bear The Studio  — WINNER Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Landman Severance The Diplomat The Pitt  — WINNER The White Lotus Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Catherine O’Hara ( The Studio ) — WINNER Jean Smart (Hacks) Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) Kathryn Hahn ( The Studio ) Kristen Wiig ( Palm Royale ) Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Adam Brody ( Nobody Wants This) Ike Barinholtz ( The Studio ) Martin Short ( Only Murders in the Building ) Seth Rogen ( The Studio ) — WINNER Ted Danson ( A Man on the Inside ) Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Aimee Lou Wood ( The White Lotus ) Britt Lower ( Severance ) Keri Russell ( The Diplomat ) — WINNER Parker Posey ( The White Lotus ) Rhea Seehorn ( Pluribus ). Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Billy Crudup ( The Morning Show ) Gary Oldman ( Slow Horses ) Noah Wyle ( The Pitt ) — WINNER Sterling K. Brown ( Paradise ) Walton Goggins ( The White Lotus ) Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series Christine Tremarco ( Adolescence ) Claire Danes ( The Beast in Me ) Erin Doherty ( Adolescence ) Michelle Williams ( Dying for Sex ) — WINNER  Sarah Snook ( All Her Fault ) Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series Charlie Hunnam ( Monster: The Ed Gein Story ) Jason Bateman ( Black Rabbit ) Matthew Rhys ( The Beast in Me ) Owen Cooper ( Adolescence ) — WINNER Stephen Graham ( Adolescence ) Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series Andor Landman Squid Game Stranger Things The Last of Us  — WINNER For more Awards season updates, read and follow the Black Film Wire .

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 about international Box Office earnings can be resolved with a few key strokes. This is the case in most countries.  In Nigeria, this data isn’t as readily available. And it was this gap that prompted the creation of the brand, Nigerian Box Office, back in 2021. Operating anonymously, but with verifiable data, the brand, which is notably active on  X (FKA Twitter), with over 6,000 followers, and Instagram , with over 270 followers, has become referential for Nollywood. In five years, they have established themselves as a foremost authority on the industry’s numbers, giving insight and analytics to fans and stakeholders alike.  In this interview with Black Film Wire, Nigerian Box Office’s anonymous handler tells us about its origins, methodology, challenges, and relevance in the changing media landscape; why Brotherhood ’s Box Office numbers require more attention and the lessons to take from Funke Akindele ’s billion Naira grossings.  This interview has been edited for length and clarity.  How did the Nigerian Box Office come about?  I’d long been a film enthusiast. But I was also interested in the business of film: the box office, the budgets, what really happens behind the scenes in terms of the numbers, contracts, and how everything just comes together. My interest spiked for Hollywood movies. As far back as 2015, we’d go to the cinemas to watch a Hollywood movie, and could see the business side. But that was the opposite for Nigerian movies, where very few had the data.  2016 was when my interest in Nollywood movies really took off. The Wedding Party  made me see Nollywood from a different perspective and made me interested in our local box office numbers. The numbers weren’t published. There wasn’t a verifiable platform, as we have now. They were posting from the Wikipedia page, and I kept seeing the grossings go up. The interest continued, but the challenge was the lack of verifiable data at the time.  In February 2018, we formed an organisation called the  Cinemas Exhibitors’ Association of Nigeria (CEAN).  They had a partnership with Comscore  and a mandate to start reporting the box office numbers publicly, with a verified, globally recognised platform [like Comscore]. By December 2018, they started publishing the data. They were publishing twice a week, for the opening weekend and the full week.  When we say opening weekend, we refer to Friday, Saturday and Sunday; and when we say the full week, we refer to Friday to Thursday.  So, they published twice: on Monday for the weekend of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and on Friday for the full week of Friday to Thursday. What also made my interest go up was that prior to Comscore, some numbers were just pure estimates. For instance, a movie like The Wedding Party  would just write 450 million, but I know that a movie can’t just gross a perfect number like that. There’s always a certain amount So, I started investigating, I dug deeper and got in touch with the people behind these numbers to understand how it works. I could also see that for the US Box Office, there were platforms such as  Box Office Mojo  and The Numbers that did a good job breaking down the numbers, and I wanted that for Nigeria. So I took it upon myself and started keeping track of this data.  I wanted to be able to make sense of it outside of the ones published on a weekly basis. I contacted most of the distributors to request some of their numbers. In essence, I was able to get sufficient data to build up my portfolio and keep up with Comscore. Around March 2024, they stopped publishing, which was more than 5 years after. Once I contacted them, the feedback I was given was that Nigeria’s distributors and exhibitors now have access to the platform, or they have always had, and Comscore would no longer publish directly. They would hand over that charge to the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association of Nigeria to publish. So, the rate of publishing drastically reduced. From doing it twice a week, it went to once every two weeks. There was a huge gap.  Eventually, I got contacted by one of the distributing companies — whom I now consult for — and I was also able to get access to Comscore, giving me first-hand access to the numbers presented. I can dissect it on a different level. I also have access to the old numbers that were not on Comscore. I try to get the latest information or the latest figures that I have for old blockbusters that we have, but I think to a very large extent, I confidently have an understanding and a good knowledge of the box office over the past seven to eight years now.  The [X] account was opened in 2021. I didn’t want to use my personal account to talk about movies all the time, so I started connecting with film enthusiasts on Twitter (now known as X), and we kept on going. Of course, December-January is always a peak period for the account, where everybody is heavily interested. That has been the journey for the Nigerian Box Office. To clarify, CEAN was still active until 2024, thereabouts and even last year, but the data is not always up-to-date. As it stands currently, how does most of your data come in? As I explained, I now have access to Comscore, and that’s where I get my data from. It’s the same platform that CEAN uses. They [CEAN] still publish; however, they only publish on their Instagram account, and it isn’t as frequent as it used to be. While before they would publish on their website  and also publish on their Instagram, they have now limited it to just Instagram. Then, we were in talks with a tech company that wanted to see how they could connect an API directly to Comscore’s platform so that it could update automatically. But the company itself has had challenges getting access to Comscore, which has stalled the website development.  CEAN’s response to unfair practices claim in December. Source: CEAN Instagram Right now, CEAN’s Secretary or President is in charge of that, and they’ve been trying to publish once every two weeks, which isn’t adequate for a regular film enthusiast. A lot of people tend to rely on our account or the distributors’ account to get information about the box office.  What is one moment of tracking you can’t forget, either based on the reactions of people or the amount of work that went in? Since I started reporting the Box Office, one of my most memorable occasions has been with the movie Brotherhood,  released on September 23rd, 2022, I think. It’s not as though it was the most impressive or the biggest of box offices, but the staying power all through its time in cinemas was huge. The staying power and the multiplier it did for a September movie is second to none.  So, typically, in the box office, there is something called a ‘multiplier’. A ‘Multiplier’ refers to how well your film opens over the opening weekend, divided by what it does in total gross. Typically, you have movies diminishing, meaning that their opening weekend is the strongest and it keeps diminishing til their final lifespan. You look at a multiplier to see the audience’s interests in a movie. How well was the word of mouth? Was it good or bad? And in terms of my coverage, Brotherhood  was spectacular! It did a multiplier of over ten; 10.48 or 10.5, which is very impressive. For instance, if you open to 31.3 million Naira, then that means it did ten times the opening weekend figure, about 328 million Naira. And I know you can just look back on it and say, “Oh, but that’s what Funke Akindele would do in one weekend or would do in one week”. However, it meant a lot for the time, and the dynamics were different.  Official poster for Brotherhood. Source: Greoh Studios Why most producers want December is because the week before Christmas till the week after New Year is a holiday period for most people, and consumer spending is at its peak. So, you would have the box office overperforming in December.  I’ll give you an instance; from Dec. 20th - 26th, the box office did about 922 million Naira. That was more than September, October, and November, respectively. The week of the 27th [of December] to the 1st of January, 2026, produced more than 1.4billion Naira at the box office. That was more than any other month in 2025 apart from January and December. All through the year, whether it was with Ginger, Superman , The Fantastic Four: First Steps , Iyalode ,  Sinners  — basically all those months that felt so good — that week alone outperformed all of them.  It just shows you how much the box office has significantly reduced compared to 2019 or 2018, except with December, where you would always see similar figures. If you check, say, December 2019, you would probably see about 240k – 245k in admissions. If you check the same week from last year’s December, you would still find a similar figure. But if you check July or February, you will find something like 35,000 or 45,000, which is low compared to 2018 or 2019. I referenced those years because they were the peak of cinema-going before COVID happened and before streaming came into full play and changed people’s habits. What I’m trying to say is that  Brotherhood  played as though it were a December movie, despite coming out during a non-holiday period. It excites me and is still something I will probably write about or publish on one of these days.  There have been major concerns about admission numbers compared to the box office revenue numbers. Aside from inflation, what are the not-so-obvious factors being ignored when it comes to these low admission numbers?  One of the underlying issues is the economy. Entertainment as a whole works with disposable income, so people will have to feed or clothe themselves first.  I think streaming also took away a lot of box office numbers.  The streaming habit has just really changed a lot of viewing patterns. What that means is that they wouldn’t go to the cinemas unless you have the biggest of movies; it has to be the biggest of blockbusters, something with so much FOMO before people would go, else they’ll be like “I can just wait for it to come to Netflix, or Prime, What’s the rush?”  Also, there’s the fact that some films’ cinema windows are so short that they are exclusive in theatres for as low as 17 days. Some of them will only do 28 days before it goes to a TV–holding or VOD platform, and once it goes to those platforms, it gets pirated and you see copies of it online. Pre-COVID, you had Hollywood doing 45 - 90 days of exclusivity windows for their movies in the theatres. That means for about 6-14 weeks, you would not be able to watch that movie on any other platform apart from the cinemas. Right now, the windows have shortened. You still have some studios like Disney, keeping their movies longer in the cinemas, but other studios like Universal and Warner Bros. are a bit more swayed. And with platforms like Netflix bidding for Warner Bros, the future of exhibition is unclear. These are some of the factors that have really affected the cinema culture.  Moving forward, what are the things you have in mind for the brand? What are the expansions and projects you intend to take on that followers should look out for? I’ve started being more intentional with the Nigeria Box Office account. I have gotten a lot busier these days, and I’m unable to post as I would have wanted. One feedback I got from particular distribution companies and studios was that I was reporting very early, thereby not giving producers and distributors time to breaknews, so I’ve had to slow down how quickly I report or post things at times. Going forward this year, I will try to post more analysis of what is going on at the box office, and include more [analysis] about admissions.  I have even tried to verify the account so that I’m able to post more in terms of characters, because it was a missing factor. I didn’t just want to have so many tweets and threads lined up. I have also started collaborating more. There is a sort of direct partnership with Nollywire on Instagram. I have tried to expand my footprints, reaching out to media platforms; certain media use my data without necessarily reaching a partnerships and I really don’t mind, as far as you are quoting or giving credits to me. Basically, people should expect to see more collaborations.  However, I’m a lot busier than I was before, so there may be downtimes. There may be periods when I may go silent, but I’m also looking at how I can get other team members who can take on some of these responsibilities.  How do you deal with fandoms on Twitter and elsewhere? I basically ignore, to be honest. I don’t try to explain too much. I won’t call them a mob, but sometimes they can act like a mob, so I will just say I ignore them. If I see you genuinely want to ask a question, then I may answer.  One thing people do not pay enough attention to concerning box office numbers. There are a lot of things. People love to use Funke Akindele’s success to gauge the rest of the industry. But those numbers are a result of consistency, hard work, building a fanbase and an audience. People should do their research; contact a knowledgeable distribution company to give them relevant information before going out to do a project and expecting to do billions of Naira.

St. Kitts and Nevis implements mandatory biometric data for Citizenship by Investment Programme. What Black film stakeholders need to know about mobility The Citizenship by Investment Unit of St. Kitts and Nevis has announced the upcoming implementation of mandatory biometric data collection for all new applicants under its Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI), with the measure expected to take effect before the end of Q1 2026. The initiative aligns the Federation’s security protocols with standards maintained by leading jurisdictions, including the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom. According to H.E. Calvin St. Juste, Executive Chairman of the Citizenship Unit, the move reinforces the integrity and global reputation of the programme. “This biometric initiative underscores our unwavering commitment to maintaining the integrity and reputation of St. Kitts and Nevis as a responsible global partner. By implementing these enhanced security measures, we are ensuring that we meet the highest international standards while contributing meaningfully to global border security efforts. ” he stated in the Press Release. Under the new framework: I. Biometric data collection will be mandatory for all new applicants II. Existing citizens who acquired citizenship through the programme must comply within an extended transition period. III. Native-born nationals are not affected. Further guidance on implementation timelines for existing programme citizens is expected in the coming weeks, per the release.  Why This Matters for International Black Film Stakeholders For many international Black producers, financiers, and high-net-worth creatives operating across Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and North America, citizenship-by-investment programmes are strategic mobility tools. They come in handy for a global production industry where co-productions span multiple jurisdictions, festival travel and market access require flexible mobility, film financing structures rely on international banking relationships, diaspora investors operate between continents, and passport strength and compliance standards directly affect deal flow. Enhanced biometric protocols signal increased regulatory scrutiny and alignment with major global security systems. For Black global creatives leveraging Caribbean jurisdictions for investment diversification or mobility planning, this update reflects a broader shift toward heightened due diligence expectations worldwide. Even an indigenous company like MSR Media, which in 2022, committed  to producing 35 feature films on the dual-island territory, has its job set out, ensuring potential investment deals and work agreements aren’t hampered.  Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis and Minister of Tourism and Foreign Investment in the Nevis Island Administration with Philippe Martinez, MSR Media producer and director on set in Nevis in February 2021.  Source: Nevis Island Administration According to Black Film Wire , regulatory recalibration within Caribbean CBIs mirror tightening compliance trends across cross-border financing and identity verification systems, areas that increasingly intersect with film production and media entrepreneurship. Caribbean citizenship programmes have faced increased global review in recent years, particularly in relation to visa-free travel agreements and international financial transparency standards. By implementing biometric collection measures, St. Kitts and Nevis signals proactive alignment with evolving global compliance norms — a move likely aimed at maintaining visa access credibility and institutional trust. For film stakeholders navigating international production ecosystems, the takeaway is awareness. Mobility strategy now operates within a compliance-first era. As such, it is essential for stakeholders to evaluate all travel processes, either for participation at festivals, shoots, or any other business. It would also help in potential deal negotiations and large-scale inter-continental partnerships.  For more film and TV businezz insights, check out the Black Film Wire’s resources  section.

Final Draft updated its Terms of Service in 2026. Here's what Black filmmakers, screenwriters, and indie film students need to know before your scripts disappear. When a company like Final Draft  updates its Terms of Service and End User License Agreement , it's easy to dismiss as legal housekeeping. But that is not the case If you're building IP, pitching streamers, developing festival-bound scripts, or working on anything you intend to own and monetize, those terms directly affect your access, your files, your billing rights, and what happens if something goes wrong. Final Draft,  the industry-standard screenwriting software,  updated both documents as of yesterday, 23rd February, 2026. We read through every page so you don't have to. Here's what independent filmmakers, especially those without in-house counsel, need to pay attention to:  The File Deletion Question: Three Things You Actually Need to Know This is the most urgent section in the entire document for working writers. The Terms contain a permanent deletion clause, and the details matter. 1. Is Deletion Immediate  or Is There Notice First? There is a 30-day grace period after your subscription lapses before Final Draft deletes your files. That's the good news. However, the Terms do not require Final Draft to notify you before deletion happens . The language puts the burden entirely on you  "you will have thirty (30) days from the lapse date to preserve your files." There is no contractual obligation for them to send a warning email at day 25, or day 29, or at all. The clock starts running whether or not you know it. If you cancel your subscription and forget about it, miss a payment and assume it'll sort itself out, or let a free trial expire during a busy production period, your files could be permanently gone before you realize the timer was running. 2. Is There a Grace Period to Export Files? Yes  30 days, explicitly stated in the Terms. Section 6 adds that Final Draft will use "commercially reasonable efforts" to allow you to export or transition your content during that window. That phrase  "commercially reasonable efforts"  is worth understanding. It's standard legal language, but it's meaningfully weaker than a guarantee. It means Final Draft will try, but it doesn't legally obligate them to ensure the export actually works. If the platform has a technical issue during your 30-day window, that language gives them significant cover. Our advice is that you don't wait until your subscription is about to lapse to export. Export regularly, as a habit, to storage you control. 3. Does This Apply to Cloud Storage Only  or to Your Local Files Too? This is the most nuanced and most misunderstood part of the policy. The answer is that it depends on where your files are live, but local users are not fully in the clear either. The deletion clauses in the Terms specifically reference "files in your Final Draft account" and "Final Draft Vault"  that is cloud storage. Final Draft cannot remotely delete files sitting on your local hard drive or device. Those files are yours. However, the End User License Agreement contains a separate concern for locally installed software. It states that "an online connection, a Final Draft account, and registration with a unique code may be required to use the Software." In plain terms, even if your script is saved locally as an .fdx file, Final Draft's license management system may require you to authenticate an active, paid license before the software will open it. Your local file doesn't get deleted. But if your license lapses, you may be locked out of opening that file in Final Draft  which is a functional loss even if it's not a literal deletion. You would need either an active subscription or an alternative application that can read .fdx files to access your own work. The key takeaway is that Cloud users face permanent deletion after 30 days. Local users face potential lockout. Either way, the safest move is to keep your scripts in a universally readable format  like .pdf or .fountain  in addition to your .fdx files. Why This Matters More When You're Building IP For filmmakers who are pitching, packaging projects, or developing work toward festival submission or streamer deals, the stakes around file access are higher than they might appear. A script in active development is an asset. It may already be attached to a director, have a letter of intent from a producer, or be part of a pitch package you're circulating. Losing access to that script  even temporarily  during a crucial window could affect relationships, deadlines, and deals. The Terms make clear that Final Draft bears no liability for any of this. Their maximum financial responsibility if something goes wrong on their end is $100 or three months of fees, whichever is greater. The platform is provided "as is," with no guarantees that content will be secure, that the service won't experience outages, or that your files will be available when you need them. None of that means Final Draft is a bad tool. It means the legal structure places all the risk on you, which is standard for software companies. The appropriate response is to treat your scripts like what they are  intellectual property with real value  and protect them accordingly. Auto-Renewal and the 7-Day Refund Window Final Draft subscriptions auto-renew by default, and the updated Terms are emphatic about it  cancellation instructions appear in all-caps multiple times. Annual plans carry a 7-day refund window from the date of purchase or renewal. After 7 days, the payment is non-refundable, though your access continues through the subscription period. If your plan started with a free trial, the 7-day window begins when the trial ends  not when you originally enrolled. Monthly plans are non-refundable in any circumstance. Cancel to stop future charges, but the current month is gone. You can cancel via a support ticket at finaldraft.com/support  or by self-canceling in your account settings. Cancellations must reach Final Draft by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on the applicable deadline. If you signed up through Final Draft Go on iOS, all of this is irrelevant to you. Refunds and cancellations go through Apple not Final Draft. The Class Action Waiver The updated Terms require you to waive your right to join a class action lawsuit against Final Draft. Any dispute must be brought individually. For claims under $10,000, either party can opt for binding arbitration  conducted by phone, online, or written submission. Larger disputes go to Los Angeles County courts under California law. There's also a one-year statute of limitations on all claims. After that, your right to pursue any legal action is permanently barred, regardless of what happened. Class actions matter because they're often the only practical path when a company's practices harm many users in ways that are real but individually too small to justify solo litigation. Under these Terms, that option is off the table. What the Terms Say About Ownership Final Draft is explicit about owning your scripts. The company makes no claim to your creative content. The platform does reserve the right to scan content for viruses, malware, and legal compliance. Their Privacy Policy ( finaldraft.com/company/legal/privacy-statement ) governs what else they collect and how it's used, worth reading separately if data privacy is a concern for projects in early development. One additional clause to note is that any feedback or suggestions you submit through the platform  feature requests, ideas, bug reports  can be used by Final Draft "for any purpose without attribution, accounting or compensation to you." Practical Checklist for Our Readers If you're a cloud/Vault user: Back up all scripts outside Final Draft today  Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, local hard drive, all of it. Set a calendar reminder 2 weeks before your subscription renews or expires. Export a copy of every active project after every major revision. If you're on a locally installed license: Keep .pdf or .fountain copies of your scripts in addition to .fdx files. Understand that license authentication may be required to open your files even locally. For everyone: Know your refund window (7 days for annual plans). Understand that Final Draft's liability is capped at $100 if something goes wrong on their end. Any legal claims must be filed within one year and must be brought individually. The full Terms of Service are at finaldraft.com/company/legal/terms-of-service and the EULA is at finaldraft.com/company/legal/eula . Black Film Wiree Resources  covers industry tools, contracts, and business practices affecting Black filmmakers. Have a document you want us to break down? Reach out to the editorial team.

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, proved to be eventful with a myriad of moments and takeaways. This included everything from an awkward yet inspiring speech from Best Actress winner Jessie Buckley  ( Hamnet ), to a more lighthearted one by Ryan Coogler  on behalf of Ludwig G ö ransson  for Best Score ( Sinners ), and an appearance by everyone’s favourite Marmalade-maker, Paddington Bear.  In the mix of all these, there were three moments that stood out for us at Black Film Wire, all involving Black talent. These moments carry immense cultural significance and represent the future, one way or the other. In no particular order, here they are:  Wumi Mosaku ’s Best Supporting Actress Win Upsets the Oscars Scales:  Nigerian-British actress Wumi Mosaku was one of four Acting winners for her emotional performance as Hoodoo priestess Annie in Ryan Coogler’s seminal vampire thriller, Sinners . In her speech during the winners’ press conference, she said, “It always feels good when you walk into a room, and you’re not the only one. It always feels good when you feel like your story and your experience are being represented with integrity and creativity.” She added, “Since the film came out, just seeing the response of black women feeling seen, loved, valued, treasured, and the power of our ancestry and spirituality. For me, seeing that response made me realise how lonely I felt and all of a sudden these women were in my life who I’d never met, I felt a kinship to.”, per The Standard UK.   Her win, alongside Sean Penn’ s ( One Battle After Another ) in the Supporting category, heralds a competitive showdown at the Academy Awards on March 16. None of the recurring nominees had claimed the win more than once at the other major ceremonies leading up to the BAFTAs. Teyana Taylor  ( One Battle After Another ) and Stellan Skarsgård  ( Sentimental Value ) won at the Golden Globes . Amy Madigan  ( Weapons ) and Jacob Elordi  ( Frankenstein ) won at the  Critics' Choice Awards . With only the Actor Awards left in the run-in, predictions in both categories remain far from locked in.  The story is different in the lead categories with Jessie Buckley ( Hamnet ) a sure shoo-in for the Best Actress statuette, while Timothée Chalamet  ( Marty Supreme ) is primed to win the Male category, barring any surprises from Wagner Moura  ( The Secret Agent ).  All in all, it was wonderful seeing Wumi receive her flowers on another large awards stage (she won at the Gotham Awards).  Sinners  Making Black History: Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presenting at the BAFTAs. Source: The Hollywood Reporter  When this writer saw Sinners at the cinemas last year, the first of multiple viewings, he was certain the movie was headed for greatness. On Sunday, Ryan Coogler’s feature affirmed that further by making BAFTA history, and becoming the most decorated movie by a Black director in the Awards’ 79 editions of existence. Its three wins for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Supporting Actress surpassed Steve McQueen ’s 12 Years A Slave   (Best Film and Best Lead Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor ).  Ryan Coogler made further history as the first Black winner in the Best Original Screenplay category, beating out I Swear , Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent , and Sentimental Value . His acceptance speech contained one of the night’s touchstone statements, “For all the writers out there, when y’all look at that blank page, think of who you love, think of anybody who you’ve seen in pain that you identify with and wish they felt better and let that love motivate you.” It made the film’s ten other losses pale in comparison, bolstering overall sentiment beyond Awards season. And what better month to do it than this one? Sinners’ three wins being a record was a reminder of the extent to which Black and other people of colour have to go in the film and TV industry. In one of the less memorable moments of the night, John Davidson, Tourette’s syndrome campaigner and inspiration behind the film, I Swear , involuntarily uttered a racial slur while Sinners’ stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting. An apology followed from presenter Alan Cumming later in the ceremony, and today, the BBC  issued an apology for not editing out the slur. Commentators have rightly pointed out that this was an avoidable mistake as there was a two-hour tape delay specifically to account for such edits.  My Father’s Shadow  Caps Amazing Post-Cannes Run: Everyone who saw brothers and co-writers of My Father’s Shadow, Wale Davies  and Akinola Davies Jr. , rock up to the BAFTAs in those suave overcoats must have known that the pair were bound to walk away with the coveted bronze marks. Sure enough, they picked up the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer. The pair were joined on stage by producers Rachel Dargavel  and Funmbi Ogunbanwo  to mark a watershed moment in Nigerian cinema that has hopefully made certain stakeholders understand just what is possible with adequate resources.  In his speech, Akinola Davies Jr. acknowledged "the ancestors and the path laid before him”, his brother’s role as a father figure, stars Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù  and the Egbo brothers, his producers, BFI and a host of others. He concluded by calling for attendees to “archive their stories, archive their loved ones” before shouting out Nigeria, London, and in one of the night’s most powerful gestures, alluding to an end to the genocides in Congo, Sudan, and Palestine — this was cut out from the BBC’s live broadcast.  From L-R: Wale Davies, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Akinola Davies Jr., Rachel Dargavel, and Funmbi Ogunbanwo at Cannes.  This win is the latest in a list of laurels for the semi autobiographical film based on the Davies’ brothers’ lives, including; the Caméra d’Or Special Mention at theCannes Film Festival, Best Director win at the British Independent Film Awards, Breakthrough Director and Outstanding Lead Performance (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, Special Mention at the Chicago International Film Festival, and Special Jury Award (Silver Peacock) at the International Film Festival of India (all in 2025).  For more about My Father’s Shadow , read Jerry Chiemeke and the Black Film Wire’s extensive interview with Akinola, Rachel Dargavel, and Funmbi Ogunbanwo, where they break down memory, the character of Lagos, maintaining cultural authenticity, production scale, and so much more about this remarkable father-son story.

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 social media . Production for the film wrapped on December 5, 2025.  Effiong will return as writer and director, along with the film’s protagonist, Paul Edima, an ex-hitman seeking justice against the corrupt system. Per the report, the film “will delve deeper into themes of justice, redemption, and social unrest in contemporary Nigeria”. The original, shot on a $1 Million budget, is one of the most successful Nigerian films of the streaming  era, having reached 3rd place on Netflix’ s 2023 Global Charts and top 10 in 69 countries.  Collaborator Nicky Weinstock is also producing the recently Neon-acquired film, Clarissa , an adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway , by famed Nigerian Director duo, Arie  and Chuko Esiri  ( Eyimofe (This Is My Desire)  Besida ).  Other names on the production team include co-founder of Anakle Films, Mimi Bartels, cinematographer Yinka Edward  and costume designer Yolanda Okereke . While further details around the cast, plot, and release date remain under wraps, first-look images suggest The Black Book 2 - Old Score will be just as intense as the original.  In one of the two available shots, a character played by comedian and actor Bright ‘Baksetmouth’ Okpocha  is sat on a skull and horn-adorned throne, draped in gold jewellery, with a large floor-to-ceiling backdrop of a minotaur in army fatigues holding an automatic weapon. The surrounding scenery suggests a building secluded in the forest, complete with graffiti and roofing sheets. In the other picture, he has a dagger to a lady’s nape, suggesting a possible centrality as an antagonist. All of these point to high stakes and possibly more elaborate action scenes   First look at The Black Book 2 - Old Scores   Source: What Kept Me Up Stay with the  Black Film Wire   for more information as production and development on the feature proceed.

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 Davies Jr. , is exactly that kind of film.  Premiering in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Festival de Cannes where it received the Caméra d'Or Special Mention  for Best First Feature, the film subsequently screened at the Centrepiece Section of the Toronto International Film Festival before having its global theatrical premiere in Nigeria in September 2025. It has since arrived on MUBI, bringing its unique interpretation of Lagos to the world — and the world, it turns out, has been waiting for it. My Father’s Shadow  is a semi-autobiographical work, co-written by Akinola with his brother Wale Davies. Set over the course of a single day in Lagos during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, it follows a father, estranged from his two young sons, as they travel through the city while political unrest threatens to swallow everything around them. What audiences are presented with is a richly-layered film that accomplishes multiple feats: an intimate tale of fatherhood, brotherhood, and a nation teetering on the brink; a juxtaposition of the social contract that binds a family and that which binds a country; and a sometimes blissful, sometimes devastating journey through memory, bonds, and loss.  At its heart, the film is a love letter: to Lagos, to fathers both present and absent, and to the irretrievable days that quietly shape who we become. Behind the camera, Davies Jr was joined by two producers whose investment in the project went well beyond the professional. Rachel Dargavel , the London-based producer who had previously collaborated with him on his Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning short Lizard , championed the film through years of development, convinced from the earliest drafts that its combination of personal grief and political sweep was something rare.  “ I’m interested in stories that have the capacity to resonate both locally and globally, films that are able to retain authenticity and speak specifically to an audience whilst also tapping into themes that can resonate universally ”, says Dargavel, reflecting on the motivating factor behind her emotional investment in the screenplay. Alongside her, Lagos-born Funmbi Ogunbanwo , co-founder and CEO of Nigerian film collective Fatherland Productions , brought an insider's intimacy to the material: a deep, instinctive recognition of the streets, the names, and the people on the page.  Between the three of them, they built something that feels both fiercely specific and profoundly open. We sat down with Davies Jr., Dargavel, and Ogunbanwo to talk about how it all came to be. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. A still from the film showing Godwin Egbo (Akin), Sope Disiru (Folarin), and Chibuike Marvelous Egbo (Remi).  Image: BFI Southbank With My Father's Shadow  being your debut feature and such a personal story, how did you navigate that tension between intention and intuition? Akinola Davies Jr: I think any aspects of navigating tension and intuition in the film were managed through a big collaborative process. We tried to nurture the themes of the story we were telling and make it as literal and poetic as we could on the (screenplay) pages. We tried to answer all the questions for our characters in terms of their needs and desires and goals, while equally weaving the ideas of mythology, memory, grief and manifestation together.  When making a film, you have to be able to answer all the questions thrown your way, and a lot depends on leaning further into the process of what you're trying to say and how you can say it, while trusting said process. The film is as much about the construction of memory as it is about the events themselves. You and Wale lost your father young, so you're building a relationship with someone through fragments. How did you translate that experience of reconstructed memory into cinematic language? Akinola Davies Jr: This involved a lot of sitting with (cinematographer) Jermaine (Edwards). We went through every character's feeling in each scene and we planned our shots accordingly. I think we could have leaned into more aesthetic stylistic choices, but I think we really wanted to capture and register as much fervour as possible. For this film, the cameras functioned as a keyhole into emotion, as well as a method of extracting what our characters were meant to express in every given moment. In terms of piecing the story together, we had met people in Lagos who furnished us with a myriad of stories about our father, and there were also these side quests we undertook with our mother. In addition to that, we had a repository of experiences from our time in Nigeria. Our film is a collage of those experiences and meetings, in addition to the people and things we find familiar. We remember what it was like to be in the country at that point in time. We also remember what the people, the language, the spirit and personas of Nigerian people are, so we just tried to put all of that on screen. Akinola Davies Jr.  Rachel, what was it specifically that convinced you this semi-autobiographical story could resonate universally, especially given its deeply personal Nigerian context and non-linear narrative structure? Rachel Dargavel :  At its most simple, the film is a father-and-son story, a touching portrayal of two boys getting to know their dad, and a picture of grief which has the capacity to resonate wherever you are from, and we always held that close. When Akinola and Wale discussed their debut feature idea with me, I was convinced that having them be in total command of the story and the depth of the emotion would result in a beautiful film. To bring a Nigerian story to life is exciting - how do we really ever get to learn about each other if we don’t get to witness lives beyond our own?  My Father’s Shadow  lends itself to a non-linear narrative: it's not a real day, it's a fragment of memory, it's an exploration of a dream so it made sense, but we had to work hard to create something that wasn’t confusing. Not all films can carry this non-linear approach, but the very nature of how this film was realised naturally leaned into this story. It was also something we used to create tension and red herrings. A lot of the non-linear techniques were found during the editing process by asking ourselves certain questions like: how can we make this day feel like it might just fall apart? How do we blur the line between dream and memory? How do we keep the audience asking questions about what it is they are seeing? By way of narrative construction and storytelling,  what were some of the layers you added during development of this film that weren't in the original draft? Rachel Dargavel: The story was not originally set against the political backdrop, we knew early on that we needed to bring a ticking clock element to the narrative. Akinola wanted to incorporate the feeling of a creeping dread, which was something we first played with in Lizard, and we knew we wanted to have this in My Father’s Shadow  so that we could take the simple father-and-son narrative and elevate it. We wanted to create a feeling of time running out, and that day in history reflected the idea across a macro-to-micro portrait. Time was running out for the country, and in similar fashion, time was running out for the boys and their father.  We also spent a long time working through the mother figure, focusing on how and when she could be utilised. We equally dwelt on inserting moments that were uncanny such as the use of the birds, the repeat scene on the bench, little hints that the day was not all that it seemed. The Bonny Camp flashbacks came in the edit, as did the film rollout effect. The edit played a huge role in realising the slippages in time we wanted to play with. People often overlook the third part of the film, the edit, where you have to make the whole thing again and somehow connect it back to the original script.  Rachel Dargavel in London. Photo by Baz Bamigboye/Deadline Back to you, Akinola. Was there a conscious decision to avoid melodrama or sentimentality? How do you calibrate emotional restraint in telling a story so close to your own experience? Akinola Davies Jr: I think what melodrama does is that it forcibly guides people down a certain path. We prefer the idea of what emotions truly are in their stark reality: there’s room for ambiguity, things are not necessarily finite, and there are concepts that are left undefined. We enjoy that as a structure and form of the way we want to tell stories. In a sense, we had all the answers to the questions, but we needed it to feel like real life. We wanted to conjure a picture of the Nigeria we know and love, and we wanted audiences to connect with that. I like to think that if you're flagposting all those emotions and what the audience is supposed to feel in relation to them, it leaves little to no space for authenticity, so we were very intentional.  Maybe there’s a sense of constraint (in the film), but this reflects the emotions conveyed in the pages of the screenplay. Everybody was really sensitive to what we were trying to create, and they understood that the material is extremely sensitive by default. So we weren't asking people to perform the material, we were asking them to be the material, and I think there's a big difference between both of those things. To answer the question of whether we were deliberate about (avoiding) sentimentality, we are not trying to forcefully lead you down a path to what you're supposed to feel. We want you to feel in the capacity you choose to, because that enables you to ask more questions within your own life, as opposed to restricting yourself to what is locked on the screen. For us, it's an opportunity to be generous as filmmakers and allow the audience to project themselves into the material. I think it allows them to take a certain ownership of the film. My Father’s Shadow treats the city of Lagos as a character in itself. But you're also making this film for international audiences who may not know Lagos intimately. How did you balance specificity and accessibility? Was there any point you got “scared” of exoticising or over-explaining the nuances and soul of Lagos? Akinola Davies Jr: No, there was never a point when I felt any of that.  I think people have this broad idea of what Lagos is like: a fast-paced city with fun,  action, danger and all that. But I grew up there. I go back there quite regularly. And, you know, while it is all those things, I think we can't get too fixated on stereotypes of what it means to be Nigerian and Lagosian. I mean, people come for the parties and they come for Christmas, but there’s a lot more to Lagos than what you may get to see as a visitor for a month or three weeks. There's still 11 more months of the year where the people in that city have to exist, move and feel. Children go to school, people trade, they get married, they go to the hospital, they die. People are on the brink, and they're trying to survive. Lagos is one of the most cinematic cities in the world, considering how much I've had the privilege of travelling. I think that it's important for the people of Lagos who get to see this film to see themselves and feel like the representation is not trying to project an image onto them. What we have attempted to do is significantly different from previous depictions of Lagos, in that we are trying to humanise the people. We are trying to remind people that this is a place where life moves and life is in free flow, not just some caricature. For us, it was pretty paramount because we didn’t want to add to the canon of stereotypes held about the city. Rachel, what convinced you that the authentic geography of Lagos was non-negotiable to the story? Rachel Dargavel: I suppose the truth is that in part it’s a road trip movie too, so we had to embrace that part of it. Also, we needed to show the city through the boys' eyes as well as through adult eyes.  It was  important that the film was a love letter to Lagos and gave people a visceral experience watching it, both for those who know it and those who don’t, so that they can come away from the film and catch a feel of how Lagos is represented. I think it helps people to embrace the story in a deeper way, to feel like you can almost smell it and touch it yourself. It was necessary that (the film) felt visually and sonically visceral.  Funmbi, as a producer from Lagos, how did you ensure the city’s energy and authenticity were captured on screen, especially for audiences unfamiliar with Nigeria? Funmbi Ogunbanwo: It's just about being honest. I think if you live in Lagos, you know that everywhere that you point your camera to is like a film. Lagos itself is such a character and sometimes people try to reduce it, people try to gloss over it, and I just wanted to be honest about it. Funmi Ogunbanwo Can you share a specific memory or experience from your upbringing in Lagos that resurfaced when you saw the script, and influenced your approach as a producer? Funmbi Ogunbanwo: When I read the script, I instantly recognised Folarin (played by Sope Dirisu) and instantly recognised a lot of the characters like Auntie Seyi (Tosin Adeyemi) and Corridor (Olarotimi Fakunle). I've interacted with a Corridor type of character in Lagos Island before. Wale did such a brilliant job of being so specific about every sort of detail and nuance that Lagos holds as a character. Getting all of that honesty definitely influenced my approach as a producer. I didn't want to shrink anything, I didn't want to reduce anything, I didn't want to colour anything, and I most certainly didn't want to reduce any cultural specificity to make it easier for people. So it was important that Folarin spoke Yoruba, for example, and that he sounded like a Yoruba man and embodied being a Nigerian and a Yoruba father. This one goes to you, Akinola. For a 93-minute feature with multiple locations across Lagos and Ibadan, what were the most significant directorial challenges you faced? Akinola Davies Jr: Yeah, I find this question quite funny because every day is a challenge, every frame is a challenge, every moment within a filmmaking process is a challenge. And yeah, that's exactly what we faced, you know, I think it's sort of a logistical feat. Every day literally felt like we moved mountains and I have to hand that over to my producers. I think they really, really worked magic. (This project) really pushed everyone to their limits and let them know what their limits are. If they thought they knew before, they certainly found out after making this film. For me, I can’t really point to a specific challenge because I'm always thinking of strategy when we're filming. The one exception would be regarding my attempts to make everyone feel seen and heard, get through the days and trust all the collaborators, because everybody on set working is an artist in their own right. Rachel, considering that the film was shot with finite resources, how did this constraint shape your approach as a producer, and did it fundamentally change the kind of preparation you demanded from all departments? Rachel Dargavel: It was a huge team effort, but I felt a lot of responsibility (and still do) for the film on multiple levels to make it a success. I think all you can ever really do on a project is try and support the people around you to do their best work and think about how to help them realise their vision. I also have a strong relationship with Akinola, so we would talk about things that might trip us up, things that were potentially undoable and things that we wouldn’t be able to do without. It’s really 100% all about the prep - prep, prep and more prep for the Director and DOP. Knowing the story inside out means that on the day when things go wrong, you can think more clearly and react on the day without panic. It has to always come back to the script and the scene: what is this scene meant to be doing? Why is it important? Rachel, Wale Davies, and Funmi were at the film's production core. Image: Fatherland Studios How did you balance period authenticity with practical production realities, and what compromises haunted you? Rachel Dargavel: This was hardest for the art department, as they had to work with a very small budget and to be honest, they performed miracles. We knew early on that in Lagos itself wide shots would be tricky, but we leaned into a timeless feel when out and about and then dressed for period on location.  I don’t think I have anything that haunts me per se, as we managed to get rid of them in post; we did have to get rid of some LED lights and towers, ads on buses, etc. But if you look very closely at one shot, you can see someone has a modern phone in their pocket. Funmbi, we think you're in the best position to answer this one. The film involved ambitious location shooting with a primarily local crew, many of whom were new to a project of this scale. What were some of the biggest logistical or cultural challenges your team faced in bringing this story to life? Funmbi Ogunbanwo: I'd start by saying every film is its own machine, with its own people and its own systems. My Father's Shadow  was my first feature as a producer. For a lot of the crew, it was our first time working on a project of this scale on film. We brought a lot of passion, eagerness and willingness to learn. I produced the film with Rachel, who is super experienced, and I think having her with me definitely helped with some of the challenges that existed, because she had filmed in Nigeria before as well. I think she understood that Nigeria requires a certain approach to make things work logistically. She trusted me to lead and steer that.  Some of our biggest challenges logistically had to do with our crew size, which was 234 people. We had to transport them to and from Ibadan where we filmed for almost two weeks. I think it was definitely difficult at times, shooting on Third Mainland Bridge for example. But overall, we got through that by having great heads of departments, and we got through that as a team. I would say that we didn't actually experience many cultural challenges, because the script already took care of that. The script was so honest in its cultural specificity, so there was no separating the culture from the story.  Akinola, this one is specifically for you. The film’s final act resonates with those familiar with Yoruba culture, particularly how the supernatural merges with the physical. How did you approach directing those moments to be both culturally specific and universally accessible at the same time? Akinola Davies Jr: We're very studious and proud of our country and all the cultures within it. And I think we'd never really seen the sort of expression of grief that we experience as Yoruba people depicted on camera. We really wanted to illustrate the magic and emotiveness that we as a people are accustomed to, the way we like to communicate with each other. I think there's so much power in the voice, the way we sing, the way we talk to each other and the stories we tell…and we wanted to make something that Africans in general can identify with. So much of what we try to do in this film is just create an archive, at least within the entertainment sphere of who we are, because maybe we haven't really done justice to just identifying that on a mundane, grounded level. I think grief is universal, and to be so specific makes it  a universal film. I think people can see and identify with how a culture moves and breathes and is itself and yeah, that's what we tried to do. I think we're very proud of that. We wanted people to have a reference point to see how we move through the world and how we are able to just be with each other. Poster showing My Father Shadow's Cannes Un Certain Regard section selection where it won the Caméra d'Or Special Mention for Best First Feature. Image: IMDb In your 2021 interview about Lizard , you emphasized the importance of African filmmakers retaining their original form of storytelling rather than becoming Eurocentric or American-influenced. With My Father's Shadow  now receiving international acclaim, how have you navigated maintaining that authentic Nigerian voice while working with international co-producers? Akinola Davies Jr: Yeah, 100%. I work with producers who trust and see the mission of what we're trying to do. I work with a team that is committed to what we're invested in, which is to tell these stories and put resources back into the place that we're from. I think that us being able to author our stories and champion the talent, as well as all that comes with it, has been an eye opener for so many people to see that such a level of international collaboration is possible. I think it takes a certain type of person who wants to tell a poetic and grounded story to be able to trust that vision and trust what we're doing. It doesn't come without challenges for sure, but it's also about the intentionality of who you work with, how you bring them along for the journey, and how you allow them to experience everything. And yeah, I can't say enough about our producers and all those who've collaborated with us, and how much they've trusted us. Hopefully, we can continue to carve out these stories together. Last question goes to you, Rachel. Looking back at the journey from Lizard  to My Father's Shadow , what has this partnership with the Davies brothers taught you about producing deeply personal, culturally specific stories that still aim for universal resonance? And what would you tell other producers considering similar collaborations? Rachel Dargavel: Wow, erm - this is a big question. So straight up, I cherish my relationship with Akinola and Wale (and Funmbi). It has grown over the 8 years that I have known them, and continues to grow. I have the deepest respect for them and the stories they want to tell, it's not always easy being responsible for such a personal story, especially in the scriptwriting process and the edit when as a producer I am pushing to make choices that emotionally might be hard, but we just have to trust in each other wanting the best for the film.  Akinola and I would on occasion hold hands when things were emotional and difficult things were being said. It would on one level break my heart to muster the strength to say “we need to cut this” or “this isn’t working”, but we worked with the mantra "what’s best for the film?” You have to be a very special person to listen to that as a director, step outside your own personal emotional sphere and see it from another perspective. Akinola and Wale were able to do this, it isn't an easy thing to do. In return, I always challenged myself to do the same; you have to operate in a position of mutual respect and give each other space.  Also, on a cultural level, I am not Nigerian and at times there have been moments that I can’t be part of the film in the same way that I might have been able to if I was, and throughout the process I have had to confront some things about being British and our colonial past with Nigeria as well as many other places in the world that we are inherently part of. I’ll be honest, at times that has been hard, but I always knew that this film would challenge me, and we have had to trust that we can hold space for each other within that.  Over time, I have developed a new relationship to my place in that part of the journey - it's a really complex thing telling a cultural specific story, and I think perhaps we all underestimated that going in! We didn’t set out to be the first Nigerian film in Cannes, but that's what it became, and what a thing to celebrate. All that said, I set out to make a film that could cut through, that could launch a career and mark the arrival of bold new voice(s) and be a success. I took that responsibility very seriously, so did Akin and Wale. I think the film is unique in its personal nature, but it’s also made to serve a larger career aspiration, to bring “The Davies Brothers” to the world, so we had to walk that line, we had to make a film that would serve an audience.  There are many complex things to consider when making a movie like this, both personal and professional, and the relationships are absolutely integral to its success. I think we have all had to open our hearts to each other in a very unique way. I don’t have a huge amount of advice for other people. All I know is that if you believe in the people and the story strongly enough, then it can be done, and if you have the privilege to tell someone else's story, don’t be a dick about it. My Father’s Shadow is currently showing in theatres across the UK, Ireland, Italy, US and Canada. It will premiere in Spain on 6th March.

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 seasons in, the central question facing the franchise is no longer whether strangers can fall in love without sight, it is whether producers can continue outpacing an audience that has learned to read the edit. The season arrived promising fresh Midwestern energy and a geographic reset. By the close of Episode 1, online discourse had already crystallized around a more uncomfortable question: Why does this keep happening? The conversation was not simply about who got engaged. It centered on casting optics, edit construction, and the repetition of emotional beats that long-time viewers have learned to anticipate, particularly around interracial pairings, reconciliation framing, and proposal outcomes. What the audience is conducting, in real time and across social platforms, is something closer to franchise anthropology than passive viewership. Victor & Christine: The Control Group Victor St John and Christine Hamilton (Love is Blind Season 10)| Netflix Among Season 10's seven confirmed engagements, the pairing of Victor St. John , a public policy professor with a notable on-camera presence and Christine Hamilton  generated early audience interest less for drama than for its absence. Their storyline has been defined by emotional continuity, which in an unscripted format engineered around friction, reads as its own kind of statement. A logistical development added structural nuance: with seven engagements exceeding the show's typical Mexico retreat capacity, production relocated Victor and Christine to a private setting in Malibu. Series creator Chris Coelen  cited budget and capacity limitations in the press . The inadvertent result was a kind of control experiment within the experiment,  a couple developing their relationship outside the ensemble dynamic that typically accelerates comparison-driven tension. Their arc, quieter than most, raises a question worth tracking: does stability simply make for less compelling television, or does the franchise not yet know how to frame it? Devonta Anderson and the ‘Type’ Conversation Brittany Wicker and Devonta Anderson (Love is Blind Season 10)| Netflix Season 10's most discussed moment did not occur in the pods. It happened after the reveal. Devonta Anderson , a biracial Black contestant, became engaged to Brittany Wicker , a 33-year-old nurse who identifies as Black and Latina. In a post-reveal confessional, Devonta told cameras: "I fell in love with Brittany. It just so happened that she is a woman of color. That's something I've never actually dated, let alone proposed to and engaged to."  He described the realization as something that "surprised" him. The comment immediately reframed their engagement within a broader conversation about preference, desirability, and self-awareness, one that Brittany processed in real time alongside viewers. She later acknowledged to Remezcla  that she needed space to sit with the information, particularly once she understood she fell outside his typical dating profile. From a format perspective, the moment is significant because it surfaced a rarely articulated dynamic on mainstream dating television: a contestant openly acknowledging limited cross-racial dating experience while simultaneously proposing to a woman of color. In a franchise where race has historically operated as subtext, Devonta made it text. The audience response was immediate, and it was not quiet. Viewers who followed his arc into the Cabo trip might have noted what some described as emotional distance, prompting broader speculation about physical compatibility and internal hesitation. Whether that read is accurate or a function of selective editing is the franchise's oldest unanswerable question, but the conversation it generated is precisely the kind of discourse that drives streaming engagement cycles. A brief programming interruption: Not every Season 10 plot twist involved emotional vulnerability or racialized desirability discourse. Contestant Monica Danús  was briefly rushed from the set by ambulance after accidentally putting eyelash glue in her eyes. No pods. No proposals. Just a very unfortunate grooming decision under pressure. She was fine, but it served as a useful reminder that even a controlled experiment cannot fully control human error. Love Is Blind  remains, in every sense, unscripted. Devo, Keya, and the Pattern Recognition Problem Where the season's cultural friction becomes most concentrated is in the combination of Devonta's pod decision and   Keya Kellum 's triangle storyline. In the pods, Devonta built a meaningful connection with a Black woman widely praised online for her emotional intelligence and presence. He did not choose her. The internet reaction was pointed, and it was informed by memory. From L-R: The trio Keya Kellum, Tyler Lainer , and Kevan Jones (Love is Blind Season 10) | Netflix Viewers were responding to repetition: a Black woman investing emotionally, a Black man hesitating, a departure that gets framed by production as a compatibility issue rather than examined as a pattern. Whether that framing is deliberate or incidental, the franchise has now generated enough seasons for audiences to construct a statistical case. That is a communications and editorial challenge that producers will need to address, not because criticism is always fair, but because perception, in a social-media-driven format, has structural consequences. Tyler's frustration with the triangle is seeping through. (Love is Blind Season 10)| Netflix Keya's concurrent indecision triangle with Kevan and Tyler extends the theme. One of the season's cleaner analytical observations: made by viewers rather than the show itself- is that indecision, when consistently centered on Black women contestants, stops reading as romantic tension and starts reading as a thesis. Whether the franchise intends that thesis is almost beside the point. The audience is writing it either way. Keya and Devo: The Reconciliation That Worked Against that backdrop, the Episode 2 reconciliation  between Devo and Keya registered as one of the season's more genuinely affecting moments. Rather than the abrupt exits or unresolved eliminations that have punctuated prior seasons, this exchange marked by apology and mutual acknowledgment offered something less common in the format: accountability without performance. The moment generated positive viewer sentiment precisely because it felt unscripted in the truest sense. Executive producers across reality franchises have increasingly foregrounded growth narratives as social-platform currency. Here, the payoff was earned rather than engineered, which is a meaningful distinction. The "Tingly Wingly" Problem: What the Pods Can't Predict Episode 4  introduced one of the season's most relatable observations, when Brittany noted that pod dating removes the pressure of aesthetic performance, no visual comparison, no physical self-consciousness. It is, she suggested, a kind of freedom. But that freedom has a ceiling. There is also something worth naming about the environment itself. Like Big Brother  or other controlled-setting formats, the pods, and later the shared house create a kind of emotional pressure cooker. Proximity and the absence of ordinary life tend to accelerate feeling. What reads as deep connection inside that container does not always survive contact with the real world, where distraction, history, and habit reassert themselves. That may be exactly why the show calls itself an experiment. The "tingly wingly" feeling contestants describe upon first meeting in person is biochemistry. Emotional intimacy initiates hormonal pathways, with physical attraction can amplify or derail them entirely. Once couples exit the pods, the body joins the experiment whether the format accounts for it or not. That gap between who someone is in conversation and who they are in a room — is where Love Is Blind  lives and dies. Ten seasons in, the show still has not found a clean answer for it. Does the Experiment Hold? Across Seasons 1 through 9, approximately 30 to 35 couples became engaged. An estimated 8 to 10 marriages remain intact placing the franchise's long-term success rate in the range of 25 to 30 percent.  Netflix | From L to R |Love is Blind Season 4 contestants Marshall Glaze, Jackie Bonds x Josh Demas Among the enduring unions are: Lauren Speed-Hamilton  and Cameron Hamilton, Amber Pike  and Matt Barnett  from Season 1; Brett Brown and Tiffany Pennywell , and Kwame Appiah  and Chelsea Griffin from Season 4. For a televised social experiment, that outcome is neither categorical failure nor fairy tale inevitability. It is selective durability and Season 10 is being evaluated against that historical performance window by an audience that knows the numbers. Atlanta  on the Horizon As Season 10 unfolds, industry speculation has surfaced around the franchise's next production phase. Netflix has not formally confirmed filming locations for future seasons. However, local industry reports like this  from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicate that a reality production tentatively linked to Love Is Blind  is slated to film at Atlanta Metro Studios in early 2026, with production filings referencing back-to-back seasons under the designation S12/S13. Atlanta carries symbolic weight for the franchise, it was the original filming location for Season 1, and Georgia's production incentives have made it a consistent destination for unscripted content. A return would represent both a logistical choice and a potentially strategic one: a reset to the city where the experiment began, at a moment when the show's narrative architecture is under its most analytical audience scrutiny to date. Watch Love is Blind Season 10 on Netflix.  Black Film Wire covers the business, culture, and politics of Black storytelling in film, television, and media.   www.blackfilmwire.com

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 Jalade Ekeinde  screened at the esteemed Pan African Film Festival (PAFF)  on Monday, February 16, 2026 at 5:51 PM PST. Now in its 34th year,   PAFF  remains one the largest film and arts festivals in the United States, showcasing over  200 films  from across the African diaspora. This year's edition featured more than 60 narrative features among its slate, positioning Mother's Love  alongside a strong lineup of story-led feature narratives, including works such as Son of The Soil  starring British-Nigerian actor Raz Adoti. Omotola with contemporaries, including Jimmy Jean Louis (far right).  Image: Sammy Oguejiofor The February 16 screening was met with an overwhelmingly positive reception from both audiences and Ekeinde's peers, despite heavy rainfall across Los Angeles earlier in the day. Among those in attendance were Haitian actor Jimmy Jean-Louis , Ose Oyamedan  of Nollywood in Hollywood, Ashkan Tabitha  of 90210 Network, Dami Kujembola  of Amplify Africa, and other diaspora creatives and industry stakeholders. Mother's Love  is a layered and intimate exploration of maternal resilience, highlighting the quiet but unyielding influence of mothers across different social classes. The film examines the complexities of mother-daughter relationships particularly those of first-born daughters while addressing grief, PTSD, and social stratification. Ekeinde, who recently celebrated her birthday and marks an extraordinary 30-year milestone in film, flew into Los Angeles specifically for the PAFF screening before departing at 6:00 a.m. the following morning to resume her press run in Lagos. The film is scheduled for a Lagos premiere on March 1, 2026, ahead of its nationwide Nigerian theatrical release on March 6. It will then embark on a global theatrical tour, with a release timed to coincide with Mother's Day,  underscoring the film's universal appeal. Distributed by Nile , Mother's Love  reflects a growing pattern of strategic festival positioning among Nollywood A-list filmmakers seeking diaspora consolidation ahead of domestic box office launch. A Deliberate Platform for Black and African Brands A closer look at Omotola’s outfit styled by Ade Bakare. Image: Sammy Oguejiofor Throughout the Mother's Love  festival tour, Ekeinde has made a point of centering Black and African brands at every stop: a choice that reads as intentional as the film's narrative itself. For the PAFF screening, she arrived in a custom couture design by celebrated London-based designer Ade Bakare , embracing African craftsmanship and luxury on a global stage. The tour has also featured prominent support for brands including Ofuure  and others, signaling that for Ekeinde, the film's cultural mission extends beyond the screen and into the visibility economy of Black and African creative enterprise. Industry Context A still from the screening. In-set: Audience members at the Pan African Film Festival.  Image: Sammy Oguejiofor From an industry perspective, Ekeinde's transition into directing aligns with a broader rise of women directors reshaping global cinema. In the United States, films directed by women have accounted for approximately 30–35% of top-grossing studio releases in recent years, with several outperforming male-directed counterparts at the box office. In Nigeria, female directors have increasingly commanded festival selections and theatrical releases, with women-led projects representing a growing share of high-profile Nollywood premieres. For Ekeinde, this directorial debut is not only a career milestone but a celebration of her remarkable 30-year journey in film, one that has taken her from Nollywood royalty to a global cultural force, and now into a new chapter as a filmmaker shaping stories from behind the lens. From (L) to (R ) Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, and Rejoice Abutsa at the 2025 SVAFF where she was awarded. Images: Asha Weal, Rice Media Black Film Wire  has followed Mother's Love  since its inaugural festival win in June 2025, when Omotola Jalade Ekeinde was awarded  a Certificate of Excellence in the category of Debut Filmmaker, a distinction that foreshadowed the film's steady ascent through the international festival circuit. The publication's coverage has tracked each milestone of that journey, from early recognition to its current diaspora momentum. According to Black Film Wire , the steady migration of Nollywood A-list actors into directing reflects a maturing industry cycle: one where creative ownership, global positioning, and multi-territory visibility are increasingly central to long-term brand equity. With screenings spanning SVAFF, TIFF, Dubai International Festival and now PAFF, Mother's Love  continues to build both diaspora engagement and press momentum as it prepares to meet Nigerian audiences this March. The film will later embark on a global theatrical tour timed for Mother's Day. Tickets for Nigerian cinemas go on sale soon. Photography by Sammy Oguejiofor.   Festival Run: African Pictures International. Mother’s Love at PAFF – Event Credits Festival (PAFF):  @paff_now Photography:  @sammyoguejiofor Videography — @michaelekeinde Styling/Designer:  Ade Bakare London | @adebakare Festival & Industry Relations Director: Sahndra Fon Dufe (African Pictures International) Team Lead: Francis Onelum, (Q4 Entertainment)

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, as one of 19 selected in the festival’s ‘Hearts’ section.  Ìfẹ́: The Sequel  picks up from the events of the first film, with two women, Ife and Adaora, crossing paths again, years apart from their past passionate dalliance. Adaora has settled comfortably into domestic life with her husband, while Ife found love in South Africa. However, all of this threatens to fall apart when the pair reconnect unexpectedly at a Lagos book store. The film unfolds as an exploration of love, choice, and identity in Nigeria . It is an intimate and political look at the universal longing for connection and the courage it takes to live authentically.  The cast includes Uzoamaka Aniunoh  and Gbubemi Ejeye  in the lead roles, Ozzy Agu , Binta Ayo Mogaji , Adunoluwa Osilowo , and Najite Dede , with screenplay by Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim , and production by Pamela Aide’s The Equality Hub.  In a statement made available to the Black Film Wire , Pamela expressed the inspirations behind the film and her desire to tell stories of authentic queer love on screen that reflect the lives, struggles, and joys of LGBTQ+ people in Africa. “ ìfé  was born out of a deep desire to change stories about us being erased, misrepresented, or hidden behind coded language. I wanted to create a film that does not ask for permission to exist but boldly claims space for African queer love”, she shared.  She added, “This story is deeply personal to me. Like Adaora, I was once married to a man. I know firsthand the pressures of societal expectations, the weight of doing what is “right” in the eyes of family and culture while silently rejecting who you truly are. It took immense courage to step out of that life, to come out to my family, and to choose myself. Unlike Adaora, I didn’t have an ìfé in my story, someone to remind me that love could be freeing. But I hope ìfé serves as that voice for others.” ìfẹ́: The Sequel is the latest in a growing number of vital Nigerian films about queer lives and experiences, with the prequel itself being Nigeria's first fully fledged lesbian film. Others include Walking with Shadows   (2019), All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White  (2023), Hell or High Water   (2016), and We Don't Live Here Anymore   (2018).  ìfẹ́: The Sequel is screening at the 2026  BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival.