News

Unfortunately, the most notable thing about new sorta-cyber thriller Black Mail is that this weekend it is receiving the widest release ever — 100 screens — in the UK for an independent Black British film. That’s a nice barrier to break, and I wish I could recommend the film.

Does anyone actually fall for those sextortion emails in which scammers inform you — invariably in broken English and with no proof whatsoever — that they’ve installed spyware on your computer and have recorded video of you “having fun” at a p0rn website, and threaten to send it to all your contacts unless you placate them with some Bitcoin? Well, Ray Chinda falls for it… and reacts in a ridiculously stupid way that confirms him as an easy mark. Even more unlikely than that, Chinda is meant to be “a world-famous action star at the top of his career” (according to the film...

A film star faces financial and family ruin as sleazy Russian mobsters blackmail him after malware films him watching porn

Nigerian film-maker Obi Emelonye has written, produced and directed more than a dozen films, but his work is barely known beyond the Nollywood distribution circuit that serves viewers in west Africa and immigrant communities elsewhere. However, Black Mail, his London-set latest, is getting a reasonably wide release in the UK at least. The lowish-budget production values, gestural performances and blunt moralism of the scriptwriting puts this very much in the heightened dramatic tradition of mainstream Nigerian cinema, but Emelonye has an accessible style and has picked the topical subject of cybercrime, an approach which might broaden the film’s appeal.

The plot weaves together the story of hapless London-based film actor Ray Chinda (Oc Ukeje) and the Russian mobsters who are blackmailing him. Married with children to solicitor Nikki (Julia Holden...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Black Is King (Beyoncé)

Four years ago, Beyoncé dropped the film version of Lemonade, which brought together directors Kahlil Joseph, Jonas Åkerlund, Mark Romanek, Melina Matsoukas, and more to deliver a visual album that, like many of her works, had an immense cultural impact. She is now returning with Black Is King, a film in production for an entire year that reimagines the tale of The Lion King through the perspective of the Black experience. Now available on Disney+, we imagine it’ll be the most-watched film of the weekend.

Where to Stream: Disney+

Bull (Annie Silverstein)

There’s not much to do around Kristyl’s (Amber Havard) hard...

It’s become commonly recognized as critical hackwork to observe that a city acts as a character in a film, for the good reason that it’s almost never true. When sensuously and specifically captured on screen, however, a city can shape and alter the characters it contains. The ragged modernist maze of São Paulo serves exactly this purpose in “Shine Your Eyes,” a heady, enveloping narrative debut from Brazilian docmaker Matias Mariani: It’s shown as a place where immigrants come to lose themselves and find themselves in one fell swoop, planting new roots in its geometric concrete cracks. Ostensibly a missing-person drama, following a Nigerian visitor’s winding search for his estranged older brother, “Shine Your Eyes” morphs into something far more elusive and esoteric as the stakes of its central mystery shift.

One of the more celebrated premieres of this year’s Berlinale Panorama sidebar, “Shine Your Eyes...

Actor Jimmy Jean-Louis shared news on Twitter of a documentary film he co-directed and produced, titled "Jimmy Goes to Nollywood," in which he visits fellow filmmakers and actors in Nigeria and Ghana, as he takes a look at continental Africa's most prolific movie industry - Nollywood. The film is currently streaming on Netflix, so add it to your watch list. I'll be checking it out myself this weekend. Mr. Jean-Louis co-directed the film with Rachid Dhibou. Nigerian, Ghanaian and American actors and filmmakers all feature in the documentary, including: Ama K. Abebrese, Ebbe Bassey, Leila Djansi, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Majid Michel, Akin Omotoso, O.C. Ukeje, Isaiah Washington,...

From Nigerian Director comes a new web series "Knock Knock" which chronicles the comic adventures of four twenty somethings living in Lagos, Nigeria, their relationships, career dramas and escapades with the opposite sex.  There is O.C. Ukeje as Chike the conservative accountant, Zainab Balogun as Hauwa the PR consultant, Deyemi Okanlawon as Badebo the bad boy concert promoter, and Bayray McNwizu as Yinka the driven advertising executive.  The series (7 episodes so far) is directed by Tolulope Ajayi who Shadow and Act first brought to your attention last April, when he directed the sci-fi short "Blink".  With graphics that keep things interesting and a musical soundtrack...

Something like a Shakespearean comedy, full of highly amusing, sharply drawn characters and offering wicked insight into how identity is shaped by city living and immigrant culture clash. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

Give a couple of guys a camera and the notion to make a movie on a London estate (the British equivalent of U.S. public housing projects), and in what direction do they generally go? Gangsters. Give the same stuff to a couple of gals, and what do they come up with? Something like a Shakespearean comedy full of highly amusing, sharply drawn characters whose bumbling around on a single day in south London offers wicked insight into how identity is shaped by city living and immigrant culture clash. Bola Agbaje’s Olivier Award-winning play, which the writer adapted herself for...

There is no denying the poignant, uplifting message behind Destiny Ekaragha’s comedy Gone Too Far! as a film that certainly has a lot of heart behind it, but, regrettably, falls flat with a lacklustre screenplay. The way our characters question their own identity and culture and almost seem embarrassed by their roots makes for an intriguing narrative, but it’s one that simply hasn’t been executed well enough.

Malachi Kirby plays Yemi, a youngster who desperately wants to attract the attention of Armani (Shanika Warren-Markland), despite the fact she’s only leading him on to pettily get back at her ex-boyfriend Razer (Tosin Cole). Yemi’s chances take an even bigger blow when his estranged brother Iku (O.C. Ukeje) comes to London from Nigeria, and he’s left with the responsibility on showing him around the city, despite feeling ashamed of his native sensibilities. However their simple trip...

BFI and Poisson Rouge will finance Gone Too Far, a feature film adaptation of the award-winning play by Bola Agbaje which marks the directorial debut of Destiny Ekaragha, reports Variety. Gone Too Far is a coming-of-age comedy following estranged brothers played by Malachi Kirby and O.C. Ukeje who meet for the first time. The film takes place over the course of one day, with other actors in the cast including Shanika Warren-Markland and Adelayo Adedayo and Golda John. Poisson Rouge Pictures' Christopher Granier-Deferre produces alongside Francke and Chris Collins.