READ Okiki BLOG

Must Watch Movies This Ember Month

Movie - Amina 1. Amina
An epic film with an impressive ensemble cast, the movie showcases the most suspenseful battle scene ever seen in a Nollywood movie. “Amina” is loosely drawn from the journey of the legendary fierce Warrior, Queen Amina, who ruled for 34 years. The Queen of Zazzau (now Zaria) lived and conquered in the age of man in a man’s world.
The movie talks about the story of the 1st daughter to the legendary warrior and empire builder, Barkwa Turunku, Amina nurses a burning ambition: to sit as queen over a Zazzau empire that stretches from Kano to River Niger, from Idah to Jukunland. In an age of gender inequality and an oppressive male sponsored traditional system, no sane woman would dare conceive such dreams.
From warrior to supreme military commander; from sorrowful lover to crafty politician; Amina must suppress natural feminine emotions in order to convince the empire of her ability to make true Zazzau’s long cherished dreams of dominance over all of the sub-sahara. A movie that captures the aesthetically appealing cultural tones of ancient Zazzau in the 16th century, “Amina” stars Lucy Ameh as Amina, Ali Nuhu as Danjuma, Clarion Chukwura as Zumbura and Yakubu Mohammed as Barde.
From the producer of “Living in Bondage,” Okey Ogunjiofor, “Amina” is directed by Izu Ojuwku, who helmed the critically acclaimed and award winning movie, “76.”

 

Movie - What Lies Within 2. What Lies Within
Is showing in cinemas across Nigeria now, and if you tired of the repetive nature of movies stories in Nollywood then u should make out time to see this refreshing movie.

A drama thriller, it stars Michelle Dede, Paul Etomi, Ebele Okaro, Kiki Omeil, Okey Uzoeshi, Vanessa Nzediegwu, Ken Erics, Odenike and Tope Tedela. It was written by Paul Utomi and directed by Vanessa Nzediegwu. “What Lies within” takes a look at 24 hours in the lives of two women Fiona and Ireti. They are thrown in the middle of a situation that affects their lives and those of their family. Ignoring some of the distracting technical factors, the story is different, well written and engaging.

The movie treats a very important topic – domestic violence. “What Lies Within” is the latest movie to discuss violence in relationships? While its major focus is on women as victims, it doesn’t leave the male gender out of the conversation. This is seen in Derrick (Okey Uzoeshi), who uses needle to fix injuries inflicted on him by his girlfriend for fear of being ridiculed by the society.

It is not one of those endings you can sniff from the opening shot. “What Lies Within” is a reminder of the several crimes that people get away with in reality. If the movie had had a different ending, it would have joined the long list of Nollywood movies that took the easy way out with their endings.
It is still showing in cinemas nationwide.

 

Movie - TATU 3. TATU
The suspense filled movie produced and directed by the award winning producer Don Omope, creative director, FilmOne production, who also produced the smash hit ‘The Wedding Party’ is an adaptation from a book written by the prolific author Dr. Abraham E. Nwankwo, the recently retired Director General, Debt Management Office.
Shot in scenic locations across Lagos and Ibadan, the movie TATU is a contemporary African epic and adventure story, a fast paced action drama centered on the conflict arising from a mother’s quest to have a child, the intrigue, complications and cultural bias therein.

The film featured A-list Nollywood actors that include Segun Arinze, Desmond Elliott, Gabriel Afolayan, Hafiz Oyetoro (saka), Toyin Aimakhun-Abraham, Rahama Sadau, Sambaza Nzeribe, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, Frank Dunga and a host of others. Tatu is currently showing in cinemas across Nigeria.

The Tribunal – Movie Review

The Tribunal Movie
Following the collaboration between Kunle Afolayan’s movie studio Golden Effects Productions and Africa Magic to produce three block buster films titled ‘Omugwo’, ‘Roti’ and ‘Tribunal’, The Tribunal which is the last to be released is now showing in cinemas across Nigeria.

Omugwo which was the first of the three movies to be released was more approachable in the day to day life of an average Nigerian home which throws insight into a very important tradition in a every home. Roti was great but was more of tragedy as compared to the happy notes in ‘Omugwo’. The Tribunal on the other hand, sort of falls somewhere in between the two in terms of tone and mood. Not particularly made as a comedy movie but The Tribunal, however, has a certain level of tragedy and great comic relief in between the movie. Tunde Babalola who also wrote Figurine; Afolayan’s 2009 Epic movie which was a cinema hit, wrote the Screenplay for ‘The Tribunal’. Very few Nollywood movies dive into the legal system as stories in that light are very difficult to pull off distinctively, but in Afolayan’s case with ‘The Tribunal’ he did a good job making the story very explicit and precise to the point. If you are a lover of great conversations in movies, then you need to see this one. Though with little senses, the characters interpreted their roles to a maximum level of understanding and the choice of character for the movie also gave it a very high level of believability. Each character chosen was so appropriate with the role he/she was given. The Tribunal is focused on the issue of discrimination and just not any type of discrimination, it focused on discriminating pigmentation which is not one of the many form of discrimination we see in Nigeria often.

Ifeanyi Imoh (Damilola Ogunsi), an albino, who has been unfairly relieved of his duties at a bank is being forced to take up his case to the court and his friend Tanimowo (Ade Laoye), who is a young and enthusiastic law school graduate requests that Disu (Funsho Adeolu) a lawyer who has had his fair share of physiological problems to help them gain justice. Ifeanyi Imoh, takes up his boss Arese Abebe (Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde) in court. In reality, people with albinism suffer from psychological scars from societal prejudice. And just like the character Ifeanyi, they are often taunted with monikers like “Oyibo pepper.”

‘The Tribunal’ highlights this problem and at the same time the healing process of Disu the laywer to the plaintiff, also, the dedication Ade Laoye put into her character in the movie also brought out the spice and excitement in the movie. The movie also stars Carol King, Adeolu Funsho, Nobert Young, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde and Bimbo Manuel, Afolayan ensembles a first-rate cast that bring their talent and experience to the table to serve viewers a good dish. With the use of great production equipment, the storywriter interpreted the script properly capturing the lively and glamourous lifestyle in Lagos, ‘The Tribunal’ is definitely a must watch.

African Contents Meet Global Demand

FilmAfricaOn-Demand
African contents meets global demand with Okiki App and Film Africa OnDemand. Movie distribution in Nollywood has been a long lasting issues amongst movie producers and marketers due to piracy, the implementation of anti-piracy laws have been unable to bring a stop to these issues affecting the financial strength of the movie industry. Movie producers have therefore resulted in promoting their movies through the use of mobile applications like the Okiki App which is an anti- piracy application that makes movie content secure for the producers and taking movies content to a wider scope of audience for free.

Okiki in collaboration with Film Africa, London’s annual celebration of African cinema, is bringing sixty of the best contemporary African titles to global audiences. The campaign which started recently with “Coz Ov Moni” the 1st
pidgin musical in the world that has been touring film festivals, music festivals and cinemas around the world after it premiered to two full viewings at the National Theatre in Accra, Ghana.

This collaboration with Film Africa kicks off with 10 movies from prestigious movie directors and movie makers around the globe and it has opened a window for African content lovers to gain access to movies from their favorite movie makers; the likes of Kunle Afolayan, Tunde Kelani, Emem Isong, Kemi Adetiba, Niyi Akinmolayan and the likes. Contents of movie producers are safe on Okiki as the app strengthens the fight against anti-piracy in the Nollywood industry.

Okiki App has also collaborated with some East African story writers to promote their short movies on Okiki App and this has taken their content to a wider reach. Okiki App, the user friendly app gives its users the opportunity to not only watch movies but at the same time socialize with friends and family. Okiki App can be downloaded on iOS, Android or desktop devices. Movie contents have been made more secure with the help of Okiki App and also friends can now share their feelings about movies they like with their friends and at the same time invite friends from other social network such as Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and more to see movie on the Okiki App. The app does not just give you movies, it also helps you socialize with your friends and get latest Nollywood news all at once.

TOP 5 NOLLYWOOD ACTORS OF 2017

Top 5 Nollywood Actors of 2017Here are the list of top Nollywood actors making wave in the early part of 2017. In no particular order:

CHRIS OKAGBUE: Chris Okagbue was born on June 23, 1987 into the royal family of former Obi of Onitsha, H.R.H Obi Ofala Okechukwu Okagbue and Ogechukwu Clara Okagbue of Onitsha Kingdom, Anambra state, Nigeria. He is a graduate of Sociology from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has five siblings (one older sister Sandra Okagbue, a twin brother Christian Okagbue and three younger sisters Jane Okagbue, Christabel Okagbue and Bella Okagbue). At the age of 17, he broke into the limelight of the modeling industry, appearing on billboards, newspapers and TV commercials of multinational corporations like MTN, Cadbury Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc (Star Lager Beer), UAC Foods, LG, Coca-Cola Nigeria (Coca-Cola & 5 Alive), Orange Drugs Limited (Canon Extra and Passion Energy Drink), Airtel etc. He is a brand ambassador of Passion Energy Drink at Orange Drugs Limited. He has graced various covers of renowned Nigerian & International magazines.Most recently, Chris Okagbue proved his mettle as a highly talented actor with his stellar performance as leading man in what was one of the most anticipated films of 2017; Lotanna, alongside Ghanaian star actress Ama K. Abebrese from award winning Hollywood film; Beasts Of No Nation. Lotanna was directed by Toka McBaror. It premiered in Nigeria on April 8th, 2017. Shortly after filming Lotanna, Chris Okagbue reunited with Toka McBaror once again as leading man, Jerome to deliver yet another emotionally gripping performance in the film; Kada River, a highly acclaimed true life adaptation film premised on the southern Kaduna crisis in Nigeria, alongside Nollywood veterans, Joke Silva, Rachel Oniga and Ghanaian starlet, Fella Makafui. Kada River is set to be released in Nigeria in July, 2017 and in the United Kingdom in September,2017.

Chris Okagbue who is also a great dancer and vocalist, nurses a strong passion for music. He is inspired by the likes of P-Square, Banky W, Chris Brown, Usher and the late Michael Jackson. As a film producer, Chris Okagbue is the associate producer of the film Lotanna, where is also played the lead role.

EMMANUEL IKUBESE: Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ikubese was born on 1991 in Delta State, Nigeria. He holds a Bachelor Degree in International Relations from the United States International University in Nairobi, Kenya, he started off as a model before pursuing his career in acting. He also speaks fluent Swahili. He broke into limelight after winning the USIU Pop Idol Competition and later on won the Mr.
Nigeria 2014 Competition and was also the first runner up at Mr. World 2014, his biggest role was starring as Femi in the award-winning MTV series, Shuga. Emmanuel Ikubese wows his audience to a delectable performance in the 2017 movie “Ojukokoro” where he portrays the character of a drug addict. In the movie, Ikubese lets go of the stereotype that has trailed his acting career, delivering an incredibly nuanced performance which sees him pour a large volume of emotions into his character. He smartly and successfully walks the line of being charming, hilarious and dense. Without trying too hard, he wins over his audience.

Most Watched Nollywood Movies of the 90s

Growing up in an African home in the 90s was so much fun, many parents brought up their kids to know their roots and made them aware of the world around them. The Nigerian movie industry known as the largest movie industry in Africa in terms movie production – Nollywood, makes it non-surprising that as kids, Nollywood movies are the kind of movies that are played the most in homes across the country.

Her industry has evolved enormously over the years, becoming the third largest movie industry in the world. Nollywood movies are not only popular among Africans but also among non- Africans in diaspora. Filmmakers in the industry are often asked a question during interviews; What is the reason behind Nollywood’s success? while majority say its the story-line, noting that as an important factor they consider. Nollywood movies even from the early beginning, A movie: LIVING IN BONDAGE was produced 1992 and since then been known for a good story-line. These days, production of movies now come with high budget to better the quality of movies. The aim is to increase the evolving pace of the industry but still not forgetting the power point of it coming with a good story-line. With this Nollywood movies are always a most watch for her appealing audience.

Here are some of the top movies that made great childhood memories growing up in the 90’s;

Osuofia in London | okikiApp

Osuofia in London: The movie stars Nkem Owoh as the main character. This movie is about a villager and a family man (Played by Nkem Owoh) who travels to London, UK for the first time to receive his share of inheritance left for him by his late brother who was a rich man in London. It would be a big mistake to not include the movie OSUOFIA IN LONDON in this list, this movie was the highest selling movie in 2003, year of its release in Nigeria. OSUOFIA IN LONDON also known to be one of the very first Nollywood movie to have gained International success. OSUOFIA IN LONDON is a movie that proved that a movie could be of a comedy genre but still come out as professional and well directed. A very funny movie with great acting from the cast.

 

Mr Ibu | okikiApp

Mr Ibu: The movie stars John Okafor, Osita Iheme as the two main characters. This movie is all about a father and his son’s journey through life. Their personalities are very similar and their view on life is different from the norm, this pair reacts to certain things in both hilarious and unique ways. Does the movie even need an introduction? For anyone who watches Nollywood movies, even if not a regular viewer, would at least be familiar with the movie MR IBU. MR IBU Is one hilarious movie, the movie’s popularity became so huge that even until this day John Okafor is nicknamed Mr Ibu, his character’s name in the movie.

ISOKEN PREMIERS IN LONDON

Isoken The Movie; UK-based film distribution company Evrit Film, which specializes in film distribution to all major cinema chains across the UK and Europe, inked the deal with Tribe85 Productions earlier this year, with an international red carpet premiere at London’s Leicester Square’s Cineworld cinema. After the premiere, the film will be released in 12 major cinemas across the UK from 26th May 2017, aimed at bringing the captivating movie to UK’s huge African movie audience

The movie tells the story of a successful but unmarried 34-year-old woman, who has to deal with the societal pressure that comes with being single at a certain age. Also spotted were comedian Wale Gates, musician Breis, distributor Henry Kuble (Evrit Films) and Abass Tijani (DJAMEDIA UK), Tv presenter Dolapo Oni and Bolanle Olukanni.

Nollywood mourn Moji Olaiya’s death

Nollywood heard a shocking news yesterday, Wednesday, May 18, 2017 about the sudden death of her Nollywood actress, Moji Olaiya who passed that morning in Canada.

The actress well known as a brand ambassador for Okiki App, died two months after delivery a baby in Canada, however, as reported by NET, Moji died of cardiac arrest and her health became worse after the birth of her second child.

The beautiful actress, who was born in February 1975 had featured in many Yoruba and English movies which made her popular for her roles in “No Pain No Gain”, “Nkan dun”, “Agunbaniro” and many more married her second husband last year after her first marriage ended in 2008.

Barely two weeks after the death of Yoruba actor, Adeshina Adesanya also known as has Pastor Ajidara and Olumide Bakare the Nollywood industry once again been thrown into mourning with the death of popular actress, Moji Olaiya. Meanwhile several veteran actors in the industry like Kunle Afod, Sola Olaibi aka Officer Gaji, Toyin Aiyemakun Abraham, Funke Akindele aka Jenifer and many more as used their social media pages to pay tribute to her while others visited the family residence.

A statement will be released in due course. May her gentle soul rest in peace

Movies making wave in 2017

Movie making is one delicate business and Nollywood movie makers have been able to keep up to the task with the quality of movies that are being produced these days. 2016, was a very competitive year in the industry as many high profile movies were produced by outstanding movie makers such as Niyi Akinmolayan (Arbitration), Kemi Adetiba (The wedding party), Kunle Afolayan (C.E.O) and many others. In the same light, so many movies are already making waves this year, here are some of the top movies to look out for in 2017.

Okiki Movie Lionheart

1. Lion Heart.
The cast members of this movie is enough to get everybody anticipating. Some of the cast members were seen shooting on set in a location in Enugu state, Nigeria and the movie is will pull crowd. It kicked off with the announcement that Steve Eboh, Pete Edochie and Kalu Ikeagwu would star in the movie “Lion Heart.” Over time, new cast members including Kanayo O Kanayo, Onyeka Onwenu and Nkem Owoh were revealed. The movie also stars Jemima Osunde, Yakubu Mohammed and Sani Muazu.
The upcoming movie which is written by C.J Fiery Obasi based on a screenplay by Ishaya Bako and Emil Garuba, follows the story of an Igbo family that is into transport business.”LionHeart” is Nnaji’s second movie from her production company, The Entertainment Network (TEN), which was founded by Nnaji in partnership with Chinny Onwugbenu. No release date has been announced for “LionHeart.”
weddingparty 2 okiki movie2. THE WEDDING PARTY 2
Record breaking movie, The Wedding Party which is one of the highest grossing Nollywood film of all time is set to have a sequel. CEO of EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu took to her Instagram to reveal that filming for part 2 of the record-breaking film Wedding Party has begun! In the sequel, the groom’s brother, Nonso (Enyinna Nwigwe), has continued his romance with Deirdre (Daniella Down), the bridesmaid fromLondon. Nonso proposes by accident, while on a dinner date, and sets off a chain of events too powerful to stop. Deirdre’s upper-crust British family are against the pairing, as are some members of the Nigerian clan, but Deirdre’s determination can’t be stopped. After a near-disastrous introduction ceremony in Lagos, both families reluctantly agree to a wedding in Dubai, setting off another colourful, chaotic and memorable journey to everlasting love.
The film which is being directed by Niyi Akinmolayan and the DOP being Malcolm McLean will feature the original cast, such as Sola Sobowale, Adesua Etomi, Banky W, RMD, Ireti Doyle as well as new cast members Dakore Egbuson Akande, ChiGul, Omoni Oboli, Seyi Law and a host of many others. Following the ongoing engagement by the movie onscreen couple Banky W and Adesua Etomi, this movie is going to be a big hit.

Alakada okiki movie3. ALAKADA RELOADED
The star-studded comedy film, “Alakada Reloaded” is back and this time it features A-list stars. Toyin Abraham alongside Kehinde Bankole, Woli Arole, Nedu OAP, Helen Paul, Lilian Esoro, Annie Idibia, Bidemi Kosoko, Liz Da Silva, Gabriel Afolayan, Comedian Ebiye among many others. Alakada Reloaded is the third production in the “Alakada” series, the first one being released in 2009, while the second in 2013. The story follows Yetunde Animashaun (Toyin Abraham), a young girl who is from a poor family background and as a result of her inferiority complex, engages in the act of making up stories and lying about her financial and social status in order to fit in with the crowd. The cast members in this movie will keep you wondering what next, Toyin Abraham is one of the big names in the Nollywood industry, making hit waves in both Yoruba and English movies, this movie is a must watch.

Discover our iOS view

 

Discover  Okiki now on iOS app store. You can now watch African contents anytime, anywhere. Okiki brings the movie experience to your iphones, ipad and all your Apple devices. Discover African stories now by clicking on this link. https://appsto.re/i6758kQ

The movie “Lotanna”

The movie “Lotanna” by Ifan Ifeanyi Michael is out in cinemas across Nigeria, directed by Toka Mcbaror with the screenplay written by the award-winning Kemi Adesoye. “Lotanna” stars Liz Benson Ameye, Bimbo Manuel, Jide Kososko, Chris Attoh, Chris Okagbue, Keturah King, Victor Olaotan, Meg Otanwa, Ama K. Abebrese, Henry Adofo and introducing Raymond Lorkohol.

Honestly, I expected more from this movie, the movie was way below average. When you have A list actors in your movie, character interpretation should be explicit, Nollywood movies have grown to a certain level where we need to get a perfect story of what the movie is trying to say. ​From the beginning of the movie, Liz Benson and Bimbo Manuel did a great job getting the
attention of their audience to try decipher the story ahead of them but as it progresses, the climax kept reducing and it was killing the anticipation of the audience. The setting for this movie is one which is very difficult for movie makers to attempt these days, setting a movie in the 70’s comes with lots of challenges like getting the perfect costumes for cast members. In Lotanna, the choice of costumes for cast members was good beyond average, the designer tried as much as possible to make sure the costumes actually didn’t just look good on the characters but went ahead to enhance the story that was been portrayed and add excitement to the movie.

One thing that really put this movie off was the fact that the movie itself had no standard plot, at the beginning of the movie we thought the movie was centered around the death of Bimbo Manuel who played the role of the father or Lotanna but then again we see a switch to the musical struggles of Lotanna after the death of his father. Many people will agree with me that Lotanna the main character had no defined role, he was a Washer man, a struggling musician, and a thief all at the same time. The movie had so many distractions to the main plot of the story, so many scenes were left half way and that leaves the audience with unanswered questions.

Half way into the movie we see the love story between Lotanna (Chris Okagbue) and Zara (Ama K. Abebrese), I think it would have been a better diversion if we saw a little bit progression in their love story but instead, they deviated into a different subject almost immediately. I must really commend Chris Okagbue who acted the role of Lotanna, he was awesome with his character and he actually tried to focus despite the so many distractions he had to deal with in the script. He played the role so well and his great voice made it so believable and interesting to watch, another character that felt shielded was Liz Benson, she had conflicting roles. At some point she was being the ‘no nonsense mom’ but later on she was portrayed as being sick a whole different contrast from the original character. ​“Lotanna” brought great actors under one roof but didn’t really put them to use, the actors needed more emphases on their individual role and the way the movie turned out was more disappointing. Chris Attoh had a more confusing role, he was trying to lead Lotanna in the right direction and bad direction at the same time, another confusing situation was the love triangle between Liz Benson, Bimbo Manuel and the protagonist. From the previous videos and pictures released in 2016, it shows some cast members like Beverly Naya and Ireti Doyel were cut off and scenes were off from the original intended but as regards this movie I had better expectations.

One of the things that stood out for in the movie was the soundtrack, it will definitely be up for awards for best soundtrack in a movie and if for anything it made the movie better. Also the choice of characters was to an extent excellent, finding an actor who can act, sing and play a musical instrument could be challenging but then Chris Okagbue definitely deserves an award for his role and also the cast members seemed well polished and it was not just them assuming the roles but they actually understood their script. If you haven’t seen this movie, then don’t be left out. “Lotanna” is currently showing in cinemas across Nigeria so go out and see it.