The African entertainment industry is wowing global audiences. From music to movies and shows, the industry has witnessed massive growth in the past couple of years. African Film and television are also drawing a broader audience. Nollywood, as Nigeria’s film industry is known, is increasingly renowned for the quality of its output as much as its quantity. Netflix recently bought the rights to Nigeria’s two highest-grossing films, “The Wedding Party” (2016) and its sequel (2017), as well as the much-praised “Lionheart” (2018).
Citation
Citation is a 2020 Nigerian film directed by Kunle Afolayan, written by Tunde Babalola and starring Jimmy Jean-Louis, Temi Otedola, and Bukunmi Oluwashina. The film is about a student who speaks out after a university professor attempts to rape her and the reaction of the university institution to the claims. The film is broadly based on true events.
Nigerian Netflix film Citation brings a story of rape culture based on true events. The movie displays an environment where rape is normalized due to attitudes towards gender and sexuality. The story follows Moremi, a bright young student who takes on the establishment when a hot-shot professor tries to rape her.
Oloture
Òlòturé is a 2020 Nigerian crime drama film directed by Kenneth Gyang from a screenplay by Yinka Ogun and Craig Freimond. It stars Sharon Ooja, Beverly Osu, Ada Ameh, and Blossom Chukwujekwu. Oloture tells the story of Òlòturé (Sharon Ooja), a young and naive Nigerian journalist who goes undercover to expose the dangerous and brutal underworld of human trafficking. Based in Lagos, it depicts how sex workers are recruited and exploited overseas.
Queen Sono
Queen Sono is a South African crime dramastreaming television series created by Kagiso Lediga that premiered on Netflix on February 28, 2020. The series stars Pearl Thusi, Vuyo Dabula, Sechaba Morojele, Chi Mhende, Loyiso Madinga, Rob Van Vuuren, Kate Liquorish, Khathu Ramabulana, Enhle Maphumulo, Abigail Kubeka, Connie Chiume, Otto Nobela and James Ngcobo.
Queen Sono follows the story of a secret South African clandestine agent who tackles criminal operations while dealing with crises in her personal life. A highly trained South African spy takes on her most dangerous mission yet while facing changing relationships in her personal life.
40 and Single
An invitation into the tumultuous life of Ebaner Temple, a biracial, bi-sexual, single, bridal fashion designer, as she maneuvers life in the African city of Accra, Ghana, where race and colorism have significant colonial roots.
Blood and Water
Blood & Water is a South African Netflix original streaming television series starring Ama Qamata, Khosi Ngema, and Gail Mabalane. It was released on May 20, 2020. In June 2020, Netflix renewed the series for a second season.
The series revolves around Puleng (Ama Qamata), a high school girl whose sister Phumelele was kidnapped as part of a human trafficking network shortly after birth. One day, Puleng was invited to a party of Fikile Bhele (Khosi Ngema), a popular athlete studying at Parkhurst College, a prestigious school at Cape Town. After Wade (Dillon Windvogel), a new acquaintance points out their resemblance, Puleng starts to suspect that Fikile is Phumelele. She has lived in the shadow of her sister all her life so she decides to get to the bottom of things. She transfers to the elite school to investigate. While solving the puzzle, Puleng discovers that the mystery of her missing sister is not the only secret that her friends and family keep.
King of Boys 2
King of Boys 2 is a sequel to King of Boys which was initially produced in 2018. King of Boys tells the story of Alhaja Eniola Salami (played by Sola Sobowale), a businesswoman and philanthropist with a promising political future. She is drawn into a struggle for power which in turn threatens everything around her as a result of her growing political ambitions. To come out of this on top, she is caught up in a game of trust, not knowing whom really to look up to, and this leads to her ruthlessness.
The film, which launches globally in the first half of 2021, begins with Eniola Salami’s triumphant return (after a five-year exile) to her beloved Lagos City. Not content with the prospect of a fresh start, she immediately resumes her quest to launder her underworld might into legitimate political power — this time aiming even higher than before.