Dika’s List: Nollywood’s 2021 Bests

First caveat: This list is hardly comprehensive of the best work or films from 2021 Nollywood. It is impossible to see all the Nigerian films made in a year and select “the best”. Nollywood churns out thousands of films each year. There’s the industry in Asaba making hundreds of films each month with mostly southeastern Nigerians in mind. There’s the Yoruba arm of Nollywood making films for its Yoruba-speaking audience. Then there are the thousands of films that go on to local streaming platforms like IrokoTV, IbakaTV, Nevada Bridge TV, and sometimes YouTube. 

At the start of 2021, I made it a goal to see everything called Nollywood showing in cinemas, as my contribution to the #SupportNollywood agenda. But by June I got bored, tired, frustrated, and began to care about putting my money to better use. I became more selective of the films I paid premium for, after all, with Netflix’s advent into the industry, it was a matter of a few months for the films to become available on the streamer, costing me just MBs to watch. What were the criteria for selection? The filmmakers' reputation. But this really meant seeing the films that had managed to create more buzz. Films from the better-established production houses. 

August came and I completely lost the will to see Nollywood films in cinemas. But regained strength for the big December titles. And? I didn’t enjoy any of them. What’s my issue with the films? They come in the range of poorly written and badly structured stories to melodramatic (or worse, wooden) performances. 

Second caveat: I’m no authority on film. But from years of watching diverse films from cinemas around the world, watching films by master filmmakers, reading reviews from respected critics, and studying books on storytelling, I’d like to think that I’ve acquired the basic knowledge to pick out the best Nollywood films from the lot I saw this year. 

All this long long talk is just to say that the films on the list are my personal favourites and the selection was limited to the movies that are/were available to the public either in cinemas or on Netflix.

My Favourite Nollywood Films of 2021

6. Dwindle (directed by Kayode Kasum and Dare Olaitan)

Broda Shaggi’s brand of boisterous comedy had never appealed to me until Dwindle. And maybe what changed was pairing him with Jidekene Achufusi, who is a lot more level-headed. Kayode Kasum who’s become Nollywood's hottest director since Sugar Rush enlists the help of Dare Olaitan, the critically-acclaimed director of the caper films Ojukokoro and Knock Out Blessing, for this. What does it produce? A decent male-buddy comedy about two friends Bata and Chinedu, whose lives are upturned when they cross paths with assassins who have just kidnapped a state governor. Now what’s interesting about this movie is that it’s also a female-buddy film as it stars Funke Akindele and Bisola Aiyeola as disrespected police officers charged with protecting the state governor. I did find the film’s plot a tad convoluted. I thought it tried to do too much, much more than the story allowed. But why do I like this film? It made me laugh. A lot.

5. Breaded Life (directed by Biodun Stephens)

I don’t think I had planned to see this film. Saw the trailer on Instagram but interest wasn’t aroused really. But I was at the mall on this day of our lord, went up to cinema area and it had just begun showing and I got a ticket and went in and it turned out to be one of my best cinema experiences this year. Breaded Life was fun, hilarious, and emotional. Proper good entertainment. And now thinking of it, it had a compelling premise that should have piqued my interest—a spoilt rich brat in conflict with his mother wakes up one day and finds himself a stranger to her and to everyone else he knows, except for a local bread seller who he later falls in love with.

4. The Razz Guy (directed by Udoka Oyeka)

I often say that Nollywood is more adept at making comedies; this isn’t exactly true. Because, you know, sometimes our comedies are a sequence of skits. Other times, they are a string of ad commercials. Or a parade for BBN stars and Instagram skit makers and influencers. But the thing is, if they have Funke Akindele or Toyin Abraham in them, we are guaranteed laughter. Sometimes that is enough. The women are proper entertainers. But The Razz Guy was different. (Yes, I know the titular character is played by an Instagram comedian—Lasisi Elenu—and it also features Boda Shaggi.) It’s a good film. It had a story and it was well-told. I don’t know if there’s been a Nollywood film before it that properly explored the redemption arc. So Lasisi Elenu is Temi Johnson, an arrogant senior executive at a legal firm, who’s obsessed with proper diction and grammar. When he’s cursed for his condescension to fellow employees, he loses not just his ability to communicate properly in English but basic etiquette; and this, at a crucial time when he’s assigned the duty of securing an international business merger.

The Razz Guy was hilarious and heartwarming, and if you missed it while it was in cinemas, keep an eye out for when it becomes available on a streamer.

3. La Femme Anjola (directed by Mildred Okwo)

La Femme Anjola left me inspired. I think I saw this four times at the cinema this year, partly because I was going to write a review. But even after that, when the film went on Eventive and was showcased to a global audience, I still got a ticket to see it. That’s how much I loved the film. It’s Hollywood's neo-noir genre reimagined the African way. The film concerns Dejare (Nonso Bassey), a young stockbroker whose life is upturned when he crosses paths with Anjola (Rita Dominic), a singer and wife of a wealthy gangster. Films like La Femme Anjola, crime thrillers, are not a Nollywood staple and so as a filmmaker in training, who hopes to make Nigerian films, it was motivation to dream differently.

2. Juju Stories (directed by Michael Gouken, Abba T. Makama, C.J. Obasi)

Juju Stories is a three-part anthology film exploring juju stories rooted in Nigerian folklore and urban legends. It is made by the Surreal 16 Collective—the trio of Michael Omonua, Abba T. Makama, and C.J. Obasi, the Nigerian filmmakers with an ambition to make artistically-minded films away from Nollywood’s commercially driven melodramas and farcical comedies. Omonua's Love Potion explores the universal mythological concept of a concoction capable of inducing love and desire. Makama’s Yam satirises the Nigerian belief in turning to yam from picking money off the floor. Obasi’s Suffer the Witch concerns a young woman who fears her obsessive friend could be a witch. Although the three films explore different juju stories and themes, they are united in their tales of how young and urban Nigerians have their lives willingly or unwillingly disrupted by magic. Sounds interesting? I was privileged to be one of the first humans to see this film. But don’t worry, come January 21, it will be available nationwide in Nigerian cinemas. Mark your calendar.

1. Eyimofe (directed by Arie and Chuko Esiri)

I love this film. Of all the new/recent releases I saw this year, it is the best. Read that again. It is the best film, not just the best Nigerian film. Eyimofe is the kind of film I want to make. Films about your everyday Nigerian doing everyday things and exploring the ways that life happens to us all. The protagonists of the film are frustrated with their lives in Nigeria and desire to move to Europe. They must learn, however, that life does not always go as planned. The film is directed by brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri. Simple story, poignant, and realistic in its portrayal of what it means to live in Nigeria. I don’t think there’s a better Nigerian film. And if you didn’t see it in cinemas early last year, I am judging you.

Honourable mentions? Taiwo Egunjobi’s In Ibadan (available for free on AfrolandTV) and Damilola Orimogunje’s For Maria: Ebun Pataki (available on Netflix from January 16)

My Favourite Nollywood Shows of 2021

I’m only subscribed to DSTV, YouTube, Netflix, and Showmax, so my picks would be from shows available on these platforms.

5. Castles & Castle, Ebonylife, Netflix

The first season of Castle & Castle, the legal drama series, launched on Ebonylife in 2019. I had anticipated a second season for over two years. With the Ebonylife channel now-defunct on DSTV, Castle & Castle was renewed for a second season on Netflix. Thankfully, it still entertained. And I like that this season allowed us insight into Malik’s (Blossom Chukwujekwu) life, who’s one of my favourite characters. I’m looking forward to the third season, I’m desperate to see what happens with the budding romance with Nneka (Eku Edewor).

Watch Castle & Castle on Netflix

4. Afro City, Ndani TV

For a while, I got tired of Nigerian web series. I found most of them to be derivative versions of Skinny Girl in Transit. What I mean to say is, they are obsessed with the single life and relationship wahala of the young middle-class Lagosian. But Afro City was different. Voke (Chimezie Imo), a young man, new in Lagos, full of dreams and aspirations, finds himself entangled with friends and events that can either derail or aid him on his journey to being a musician. I was fine with Afro City as a limited web series, but I have been stalking the creator/director Daniel Oriahi on Instagram and he’s teased a second season. I am excited.

Watch Afro City on YouTube.

3. Little Black Book, The Naked Convos

You see all I said about stories of middle-class Lagosians not appealing to me, scratch it. Give me a well-written one with beautiful performances and I would watch. I liked Little Black Book, it gave us workplace romance in the middle of corporate drama. I liked it. Teni Aladese and Ikechukwu Onunaku as our leads were cute. I can’t wait for the second season.

Watch Little Black Book on YouTube.

2. Riona, Africa Magic

I liked Riona that I had to speak to the producer James Omokwe about making it. It is set in 12th-century Itsekiri land and about a wicked king who wants to rule forever. And while its dominant theme is the battle for the kingship of the land, the show also explored class tensions, cultural traditions, family relations, and romantic dramas.

Watch Riona on Showmax.

1. Enakhe, Africa Magic

I loved Enakhe. The crime drama kept me out of breath through its many twists and turns and deaths, through the 260 episodes. The titular character is played by Ivie Okujaye, who although innocent and ignorant of her father's criminal dealings, had to break out of her shell and embrace his ruthlessness in order to protect the family after he's murdered.

Watch Enakhe on Showmax

Honourable mentions: Ted Abudu’s Money.Men.Marriage should be here. But I’m not sure the season is done and I haven’t watched in weeks. I stopped at episode 7. 

My Favourite Performances of 2021

5. Ivie Okujaye-Egboh, Enakhe

Ivie Okujaye embodies a duality of personalities in this show. She goes from an innocent little daddy girl whose main preoccupation was marrying the love of her life to a ruthless gang leader and drug lord, sorry, I mean, drug lady. Liked her so much in this that I wanted to speak with her about what it took to become Enakhe but I got aired in the emails. So.

4. Lota Chukwu, Enakhe

I have been a fan of Lota Chukwu after her turn in Ajoche, another Africa Magic epic series, where she was excellent as Oofuni, a femme fatale out for revenge on a kingdom that wrecked ruin on her homeland. In Enakhe, Lota plays a character completely different. She transforms into the role of Jacinta, not just because she smacks her chewing gum and speaks in a Benin-accented pidgin English; there’s an abrasiveness she brings to the character that makes it easy to believe that this isn’t Kiki of Jenifa’s Diary or Oofuni of her last TV outing, but the hot-tempered tomboy who’s willing to spill blood to protect her loved ones.

3. Temi Ami-Williams, Eyimofe

Temi Ami-Williams is a fine actor. I hadn’t seen her in anything before Eyimofe but she held my interest-- the quiet to her performance, her ability not to play up emotions but just wear them. She was brilliant in what is surely her first major role. I hope I get to speak with her someday.

2. Nonso Bassey, La Femme Anjola

When I reviewed La Femme Anjola, this is what I had to say about Nonso Bassey's performance: He has an emotional range that lets him go from confident to timid, from vulnerable to angry in situations that call for their expression, employing intensity and nuance in the right proportions. I’m so glad he’s getting due recognition: the AMAA nomination and being profiled in almost all the listicles of top acting performances this year. As film critic Daniel Okechukwu said, give him more leading roles!

1. Nengi Adoki, Juju Stories 

Suffer The Witch is C. J Obasi’s section of the anthology film Juju Stories, about a young woman who suspects her roommate is a witch. As Joy, Nengi Adoki is as sultry as she is menacing while looking like a Deeper Life babe. How did she achieve this? In the hands of a different actor, Joy could have been over-the-top, theatrical, but Nengi stays in control and keeps her restrained. It helps with the mystery surrounding the character and one could easily have believed her to be “simple, unassuming Joy” but for Nengi’s eyes. They betray Joy. They instill fear and let us know she isn’t exactly as she seems. It is one of the most terrific performances I have ever seen from Nollywood.

Honourable mentions: Rita Dominic in La Femme Anjola and Elvina Ibru in Riona. These are legends, with little to prove. I wanted this list to be about younger actors.