The Story ⚡
A daughter’s return to Nigeria unearths buried pain in Nìyí Akinmolayan’s gripping drama My Mother is a Witch, where Efe Irele confronts her past, hitting cinemas May 2025.
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My Mother is a Witch delves into the fractured bond between a mother and daughter, set against a tapestry of memory and misunderstanding. The story follows a fashion editor, played by Efe Irele, who returns from London to her Nigerian roots in Benin, only to face lingering childhood wounds tied to her mother, portrayed by Mercy Aigbe.
Was her mother truly a “witch,” as she once believed, or is that label a distortion of trauma? This psychological drama unravels through a slow-burn mystery, exploring how silence and unresolved pain shape identity and forgiveness across generations.
The film boasts a stellar cast, with Efe Irele leading alongside Mercy Aigbe, Timini Egbuson, and Neo Akpofure, each bringing nuance to this tale of familial reckoning. Directed and written by Nìyí Akinmolayan, the project hails from Anthill Studios and FrameFlixHQ, with Irele also serving as executive producer—a role that underscores her personal investment.
Filming spanned Benin and London, a dual backdrop that mirrors the story’s cross-cultural tension. For Irele, born in Benin, shooting there felt like a homecoming, tying her own roots to the narrative’s emotional core.
For Akinmolayan, crafting My Mother is a Witch was a mission to unearth “the emotional complexities of African families,” particularly the unspoken scars women carry from childhood. “It asks difficult questions and doesn’t try to wrap everything up neatly because healing doesn’t always look perfect,” he shared, aiming to hold a mirror to audiences navigating their own pasts.
He saw its relevance in today’s world, where therapy and self-reflection are gaining ground, especially among Africans abroad wrestling with cultural disconnects. The screenplay, a psychological drama with a mysterious undercurrent, leans into silence and tension, amplified by a sharp fashion aesthetic tied to the lead’s UK magazine career.
Irele, reflecting on the 6-to-8-month development, noted the story simmered among producers before taking shape. “It had been living with me subconsciously as well,” she said, emphasising how they consulted real stories of mother-daughter estrangement to avoid clichés.
Multiple drafts refined the emotional core, ensuring both mother’s and daughter’s perspectives, fraught with trauma, regret, and the messy path to forgiveness, felt authentic. “It needed to feel personal, layered, and respectful to both sides,” Irele added, a commitment that shaped the film’s exploration of memory, identity, and the weight of unspoken truths.
In Summary
My Mother is a Witch hits cinemas nationwide on May 23rd, 2025. With Akinmolayan’s deft direction and a cast that breathes life into its messy, human truths, this Nollywood gem dares to ask tough questions, leaving audiences to ponder long after the credits roll.
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