The Story ⚡
Without a doubt, Africa Magic is the front leader in investing in Nigerian stories and talent.
For the month of March, the company released a plethora of highly entertaining and diverse titles for its audience to enjoy.
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Overall, there were 14 original titles with 6 diverse genres format into which the stories fall.
This piece looks at the plot details, runtime, and names of the production company that was commissioned to execute.
Let’s begin.
1. ALONE – DISPLAY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS – Jay Franklyn Jituboh
SANDRA is an overworked and stressed-out creative writer at a suspiciously successful ad agency. She decides to work overnight at the office to catch up on work. She has been warned before that no one is ever supposed to be in the office overnight. Tonight, she finds out why. She must battle spiritual forces to stay alive till morning.
2. THE HUNTER – LAVIDA – Theo Ukpa
While hunting, AKIDI accidentally kills a stranger in the village. He confides in his wife and they secretly bury the body. Imagine their shock and horror when they get home to find their daughter distraught because she is looking for her missing fiancée who is coming from another village and has now disappeared en route. Her description matches that of the man they just buried!
They are wracked by guilt which turns to complete confusion when the man they are absolutely sure they buried walks into their home!
3. THE PLAYBOOK – MARCH 31 MEDIA – Hadizat Ibrahim
NONSO, an ‘accomplished playboy’, is collating a playbook. Aiming to share his ‘vast knowledge and understanding of women and how to control them’. To prove his theory and gather data, he decides to conduct a practical study with his close friends. He asks each of them to pick a woman of their choice, preferably one that is way out of their league, and then he gives them guidelines to help them get the girls.
His advice works for all except one of his friends, who says that not a single one of the guidelines worked with the lady he picked. Convinced that his friend did not properly execute his instructions, NONSO decides to test his theory on her by himself and prove to his friends that all women are the same. He soon finds out that he is way in over his head.
4. NOW THAT WE ARE MARRIED – COWRIE FILMS – Lota Chukwu
A romantic drama that follows a couple through the very rarely explored timeframe between the end of the wedding and the beginning of the marriage. GRACE and LUKE are newlyweds who are learning how to merge their lives together. For the first time living together as a couple and finding out things about each other, they are reconsidering their vows just days after saying them!
5. CHEAT – RAVE FILMS – Agatha Amata
MARIE is having issues with her husband, CHARLES. She suspects that he is cheating on her. Marie meets a beautiful stranger, NORA (when she is on a defiant night out), and relying on the comfort of strangers, she tells her about her troubles. Nora says the best way to handle the situation is to get rid of Charles permanently. As in, kill him. Marie laughs at this off joke. Nora is not joking. Now Marie must protect her husband from a stranger who seems to have invented a vendetta based on a chance meeting with a stranger.
6. THE KINGMAKER – RAVE FILMS – Agatha Amata
A larger-than-life politician, CHIEF AJUWON, has been kidnapped. Just before a nationwide manhunt is launched, he is spotted on a live stream, where he is strapped to a chair in a rather elaborate setup and interrogated by an off-screen FEMALE CAPTOR. He is grilled about his history in politics, career, and worth of bad decisions and secrets ultimately leading to when shocking secrets being revealed about his life to him – and we haven’t even reached the crazy part yet.
7. THE LAST DAYS OF LOLA SAMPSON– SHUTTER SPEED STUDIOS – Biodun Stephen
LOLA, a middle-aged widow suffering from a terminal illness, gets to experience youth again when she encounters the spitting image of her dead husband, but much younger. It stars Biodun Stephen, Yemi Blaq, and others. It is directed by Biodun Stephen and rated PG 16.
8. LOGLINE – ICUBED MEDIA – Ibrahim + Linda Suleiman
FEYISOLA, an out-of-work, down-on-her-luck, and recently-dumped-by-her-ex screenwriter wakes up one day to the news that a story she shared with her lover is now in production without her knowledge. So she starts out on a no holds barred mission to get her credit, her royalties, and her self-respect back.
9. A NIGHT ALONE – SHUTTERSPEED – Biodun Stephen
A REFORMED PLAYBOY swears he has turned a new leaf after marrying his sweetheart. However, a weekend getaway preceding his close friend’s wedding doesn’t go as planned. He crosses paths (and body parts) with a mystery woman, and while he is still unsure what this relapse means for his ‘reformation’, he is stunned to discover that the mystery lady is his close friend and wife-to-be, and he played the role of the last fling before her wedding. Let the hijinks ensue!
10. DIRECT MESSAGE – DISPLAY UNIVERSAL STUDIOS – Jay Franklyn Jituboh
ROSE, a 38-year-old wife and mother of two, is married to a workaholic who is not paying her enough attention. She is therefore open to the excitement he brings when YOMI slides into her DM. She begins an illicit, digital affair with an exciting stranger until she realizes that this mysterious man of her digital dreams is now blackmailing her and he may not be who he claims to be.
11. HOLY TROUBLE – BLACREEK PICTURES – Uduak-Obong Patrick
SISTER OBIAGELI is a staunch women’s church group leader, constantly aware of the slippery slope between good and evil. But when financial pressures culminate in her troublesome son’s creditors threatening his life, she is forced to renege on her values and siphon money from the church account. This single act quickly spirals out of control as Sister Obiageli finds herself committing more and more rapidly escalating sins to cover up the first one.
12. HAYWIRE – LAVIDA – Theo Ukpa
When young lovebirds, FUNMI and SWELL, decide to elope because their parents disapprove of their marriage, Funmi’s strict parents essentially lock her up in their mansion ready to ship her out of the country. Swell organizes his friends to fake a robbery as a ruse to ‘rescue’ her, but things go south rapidly when one of his friends arrives at the fake operation with a very real gun.
13. THE BRIDE PRICE – George Sunom Kura
EZE KEN is ecstatic to marry off his first daughter to the son of a very wealthy man. He asked for and got a truly exorbitant bride price big enough to buy a car and move to Lekki as he continues to enjoy the largesse of his in-laws. A few months into the marriage, his daughter comes back home declaring that the wedding is over and his in-laws are demanding a return of the (already severely depleted) bride price.
14. OMUGWO – 1000 STORIES PRODUCTIONS – Kelvinmary Ndukwe
An adaptation of a popular stage play. CHIMAMANDA is suffering from postpartum depression, or is it just regular depression? She is at odds with her husband (who cheated on her while she was pregnant) and has now been visited by her cantankerous but loving mother for an Omugwo visit that she was specifically asked not to come for.
On this day when her husband has the biggest work pitch of his life, and her mother is determined to teach her how to be a mother, Chimamanda will shock them all by redefining what it means to be wife, daughter, and mother – all on her own terms. No matter what lies, secrets and horrors will come spilling out.
Release Dates
While some of the 14 titles have been released, some have not. Those that have been released include Alone (3rd of March), The Hunter (18th of March), The Playbook (4th of March), Now That We Are Married (5th of March), Cheat (4th of March), The Kingmaker (18th of March), The Last Days of Lola Sampson (11th of March), Logline (11th of March), A Night Alone (12th of March), and Direct Message (19th of March).
The yet-to-be-released titles include Holy Trouble (25th of March), Haywire (25th of March), The Bride Pride (26th of March), and Omugwo (31st of March).
See the full list of movies released during the Africa Magic march madness here:
Check Out 55 New Movies Coming to Africa Magic This March 2023
In Summary
This Africa Magic campaign is worth commending because of the many impacts it has on the industry, especially at this time. The move is impactful to the industry because filmmakers get to showcase their stories and talents due to the investments in their titles. The initiative is good for the country because it exhibits the remarkable talent that Nigeria can boast of, especially since it comes only two months before the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA).
Everyone should applaud the media company for commissioning 14 titles because of its capacity development nature via working with talents to bring ideas from script to screen. Among the many perks this brings, it will inspire the next generation of creatives in the film and television space; since many of the films feature budding Nollywood acts alongside established veterans in lead roles.
