Netflix lines up first EbonyLife feature

Oloture centres on human trafficking in Nigeria

Netflix is set to premiere its next original Nigerian film, Oloture, on October 2, the first title produced for the global streamer by Nigeria’s EbonyLife Films.

The film will be made available in more than 190 countries by the SVoD giant, marking the first time the film will be seen by the public, aside from private screenings in cities such as LA and Lagos.

Mo Abudu

Executive produced by Mo Abudu, CEO of EbonyLife TV, and written by Yinka Ogun and Craig Freimond, Oloture tells the story of a young, naïve, female journalist who goes undercover to expose the shady business of human trafficking in Nigeria.

The film was selected to screen in October 2019 at the prestigious JCC Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia, and it aims to put the spotlight on a current African crisis told by creatives from the region.

Announcing this news on Instagram, Abudu said: “We are super-excited about our first Netflix original feature film. A project dear to our hearts.”

She added that Oloture may well be EbonyLife’s most important film to date. “We had to make it. Human trafficking is a global problem, with trafficking networks flourishing across Africa through the exploitation of hundreds of thousands of migrants.

“According to the UN, more than 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders annually – looking for a better life, but ending up in forced labour, domestic servitude or sexual slavery. Oloture is another example of us telling the African story from our perspective.”

The film was directed by Kenneth Gyang and stars Nollywood actors including Sharon Ooja, Omoni Oboli, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Omowunmi Dada, Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju, Wofai Fada, Pearl Okorie and Omawumi Megbele.

Oloture is the second Nigerian original feature film for Netflix after it announced its move into Nollywood film production last year. Its first Nollywood movie was 2019’s Lionheart, produced by The Entertainment Network.

EbonyLife Films has produced seven feature films so far: Fifty, The Wedding Party, The Wedding Party 2: Destination Dubai, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, Chief Daddy, Your Excellency and Oloture. Three of these – The Wedding Party, The Wedding Party 2 and Chief Daddy – are the highest grossing movies of all time at the Nigerian box office.

The company has also produced over 5,000 hours of original television shows, including Fifty, Castle & Castle, Sons of the Caliphate and On the Real, all of which are now available on Netflix.

This story first appeared on C21’s sister site Content Nigeria.