| 👋 Good morning. Big budgets = loud films. Small budgets = louder ambition. Nigerian indie filmmakers are proving you don't need blockbuster money to make blockbuster moves. From festival runs to global collaborations, the "small" films are stacking very big wins. We're breaking down how the scene is heating up, and why it deserves more than polite applause. | Also inside: Rema and Western validation, Purple Hibiscus whispers, a pop quiz, and more film highlights. | Let's get into it ⬇️ | | 🗞️ THIS WEEK IN POP CULTURE |
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| | | 🎵 MUSIC | Last year, Billboard named Rema a one-hit wonder. That article has resurfaced and caught the attention of many. How an artiste who is at the centre of Afrobeats right now is a one-hit wonder, we will never know. More of this below ⬇️ |
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| | ☆ CELEBRITY | Femi Dapson has been under fire since an interview where he admitted that, even while driving an Avalon, he didn't feel worthy enough to approach Simi Sanya. The backlash reveals how tightly masculinity is still tethered to wealth and the pressure to provide. |
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| | 📽️ FILM | We might finally be getting that Purple Hibiscus adaptation. While we don't have the full info yet, a little birdie told us the adaptation is in safe hands. Who would you like to see in this adaptation? We are itching to know. |
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| | 📺 TV | A new CJ Obasi film, Blue Butterfly, will be coming to our screens soon! The most interesting aspect of this news is that it stars Sanaa Lathan. Love and Basketball, Sanaa Lathan! And she will star alongside Steve Toussaint. Will this film mark CJ Obasi's departure from Nollywood? |
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| | ↝ TRENDING | A young girl spoke out about her sexual assault this week. While questions and rumors have circulated, we hope this moment isn't used to undermine or discredit future survivors. |
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| | | | Nigerian Indie Filmmakers Are Doing Well | | | 🔍 THE CONTEXT | It's been an amazing month for Nigerian indie filmmaking. In the space of just a few weeks, a string of announcements have landed that, taken together, suggest an industry in the middle of a significant shift. | Last week, we wrote about Clarissa, the Esiri brothers' latest project (the duo behind Eyimofe), one of the most important Nigerian films of the last decade. We'd encourage you to read that one if you haven't. But almost immediately after, the news kept coming. A romcom announcement. A new CJ Obasi film. A young filmmaker making history at the Berlinale. |
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| | ZOOM IN | The trailer for Uzoamaka's Call of My Life landed recently and did something simple but uncommon: it felt Nigerian. Not Nigerian in the way that's become shorthand for broad humor and recognizable faces, but Nigerian in the awkwardness, the warmth, the chaos of actually trying to love someone here. | Power, who both wrote and stars in the film alongside a cast that includes Nkem Owoh, Patience Ozokwo, and Beverly Osu, has made something that already feels lived-in before it's even out. For anyone who's wondered why an authentic Nigerian romcom feels so rare, this one feels like a genuine attempt to answer that question. | Additionally, CJ Obasi, the director of Mami Wata, Nigeria's Oscar submission in 2023, announced his next feature. A Blue Butterfly is a psychological drama exploring survivor's guilt, redemption, and whether self-forgiveness is truly possible, starring Steve Toussaint (House of the Dragon) and Sanaa Lathan (Love & Basketball), with production set across London and Kigali. | A Nigerian filmmaker steering a psychologically complex, internationally cast feature without diluting his artistic identity or severing ties with the continent. And he's doing it in parallel: Obasi is also developing La Pyramide, a Nigeria-UK-US-Senegal-Brazil co-production that recently featured at the Red Sea Souk Project Market. | Then there's Dika Ofoma, whose short films are rooted in everyday Nigerian life and have traveled from the S16 Film Festival to Rotterdam to New York. Last year, his debut feature project Kachifo swept three awards at Locarno's Open Doors: the Open Doors Grant, the Prix ARTEKino International, and the Sørfond Award, competing among projects from six African nations. | This year, he has been at the Berlinale Talents, screening his latest short, Obi is A Boy. |
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| | ZOOM OUT | What we're seeing is a convergence of talent that has been developing in the margins and a growing international appetite for Nigerian stories. | For a long time, the conversation about Nollywood has lived in two separate rooms: the commercial mainstream, which moves fast, prints money, and doesn't always prioritize craft; and the indie art-house scene, which prioritizes craft but often struggles to find an audience at home. What's exciting about this moment is that the wall between those rooms is beginning to come down. | Bluhouse Studios is producing both a crowd-pleasing romcom with Uzoamaka Power and Dika Ofoma's Locarno-backed debut feature. CJ Obasi has never stopped being Nigerian even as he builds an international filmography. The Esiri brothers made Eyimofe with very little and have now secured a NEON distribution. | If this momentum holds, we are looking at the early chapters of something that could position Nigerian cinema not just as a regional powerhouse, but as one of the genuinely exciting national cinemas in the world. Given what's happened in the last few weeks alone, it's starting to look like a plan. |
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| | | | How is Rema–A Hitmaker–a One-Hit Wonder? | Billboard called Rema a one-hit wonder. But why should U.S.-centric charts define global success? We examine the metrics and the mindset. | Eight months ago, Billboard published a One-Hit Wonder list that included Rema. The article has resurfaced, and the magazine is now under fire. While I feel it is a delayed reaction, the saying "better late than never" certainly applies here. And if you are wondering where I stand, know that I'm with the mob. | How can an artiste whose career has been defined by his many hits be labeled a one-hit wonder? To answer this question, we need to look at the metrics. | Billboard is an American magazine whose rankings are largely U.S.-centric. To write this list, U.S. radio airplay is analyzed, U.S. streaming data is examined, and U.S. sales are reviewed. Thus, a metric built around American consumption will naturally produce American-centered results. | Rema is a popular figure in Nigeria, West Africa, the UK, and even India, where he sold out shows in 2023 and was invited to perform at the wedding of Anant Ambani (son of Asia's richest man) and Radhika Merchant. So I wonder: if an artiste dominates multiple continents, is the issue their impact or the measuring stick? | It is no news that we often clamor for Western validation. This is evident in the annual scramble for a Grammy nod, the timelines that erupt when nominations are announced, and the way we measure success by how loudly America applauds. Somewhere along the line, the United States became the default referee of global relevance. | If America crowns you, you are global; if it does not, your impact is somehow regional, almost provisional. But who decided that U.S.-centric metrics are the ultimate scale for worldwide success? When an artiste can command audiences across Africa, chart in the UK, sell out venues in India, and still be diminished because their dominance does not mirror American consumption patterns, it reveals less about the artiste and more about the hierarchy we have quietly accepted. | While this conversation has revealed the partiality of these metrics, it has also shown the need to detach ourselves and our art from Western validation. How do we do that? By respecting our own institutions. | Billboard charts are amplified by us; American "Afrobeats" critics are reposted by us. But do we quote TurnTable Charts? Do we cite Nigerian and African journalists in the same manner? Therein lies the problem. | Detaching from American validation means valuing the work of African journalists and institutions, not dismissing it. Platforms like TurnTable Charts and local music writers are documenting, critiquing, and celebrating artistes in ways that reflect the reality of the continent and its diaspora. | Respecting them requires that artistes, audiences, and media consumers take their authority seriously: celebrate local chart achievements, acknowledge critical coverage, and amplify the stories these journalists tell. | When artists publicly honor African institutions and milestones alongside—or even above—foreign recognition, it reinforces that success at home is meaningful and legitimate. Respect flows both ways: journalists do the work, but the community must recognize and elevate it. | In a globalized music landscape, relying solely on U.S.-centric metrics like Billboard distorts our understanding of success. So, no, Rema is not a one-hit wonder; he is a hitmaker. | | | | | Who was the first Nigerian artiste to win a Grammy? | |
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| | | | This Week's Playlist | | We are still in the month of love and are far from leaving the Valentine headspace. So we have updated our love playlist. Dive in for more Cupidish sonic sounds ♡ | Don't forget to save, we update frequently. | Want your song featured? Reply to our mail, thejuice@pulse.ng | |
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| | | | 79% | The surveyed percentage of Nigerians who have confidence in Trump's handling of world affairs. It's the highest of any country polled. source. | | | Today's email was brought to you by Shalom Tewobola and Praise Okeoghene Vandeh. | Editing by: Shalom Tewobola | Designs by: Daniel Banjoko | Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. | Have a story or product that needs to be seen? Submit here. |
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