Last year, Netflix finally and officially came to Nigeria. This means they opened a social media account dedicated to Nigerian content on their streaming service and increased their Nigerian content on the service as well as commissioned more Netflix Originals to be made. However, the sheer number of movies and shows on Netflix are overwhelming leaving many confused on exactly where to start and this is where we come in. We rounded up the five Nigerian movies you need to watch on Netflix right now.
Living In Bondage – Breaking Free
Living In Bondage – Breaking Free, a well-done sequel to the Nollywood late nineties classic Living In Bondage, is arguably one of the best Nollywood movies ever. Featuring a star-studded cast, and an interesting take on the classic poor-but-good and intelligent -boy-is-pressured-to-engage-in-money- rituals and almost palpable chemistry between Ramsey Nouah and then-newcomer Swanky JKA, it doesn’t take much to see why the movie was an instant hit. Currently available to stream on Netflix, we highly recommend you see it if you haven’t.
Iyore
Starring Rita Dominic, Joseph Benjamin and Okawa Shaznay, Iyore has a certain type of elegance that is rare to find. The movie explores reincarnation and love across different lifetimes and in its way, shows how humans repeat mistakes over and over even when given multiple chances. Placing two different lives of the same soul against each other – one in modern times and the other in the ancient Benin empire – the true joy in this movie is finding out what is the same across the different lives and what is different.
Sugar Rush
If you like hearty humorous comedic films then Sugar Rush is likely just the movie for you. Sugar Rush is delightfully chaotic and more than makes up for the occasional continuity and consistency issues with easy laugh scenes. Perfect for a weekend or even a weeknight watch if the goal is lighthearted escapism.
The Figurine
With beautiful cinematography, Kunle Afolayan merges several Nollywood horror tropes in a beautiful and scary tale about two friends who find a statue that bestows seven years of good luck to anyone that finds it before granting them seven years of horrible luck following it. The movie stars two of Nollywood’s best – Ramsey Nouah and Omoni Oboli – playing across each other giving some of their best performances yet.
Phone Swap
Nse Ikpe-Etim has a way of elevating just about everything she stars in to a new level of elegance, a thing that she has had all the way back to staring in the aptly named early 2010s Nollywood movie Blackberry Babes. In Phone Swap, Ikpe-Etim shines through giving the comedy film the boosts it needs to be on this list. The film chronicles the hilarious happenings after a fashion designer and a businessman end up switching phones at an airport. If feel-good unrealistic romantic comedies are your jam, we highly recommend Phone Swap.
