Joseph Jonathan

Together Apart, Jumbi, I Can Smell a Rat
AIFF 2025: “Together Apart”, “Jimbi”, and “I Can Smell a Rat” Navigate the Edges of Humanity

Three films — from Nigeria, Uganda, and Egypt — stood out for their attempts to…

Radia
AIFF 2025: In “Radia”, Khaoula Assebab Benomar Crafts a Stark Portrait of Widowhood, Agency, and the Cost of Becoming

Radia is a film that dissects the ordinary to reveal the extraordinary pain and possibilities…

Double or Nothing
AIFF 2025: Rachida SaadiʼS “Double or Nothing” Is a Gamble on Love and Addiction That Plays It Too Safe

Double or Nothing feels tonally inconsistent, unsure whether to lean into satire, tragedy, or domestic…

Adunni: Ogidan Binrin
AIFF 2025: “Adunni: Ogidan Binrin” Is a Story of Resistance Undone by Its Own Execution

Adunni: Ogidan Binrin is a reminder that even the most righteous revolutions can falter when…

Lights Out
AIFF 2025: Enah Johnscott Illuminates the Fragility of Memory and the Fading Architecture of Care in “Lights Out”

Lights Out is not a perfect film; uneven, overly ambitious, and occasionally meandering, but it…

The Herd
“The Herd” Review: Daniel Etim Effiong’s Debut Feature Is Taut and Human

The Herd is a debut that demands attention: not merely for its suspense, but for…

Finding Optel
“Finding Optel” Review: A Tender, Uneven Portrait of Ordinary Lives and the Quiet Radicalism of Small Stories

At a time when African cinema often feels pressured to either moralise or monumentalise, Finding…

Dodo Ikire
“Dodo Ikire” Review: Abdulafiz Opeyemi Shittu’s Ode to the Women Feeding a Nation

What Dodo Ikire ultimately captures, perhaps unintentionally at first, is how deeply entrenched women are…

Thinline
“Thinline” Review: Nollywood’s Dangerous Blind Spot on Male Sexual Assault and the Illusion of Morality

Thinline is a mirror of how deeply entrenched gendered assumptions still shape Nollywood storytelling. By…

memories
In Absence, You Find Presence: What “My Father’s Shadow” Taught Me About Remembering

Remembering isn’t just about freezing time, it’s about letting memory evolve, the way grief turns…