Microdrama production: 5 things filmmakers should know this week
A toy company, a British broadcaster, an Indian app and TikTok all moved this week. Here is what the latest microdrama news means for filmmakers, in five lessons.
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From screenplay to top 10: how The God Weaver found its readers
Duke Terry Gbande's AI-assisted novel now ranks No. 10 on Amazon's African Myths & Legends best sellers list, after a launch that put AI in Nigerian literature up for debate.
ABUJA, Nigeria: When Duke Terry Gbande's The God Weaver book was launched at XL Creative Hub, the debate in the room was about artificial intelligence. The book now ranks No. 10 on Amazon's African Myths & Legends best sellers list, which suggests readers are engaging with the work itself. The novel grew out of a screenplay by Tejiri Awanovwe, also…
- Former Actors Guild of Nigeria president Emeka Rollas apologised to Ned Nwoko, Regina Daniels and Rita Daniels in an Instagram post on Thursday, 8 October 2026.
- Rollas said he regretted the timing, platform and manner of a statement he made on 20 November 2025, though he may still hold some of his convictions.
- As of 15 October 2026, none of the people he named had publicly responded to the apology in the reports GistMatrix reviewed.
Emeka Rollas apologises to Regina Daniels, Ned Nwoko over 2025 remarks
The former Actors Guild of Nigeria president says he regrets the timing and manner of his November 2025 statement, but not every point in it. Seven colleagues and Rita Daniels are on his list too.
"I am sorry." Three words, posted almost 11 months after the statement that started it. Former Actors Guild of Nigeria president Emeka Rollas has apologised to Senator Ned Nwoko, actress Regina Daniels and her mother, Rita Daniels, in an Instagram post on Thursday, 8 October 2026. The Emeka Rollas apology goes beyond the Daniels family. He also named the guild's…
Agbara Nla box office hits ₦170.6m, Nollywood’s best outside December
The remake of Mike Bamiloye's 1993 Christian classic opened behind only two Funke Akindele December hits, and its Sunday takings were more than three times Friday's.
The Agbara Nla box office run has started with ₦170.6m in four days. Agbara Nla: The Return, which opened nationwide on Friday, 2 October, is now the biggest Nollywood opening ever recorded outside December, Nairametrics reported on Monday, 5 October, citing FilmX data. Only two Nollywood films have opened bigger, and both are Funke Akindele December releases: Everybody Loves Jenifa…
Dear Ajayi lands Nigeria’s Oscars 2027 slot after a year out
The Nigerian Official Selection Committee picked Damilola Orimogunje's 1990s family drama on Sunday, 4 October, a year after it sent no film at all. Now the Academy decides whether it makes a 15-film shortlist on 15 December.
Dear Ajayi, Damilola Orimogunje's drama about two estranged sisters, is Nigeria's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2027 Oscars. The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) announced the pick on Sunday, 4 October, ThisDay and Premium Times reported. It ends a year on the sidelines. Nigeria sent no film to the 98th Oscars after the committee said none of…
- Veteran Nollywood actor Olu Jacobs was honoured at a funeral service at This Present House, Lekki, Lagos, on Friday, 2 October 2026.
- Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu and former Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun attended, TVC News reported on Friday, 2 October 2026.
- Olu Jacobs, who died on 16 September 2026 aged 84, was buried at a private cemetery after the Lekki service on Friday, 2 October 2026, ThisDay reported.
Olu Jacobs funeral: Hamzat, Amosun join Nollywood’s Lekki farewell
Family, friends and Nollywood colleagues gathered at This Present House in Lekki on Friday, 2 October, 16 days after the actor died at 84, as Darey sang a song that featured Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva.
Updated 11:30pm WAT, Monday, 5 October 2026: Olu Jacobs was buried at a private cemetery after the Lekki service on Friday, 2 October, ThisDay reported. Veteran actor Olu Jacobs was honoured at a funeral service at This Present House church in Lekki, Lagos, on Friday, 2 October 2026, 16 days after he died at 84. Family, friends and Nollywood colleagues…
Issakaba: The Return hits cinemas on 13 November, 25 years on
Lancelot Imasuen has named the date for the sequel he shot in Asaba in 2024. Sam Dede is back as Ebube, and the new cast takes in Regina Daniels, Mark Angel and Phyna.
Ebube is coming back. Director Lancelot Imasuen announced on Thursday, 1 October 2026, that Issakaba: The Return, the sequel to his 2001 vigilante classic, opens in cinemas across Nigeria on Friday, 13 November 2026. Sam Dede returns as Ebube, the leader of the Issakaba boys. The announcement, posted on Imasuen's verified Instagram account at 8:03am WAT, also names Chidi Mokeme,…
Passport of Mallam Ilia animated movie heads to Sharjah, Trinidad
Magic Carpet Studios will show its unfinished take on Cyprian Ekwensi's 1960 novel at two festivals abroad this month, eight years after the Lagos studio took on the project and with no Nigerian release date yet.
The Passport of Mallam Ilia animated movie is going on the road before it is finished. Magic Carpet Studios, the Lagos studio adapting Cyprian Ekwensi's 1960 novel, said on Thursday, 1 October 2026 that the film will screen as a work in progress at two festivals abroad. First stop is the Sharjah Animation and Comics Conference in the United Arab…