After the success of “My Father’s Shadow” at the 2026 AMVCA, a conversation began on Nigerian films that do not get attention from the Nigerian audience. While these films are often very well done, due to the fact that the producers and sometimes the cast are not well-known by the Nigerian film audience, they do not succeed in the country as much as they do with a foreign audience.
The most recent example of this is with the film “Clarissa,” a 2026 film that is a modern remaking of a 1925 novel, “Mrs Dollaway” written by Virginia Woolf and set in contemporary Lagos. Although the film stars big names like India Amarteifio, Ayo Edibiri, Sophie Okonedo, Toheeb Jimoh, Nikki Amuka-Bird and David Oyelowo, amongst others, and received a standing ovation at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 16, where it was also nominated for the Queer Palm, Clarissa has not gotten much attention from the Nollywood audience.
Here’s what we think could be the possible reasons:
The Marketing
As with “My Father’s Shadow,” many Nigerians alluded that the reason they hadn’t watched the film was because they believed it wasn’t marketed to the Nigerian audience, due to the film premiering in International waters, and winning international awards. With “Clarissa,” the Nigerian audience either doesn’t know of its existence or have not paid much attention to it due to the marketing heavily focusing on the international audience, currently.
A pattern that has been noticed in Nigerian films in relation to marketing is that the audience prefers marketing plans that center the Nigerian culture, or the current trends in the country. Films like “My Father’s Shadow” and “Clarissa” do not follow the marketing plans that do that.
The Relatability Level
A large percentage of cinema goers or film reviewers in Nigeria are either GenZs or millennials who gravitate towards films they can relate to, and movies set in contemporary times fall flat to that audience. Although there is an audience that enjoys the genre of contemporary films, it is not a large number, thereby cutting the audience’s relatability for these filmmakers by a wide margin.
The Absence of Familiar Faces
For the Nigerian audience, one of the appeals of a new film is the casting choice, and with films like “Clarissa” where most of the cast are not well-known in the Nollywood film scene, it becomes difficult for the Nigerian audience to retain interest. Most people are motivated to watch a movie in cinema due to the need to support their favorite cast member or director and in cases like this where the cast members are not known to the general public, the attention dwindles and reduces the possibility of the film gaining traction from the Nigerian audience.
A Grippling Fear Of The Unknown
Nollywood films often follow a trajectory that their general audience have come to appreciate, and look forward to. Films that are not necessarily created or centered towards Nigerians in Nigeria come with an air of uncertainty for the audience who are unsure what to expect. This also ties to the marketing for these films not being tailored for the Nigerian audience.
The general public enjoys going into a film knowing what to expect from the acting of the cast, from the directors and producers through their previous performances and oftentimes when that is absent, the film falls flat in the Nigerian scene.
How To Appeal To The Nigerian Audience
While there are several ways the Nigerian audience approaches film media, films with a Nigerian premise and a cast that’s not known to the film audience in Nigeria needs to do more in terms of marketing, audience engagement and production value.
The cast of “Clarissa” has fans in Nigeria who have seen their films and shows, however, the film itself is not one that has been marketed to the general public n Nigeria. When Nigerians do not feel considered in the marketing, it becomes difficult for them to put any effort into engaging with the film.
The easiest way to appeal to the Nigerian audience is consideration and inclusion.
What do we think?
Nollywood constantly puts out films with a familiar cast and crew known to Nigerians, which keeps them occupied, entertained, and makes it difficult for other films to infiltrate. If the films by an unfamiliar cast wants a shot at thriving in the Nigerian space, there has to be a different approach taken to connecting with the audience of Nigerians living in Nigeria.
