Netflix has announced that it has acquired the rights to Genevieve Nnaji’s comedy, Lion Heart, making it a first for the Nigerian industry.
The movie, which is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival today, is now the first original movie from Nigeria featured on the streaming platform.
The movie stars Genevieve Nnaji, Nkem Owoh, Pete Edochie, and Onyeka Onwenu and follows the story of a daughter who’s forced to work with her feckless uncle in order to save her father’s ailing bus company.
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Her father is played by Nollywood veteran Pete Edochie and he falls ill in the movie and instead of handing over completely to his level-headed daughter (Nnaji), he also gives the reins to his somewhat inept brother and the girl’s uncle (Owoh).
They both strive to save the company after it was discovered that the company was in dire financial straits.
The script was written by Genevieve along with Chinny Onwugbenu, Ishaya Bako, Emil Garuba, and C.J. Obasi.
Netflix has been on the forefront of the streaming revolution and some of their originals have been some of the very best TV available in a long time.
There have been a couple of misses along the way (looking at you Insatiable), but they have generally gotten it right and Lion Heart is set to become their first foray into the Nigerian market which has a lot of potential. It’ll be interesting to see how it all develops.