Netflix thriller The Black Book has smashed the streaming platform’s viewing records worldwide. The gripping tale lifts the lid on Nigeria’s chequered past, spanning a period of 40 years from when military regimes freely killed and arrested critics up to present day, where police brutality and misuse of power are still commonplace
A gripping Nigerian action thriller shining a light on corruption and police brutality in Africa’s most populous country has smashed Netflix viewing records worldwide.
The Black Book has taken the streaming platform by storm, remaining in its top 10 English-language titles globally for three weeks, even reaching No. 3 in its second week. Just 48 hours after its release on September 22, it had already been viewed 5.6 million times. By its second week, it was among the top 10 titles in 69 countries, according to Netflix.
Producer Editi Effiong told The Associated Press (AP): “Films are made for audiences, and the bigger the audience for a film, the better the chances of your message going out. The reality for us is that we made a film, made by Nigerians, funded by Nigerian money, go global.”
Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry, has been making waves globally since the 1990s. It gained fame with films such as Living in Bondage and Kunle Afolayan’s Anikulapo, released in 2022, which peaked at No. 1 on Netflix’s global chart. Producing an average of 2,000 movies annually, it’s the world’s second-largest film industry after India, based on the number of productions. Nollywood’s latest hit, The Black Book is a $1 million (£823k) movie, financed with the help of a team of experts and founders from Nigeria’s tech ecosystem and is Effiong’s first feature film.
The film covers Nigeria’s turbulent history, spanning over 40 years from the time when military regimes freely killed and arrested critics to today, where police brutality and misuse of power are still commonplace. The movie begins with the kidnapping of the family members of the head of the Nigerian oil regulatory agency, assisted by corrupt coppers working for top politicians.
To hide their actions, the police murder a young lad, wrongly accused as the kidnapper, not realising he was the only son of a former special operative who had swapped his weapons for the church. In his heyday, the character of ex-officer-turned-pastor Paul Edima – played by Nigerian film legend Richard Mofe-Damijo – was known as Nigeria’s ‘most dangerous man’, with a past filled with assassinations and involvement in several coups across West Africa.
Source: Mirror
