''Aníkúlápó'' is a 2022 Nigerian epic

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

film produced by Kunle Afolayan and distributed by Netflix. Released on 30 September 2022, it stars

Kunle Remi Kunle Remi, birth name Oyekunle Opeyemi Oluwaremi (born 18 October 1988) is a Nigerian actor, producer, filmmaker, content creator, host, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and model. He has appeared in '' Falling'', ''Family Forever'', ''Ti ...

Bimbo Ademoye Bimbo Ademoye (born 4 February 1991), is a Nigerian actress. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy/TV series at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards in 2018, for her role in the film ''Backup Wife'' (2017). Early life and education ...

Sola Sobowale Sola Sobowale (born 26 December 1963) is a Nigerian film actress, screenwriter, film director and film producer. Sola Sobowale had her big break in 2001, in the premiere of Nigeria's popular television drama series Super Story: ''Oh Father, Oh ...

Hakeem Kae-Kazim Hakeem is an Arabic-language given name, a romanization variant of Hakim. It can also be used as a surname. Notablle people with the name include: Given name * Hakeem Abdul-Saboor * Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed * Hakeem Adeniji * Hakeem al-Araibi * Hakee ...

and

Taiwo Hassan Taiwo Hassan (, born 31 October 1959), also known as Ogogo, is a Nigerian film actor, producer and director. Early Taiwo Hassan was born on 31 October 1959 in Ilaro, a town in Ogun State, Nigeria. He has a twin brother, and his family has a ...

. The film was shot in

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

and Afolayan has described the work as a "''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'' recreated in Nigeria but with a better representation of our culture (Yoruba culture)".

Synopsis

Aníkúlápó narrates the story of Saro (played by

) who has recently arrived in Oyo as a stranger and a traditional textile weaver who uses the "aso-ofi" loom and technique. Saro has an illicit romance with Queen Arolake (played by

) who has an unhappy marriage because she is hated by the King's wives and is also uninterested in the king, but it is her duty to lay with him. She is also young and uninterested in the older king's constant attention. His favoritism brings up rivalries with the other, older queens, who mistreat her. She and Saro fall in love. As they make plans to elope, word of their affair gets to the king, who sentences Saro to death. Based on the mythical Akala bird which wakes him from death, Saro, through the astute actions of Arolake, gains the power to resurrect the dead through a gourd stolen by Aroloke, and earns the name, Anikulapo (Aníkúlápó), which means the "one that holds death in his purse." As Saro becomes popular in their new village Ojumo, he sets amorous eyes on other women and betrays Arolake. His excessive pride is his hubris as he begins to make inordinate demands from the villagers before he can raise the dead. When Arolake hears that Saro has asked for the king's daughter before he can restore life to the king's heir, she undermines the source of his power and deserts him. Saro fails to resurrect the prince and discovers he no longer has the power to tame death.

Cast

as Saro, the weaver *

as Queen Arolake, the youngest Oyo queen *

as Oba Aderoju of Ojumo *

as Awarun, the businesswoman who runs a ceramics workshop / factory *

as Alaafin Ademuyiwa * Ropo Ewenla as Asohun Oba for Ojumo town *

Faithia Balogun Faithia Williams Balogun (born 5 February 1969) is a Nigerian actress, filmmaker, producer and director. Early life Faithia Williams who is of Delta state descent, was born in Ikeja on 5 February 1969. She was born into a polygamous family of ...

as Ojumo Queen * Kareem Adepoju as Ojuma Chief * Eyiyemi Afolayan as Omowunmi, Daughter of one of the Alaafin Queens (this actress, the director's daughter, makes her feature film debut here). * Adebowale Adedayo (

Mr Macaroni Adebowale "Debo" Adedayo (born 3 May 1993), known by his stage name Mr Macaroni, is a Nigerian actor, content creator and citizen activist. A trained thespian, his popularity grew from his comic skits on social media, where he plays the role of ...

) as Akanji, an Oyo citizen who gives Saro advice *

Oga Bello Adebayo Salami popularly known by his stage name Oga Bello (born 9 May 1952), is a veteran Nigerian actor, filmmaker, film producer, and director. Family Adebayo is married with two wives and Eighteen children (9 sons and 9 daughters) Career ...

as Oyo Chief * Moji Olayiwola *

Aisha Lawal Aisha Lawal Oladunni is a Nigerian actor, scriptwriter and filmmaker. She was nominated for ''Most Promising Actress of the Year (Yoruba)'' award at the 2014 City People Entertainment Awards, ''Best Actress in Leading Role (Yoruba)'' award at ...

as Olori Sukanmi *

Dele Odule Dele Odule (born 23 November 1961) is a Nigerian film actor and producer. He was nominated in the "Best Supporting Actor (Yoruba)" category at the 2014 Best of Nollywood Awards for his role in the film ''Kori Koto''. He currently serves as the ...

Yinka Quadri Alhaji Akanni Olayinka Quadri (born 6 September 1959) is a Nigerian actor, film maker, Producer and Director, born and raised in Lagos Island, Lagos State, but a native of Oro, Kwara State. He recently starred in a new movie titled Apaadi. He is ...

as Ojumo Hunter *

Ariyike Owolagba use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

as Omowon

Production

''Anikulapo'', which is Kunle Afolayan's production in partnership with

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

, was produced and shot by Jonathan Kovel at the recently launched KAP resort in a village in Oyo State, it was produced and shot on a with all infrastructure and buildings all built from scratch to suit the production while also intending to make it a film village. The production also featured the filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan's daughter, Eyiyemi Afolayan, this has been described by ''

BusinessDay ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' as Afolayan "cementing family's legacy" since their dynasty has been known to be in the film industry from their first generation.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aníkúlápó 2022 films Nigerian epic films Yoruba-language films Films directed by Kunle Afolayan Films shot in Oyo Netflix original films Nigerian fantasy films Epic fantasy films 2022 fantasy films