''Lionheart'' is a 2018 Nigerian

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film produced by Chinny Onwugbenu and directed by

Genevieve Nnaji Genevieve Nnaji (; born on 3 May 1979) is a Nigerian actress, producer, and director. She won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005, making her the first actor to win the award. In 2011, she was honoured as a ...

. It stars

Pete Edochie Chief Pete Edochie, MON (born March 7, 1947) is a Nigerian actor. Edochie is considered one of Africa’s most talented actors, being honored with an Industry Merit Award by Africa Magic and Lifetime Achievement by Africa Film Academy Althou ...

, Genevieve Nnaji, and

Nkem Owoh Nkem Owoh (born 7 February 1958) is a Nigerian actor and comedian. In 2008, he won the African Movie Academy Award for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" for his role in the Nigerian film, "''Stronger than Pain"''. Early life Nkem Owoh was born in E ...

. It was acquired by

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 ...

on 7 September 2018, making it the first

Netflix original film __NOTOC__ The following are lists of Netflix original films by year: Lists *List of Netflix original films (2015–2017) *List of Netflix original films (2018) *List of Netflix original films (2019) *List of Netflix original films (2020) *Lis ...

produced in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. ''Lionheart'' premiered at the

2018 Toronto International Film Festival The 43rd annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 6 to 16, 2018. In June 2018, the TIFF organizers announced a program to ensure that at least 20 percent of all film critics and journalists given press accreditation to ...

in Canada. The movie was Nnaji's directorial debut as well as Peter Okoye's and Chibuzor Azubuike's (also known as

Phyno Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike (born 9 October 1986), populary known as Phyno Fino, is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He started his music career as a producer in 2003, and is renowned for rapping in the Igbo language. His ...

) acting debut. The film was released worldwide on 4 January 2019 on Netflix. ''Lionheart'' was selected as the Nigerian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the

92nd Academy Awards The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 2019 and took place on February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:00 ...

. It was the first time that Nigeria had submitted a film to the Oscars. On 4 November 2019, the Academy disqualified the film as the majority of the dialogue is in English and only about ten minutes of the film is in

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

Plot

''Lionheart'' tells the story of Adaeze Obiagu (portrayed by

Nnaji Nnaji is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Bartholomew Nnaji (born 1956), Nigerian scientist * David Nnaji, Nigerian film maker, actor and writer *Genevieve Nnaji (born 1979), Nigerian actress *Gilbert Nnaji (born 1966), Nigerian ...

), who wants to substitute for her father, Chief Ernest Obiagu (

), when he can no longer run his company due to health issues. Her father, however, asks his brother Godswill (

) to take his place, and Godswill and Adaeze have to work together to save the company from debt as well as a threatened takeover by businessman Igwe Pascal ( Kanayo O. Kanayo).

Cast

as Adaeze Obiagu, daughter of Chief Ernest Obiagu; Director of Logistics and Operations at the Lionheart company. *

as Chief Godswill Obiagu, younger brother to Chief Ernest Obiagu; new head of the Lionheart company. He is also the Managing Director of the Owerri headquarters of the company. *

as Chief Ernest Obiagu, owner of Lionheart company and father to Adaeze & Obiora; husband to Abigail Obiagu. *

Onyeka Onwenu Onyeka Onwenu (born 31 January 1952) is a Nigerian singer/songwriter, actress, human right activist, social activist, journalist, politician, and former ''X Factor'' series judge. Dubbed the "Elegant Stallion" by the Nigerian press, she is a fo ...

as Abigail Obiagu, mother of Adaeze and Obiora, wife of Chief Ernest Obiagu * Kanayo O. Kanayo as Igwe Pascal, owner of IG Motors, who wants to buy Lionheart company *

Kalu Ikeagwu Kalu Egbui Ikeagwu is a British-Nigerian actor and writer. As an actor, he has received several awards and nominations for his performances on screen. Early life Kalu was born in England but was relocated to Nigeria by his dad at the age of 9 ...

as Samuel Akah, director of Engineering Services at Lionheart company, who connives with Igwe Pascal to take over the company. *

Jemima Osunde Jemima Osunde (born 30 April 1996) is a Nigerian actress, model, and presenter. She gained exposure after playing Leila in the television series '' Shuga''. Osunde was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 15th Africa Movie Acade ...

as Onyinye, personal assistant to Adaeze Obiagu * Sani Muazu as Alhaji Danladi Maikano * Chibuzor Azubuike (also known as

) as Obiora Obiagu, brother to Adaeze Obiagu; up-and-coming musician. *

Ngozi Ezeonu Ngozi Ezeonu (born Ngozi Ikpelue, May 23, 1965) is a Nigerian actress and former journalist notable for her maternal roles in Nollywood movies. In 2012, she starred in '' Adesuwa'', a role that earned her the Best Supporting Actress nomination ...

as Chioma Obiagu, wife of Godswill Obiagu * Yakubu Mohammed as Hamza Maikano * Peter Okoye as Arinze *

Chika Okpala Chief Chika Okpala (born 10 June 1950) is a Nigerian comedian. He is popularly known as Chief Zebrudaya a sobriquet he got from his role as Chief Zebrudaya in a TV comedy series, ''New Masquerade'' which aired from 1983 to 1993. Education He at ...

as member of the board of directors of Lionheart

Production

The movie was produced by Chinny Onwugbenu for MPM Premium in association with The Entertainment Network. Netflix acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the movie on 7 September 2018, a day before its premiere at the

Release

A trailer for the film was released on 24 August 2018. On 4 January 2019, the film was available to stream worldwide on Netflix.

Critical reception

''Lionheart'' has received favorable reviews from various critics. On the review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds approval rating with an average rating of based on reviews. ''

Nollywood Reinvented Nollywood Reinvented, also known simply as NR, is a website launched in 2011 and dedicated primarily to film reviews. It also provides information about films, actors, producers and other film people. It is one of the first review platforms ded ...

'' mentioned in their review of the film that it "works because it’s heartfelt", and rates the movie at 61%. ''Womentainment'' instead focused on the star and director, Genevieve Nnaji, recommending that people watch it "for the fierce woman who stars and directs". ''Nollywood Post'' further commends Genevieve Nnaji in its review: "Lionheart was a satisfactory story to tell in favor of feminism without it being overly the subject matter." Meanwhile, the film also received a few negative reviews due to what some people perceived as its "unrealistic" plotline. A review on ''

Nairametrics ''Nairametrics'' is a Nigerian online newspaper that focuses on business and economic current affairs. It was established in 2013 by Obi-Chukwu Ugodre as a product of Nairametrics Financial Advocates Limited. They provide access to macroeconomic d ...

'' noted that the film's writers and producers failed to properly research the workings of the corporate environment prior to making the film. As a result, some minor blunders were made.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lionheart 2018 films 2010s coming-of-age drama films Nigerian drama films English-language Netflix original films Igbo-language films 2018 drama films Nigerian coming-of-age films English-language Nigerian films