''Love Castle'' is a 2021 Nigerian film directed by

Desmond Elliot Desmond Elliot'' (born Desmond Oluwashola Elliot; 4 February 1974)'' is a Nigerian director, and politician He was elected as a lawmaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Surulere Constituency, in the 11 April 2015 Nigerian General Elec ...

, produced by United States-based Nigerian, Beatrice Funke Ogunmola and co-produced by Victor Ogunmola. The film centers on themes of tradition and family ties; it portrays

Nigerian culture The culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigeria's multiple ethnic groups. The country has 527 languages, seven of which are extinct. Nigeria also has over 1150 dialects and ethnic groups. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausas that are pre ...

interwoven with disability and focuses on a deep-rooted belief about children living with disabilities, as experienced by the producers who have a child living with autism. It is a traditional story about the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n culture of silence surrounding

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

s. The film stars Rachel Oniga,

Zack Orji Zachee Ama Orji (born 1960) is a Nigerian actor, director, producer and filmmaker known for his role in Nollywood movies Glamour Girls, and Blood Money. Aside from acting, Orji is a preacher. Early History Zachee Ama Orji was born in Librev ...

Kehinde Bankole Kehinde Bankole (born 27 March 1985) is a Nigerian actress, model, and television host. She made her entertainment debut in the ''2003 Miss Commonwealth Nigeria beauty contest'', then proceeded to the ''2004 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria page ...

Jide Kosoko Jide Kosoko (born 12 January 1954) is a Nigerian actor, director and producer. He was born into a royal family, hence his traditional title of prince or "omoba" in the Yoruba language. Early life Prince Jide Kosoko was born in Lagos on the ...

, and Adedimeji Lateef, with other Nollywood actors in the supporting roles. The film was shot in both

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

, Nigeria in November 2019 and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas, United States in February 2020. The US filming rounded up before the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

lockdown began. The language used in the film is majorly English with a minor mix of

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 ...

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

, and

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

languages. The film premiered on 10 September 2021 at

Terra Kulture Terra Kulture is an arts and culture center in Lagos with an attached restaurant. Establishment Nigerian lawyer Bolanle Austen-Peters founded Terra Kulture in 2003. The center is a restaurant, serving Nigerian cuisine, bookstore and cultura ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

Plot

''Love Castle'' is a story about the Iregbogbo kingdom. The royal family had a task of getting a new king when the last king of the kingdom died. Adetutu who is the daughter of the late king is entangled with taboos after the death of her father. She left her family in Houston

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, United States, against her wish and that of her family to become a regent in Nigeria after the death of her father.

Cast

Reception

In 2021, the film became an official selection of Toronto International Women Festival and Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival. The film received three awards at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival in Ontario, Canada on 30–31 October 2021. The film received an award for Best Film Africa, and its producer Beatrice Funke Ogunmola (BFO) received two awards: Best Nollywood Film Producer and Best Nollywood Female Filmmaker. The TINFF Committee also gave one of the actresses featured in the film, the late Rachel Oniga, an honorary award. The film producer, Beatrice Funke Ogunmola (BFO), was nominated and won the category Festival Film Mention for Narrative for ''Love Castle''. The award was presented by the Abuja International

Film Festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

(AIFF), held in Abuja, Nigeria on 4 November 2021. In 2022, the Memorial Student Center's Dr. Carter G. Woodson Black Awareness Committee (MSC WBAC) of Texas A&M University requested to screen ''Love Castle.''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=15286894 2020s English-language films 2021 drama films 2021 films English-language Nigerian films Nigerian drama films