''Nigerian Prince'' is a 2018 Nigerian-American bilingual

suspense Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

drama film written and directed by

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

based Nigerian-American Faraday Okoro in his feature film directorial debut. The film is based on a stock term referring to a type of

advance-fee scam An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the frauds ...

. The film stars newcomers Antonio J. Bell and

Chinaza Uche Chinaza Uche is a Scottish-born actor based in the United States. He is known for his series regular role in the Apple TV series '' Dickinson and Silo''. He was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA for Best Actor in a Film for his performance in the f ...

in the main lead roles while

Tina Mba Tina Mba is a Nigerian actress who was nominated for Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in the 7th Africa Movie Academy Awards. Career In 2017, she starred in ''Isoken'', ''Bariga Suger'', ''Okafor's Law'' among ...

Bimbo Manuel Bimbo Manuel (born 30 October 1958) is a Nigerian actor. He was nominated for Best actor in a supporting role at the 2013 Nollywood Movies Awards. Career Bimbo hails from Lagos State. After graduating from the University of Port Harcourt with ...

Ebbe Bassey Ebbe Bassey is a Nigerian American actress, who was nominated for Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing "Maa Dede" in '' Ties That Bind'' (2011). Career Bassey has starred in many Nigerian and American fi ...

and

Dean Cameron Dean Cameron (born Dean Eikleberry; December 25, 1962) is an American television and film actor and musician. He is known for his role as Francis "Chainsaw" Gremp in the 1987 Mark Harmon comedy '' Summer School''. He also played Dave Marshak i ...

in the supporting roles. The film was made as a part of the inaugural AT&T Presents: Untold Stories program as it entered the competition with the intention of securing financial backing and potential distribution.

Cast

* Antonio J Bell as Eze *

as Pius *

as Grace *

as Smart *

as Mercy *

as Bob * Crystabel Goddy as Bimbo

Plot

A stubborn Nigerian-American teenager Eze (Antonio J. Bell) is forced to go to Nigeria by his mother. He then joins his cousin Pius (Chinaza Uche) who runs an online scamming business. He joined the online scamming business to collect the required amount of money in order to return to the US.

Production

The film project was announced by debutant director Faraday Okoro who previously helmed few short films such as ''Full Windsor'' and ''Blitz'' which were also screened in film festivals. He penned the script along with Andrew Long which was also supported by the executive producer of the film Spike Lee. Lee also guided and mentored Okoro to write the screenplay of the film. In April 2017, ''Nigerian Prince'' was shortlisted as one of the five finalists of the inaugural edition of the AT&T Presents: Untold Stories, a project which was initiated in 2017 by AT&T in collaborative partnership with Tribeca, Tribeca Film Festival and Tribeca Film Institute to financially support the underrepresented film projects of underrated emerging upcoming male and female filmmakers in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. Okoro was adjudged the winner of the inaugural edition on 20 April 2018 and was granted US$1 million for the production of the film. The film eventually became a winning project of AT&T Presents and it is also the first feature film to have completed with a grant from the Untold Stories. The film was predominantly shot and set in Lagos, Nigeria and the principal photography of the film was wrapped up within 12 months. Soon after the completion of the film, it was slated for the worldwide premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.

Distribution

The US theatrical distribution rights of the film was sold to the Vertical Entertainment. The film was also distributed across AT&T's video platforms such as DirecTV, U-verse and

DirecTV Now DirecTV Stream is a family of streaming multichannel television services offered in the United States by DirecTV. The brand encompasses three separate services sharing similar infrastructure and software. DirecTV Stream, launched nationally as ...

under a five-year license agreement.

Release

The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2018 and opened to generally positive reviews from critics. It had its theatrical release in US on 19 October 2018. The film was also streamed via Netflix on 14 August 2020 and opened to positive reviews from the audience.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2018 films 2018 thriller films Nigerian drama films American thriller films English-language Nigerian films Igbo-language films Films shot in Nigeria Films set in Nigeria 2010s English-language films 2010s American films