''Isoken'' is a 2017 Nigerian

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

-drama film written and directed by

Jadesola Osiberu Jádesọ́lá is a female Yoruba people The Yoruba people ( ; , , ) are a West African ethnic group who inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, which are collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million pe ...

, in her directorial debut. The film stars

Dakore Akande Dakore Egbuson-Akande (born Dakore Omobola Egbuson; 14 October 1978) is a Nigerian film actress, actress. She is an ambassador for Amnesty International, Amstel Malta and Oxfam of America. Biography Dakore Omobola Egbuson was born in Bayelsa Sta ...

, Joseph Benjamin, and

Marc Rhys Marc Rhys (born ''Marc Alun Williams''; September 8, 1988 in Bridgend, South Wales), is a professional actor and one of the recipients of the 2016 Ian Charleston Award. The youngest son of teachers Nevin and Jean Williams. Trained as an actor in ...

. The film was produced by Tribe85 productions and distributed by Silverbird Distributions in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and Evrit film in the UK. It premiered in the United Kingdom on 24 May 2017 at the West End's Cineworld in London and then in Nigeria on 16 June 2017 at the Landmark Event Center,

Victoria Island, Lagos Victoria Island (VI) is an affluent area that encompasses a former island of the same name neighbouring Lagos Island, Ikoyi and the Lekki Peninsula by the Lagos Lagoon. It is the main business and finance, financial centre of Lagos State, Niger ...

. The film is one of the creative industry projects under the NollyFund loan scheme supported by

the Bank of Industry Bank of Industry Limited (abbreviated as 'BOI') is Nigeria's oldest and largest Development Finance Institution (DFI) currently operating. It is owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Nigeria (94.80%), the Central Bank of Nigeria ( ...

Plot summary

Everyone in the Osayande family worries about Isoken. Although she has what appears to be a perfect life—she is beautiful, successful and surrounded by a great family and friends—yet Isoken is still unmarried at 34 which, in a culture obsessed with marriage, is a serious cause for concern. Things come to a head at her youngest sister's wedding when her overbearing mother thrusts her into an orchestrated matchmaking with the ultimate Edo man, Osaze. Osaze is handsome, successful and from a good family, making him the perfect Nigerian husband material. But in an unexpected turn of events, Isoken meets Kevin who she finds herself falling in love with and he just might be what she truly wants in a partner. The only problem is, not only is he not an Edo man, he is

Oyinbo Òyìnbó is a Yoruba word used to refer to white people. The word is popular in Nigeria among other groups as well in a number of minor variations. ''Òyìnbó'' is generally understood by most Nigerians and many Africans due to popularity of Nol ...

(

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

). Isoken is a romantic comedy that explores cultural expectations,

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

and the bonds that unite families in touching, dramatic and comedic ways.

Cast

as Isoken * Joseph Benjamin as Osaze *

as Kevin *

Funke Akindele Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele (born August 24, 1977) popularly known as Funke Akindele or Jenifa, is a Nigerians, Nigerian filmmaker, actress, director, producer, politician , and realtor.Funsho AkinwaleFunke Akindele gives first glimpse of her tw ...

as Agnes * Lydia Forson as Kukua *

Damilola Adegbite Damilola Adegbite (born Oluwadamilola Adegbite; 18 May 1985) is a Nigerian actress, model, and television personality. She played Telema Duke in the soap opera ''Tinsel'', and Kemi Williams in the movie '' Flower Girl''. She won Best Actress in a ...

as Joke *

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, Mba starred in '' Isoken'', ''Bariga Suger'', '' Okafor's Law'' a ...

as mama Isoken *

Patrick Doyle Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953) is a Scottish composer and occasional actor best known for his film scores. During his 50-year career in film, television and theatre, he has composed the scores for over 60 feature films. A longtime collaborato ...

as Papa Isoken * Nedu Wazobia as Chuks *

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 Academ ...

as Osato * Bolanle Olukanni as Rume *Rita Edwards as Aunty * Omasan Buwa as Aunty Adesuwa *Chris Iheuwa as Uncle Mike *Abayomi Alvin as Nosa *Abimbola Craig as Yinka *Ayoola Ayolola as Seye *

Efa Iwara Efa Iwara (born 20 August 1986), also known as Efa, is a Nigerians, Nigerian actor and rapper. Early life and education Iwara was born on 20 August 1986 in Ibadan, Oyo State to his Professor of Linguistics father and Librarian mother. He hail ...

as Osato's Husband *Tosan Edremoda Ugbeye as Sister Itohan *Namisi Govin Emma as Issa

Critical reception

The movie was met with a lot of positive reviews. Although Nollywood Reinvented rated the movie 64%, they also state that if there's any one word befitting of describing this movie it would be "beautiful" Isoken went on to gather several nominations and awards, winning the 2018 AMVCA Best Film West African and for best Best Director, Best Foreign Film at BronzeLens Film Festival 2018 in Atlanta and Prix du Public at Nollywood Week Paris also in 2018. Isoken established Jadesola as not just a film Director, but an award-winning director.

Awards

References

External links