Films Made by The Critics - A Collection

A Tomb for the Abandoned
Raymond J. YUSUFF｜2023｜B&W, Colour｜13min

CHASE
Raymond J. YUSUFF｜2018｜Colour｜6min

Another Star Wars Story
Godwin Gaza JOSIAH｜2019｜Colour｜3min

Z: THE BEGINNING
Godwin Gaza JOSIAH｜2019｜Colour｜10min

The Click
Godwin Gaza JOSIAH｜2019｜Colour｜15min

Timothee
Godwin Gaza JOSIAH｜2021｜Colour｜12min

Ogun Ola: War is Coming
Godwin Gaza JOSIAH｜2022｜Colour｜18min


​​​​Here, there are no wars, famines or blood diamonds. Nor are there Marvel superheroes from Wakanda. Nigeria’s film output ranks second only to India, thanks to its homegrown industry of “Nollywood” that started with direct-to-video releases filled with supernatural, folklore and local horror. 

The seven films in this collection were produced by The Critics, a core team of five young men hailing from Kaduna in northern Nigeria. They started out by making critical dramas about Nigeria’s societal conditions before transitioning to filming on smartphones. Over the past decade, they have evolved from simple imitations of Hollywood blockbusters to developing original content, venturing into sci-fi by teaching themselves CGI using online resources.

Through their efforts, The Critics have crafted a unique African cinematic universe distinct from Nollywood, featuring spaceships, lightsabers, superpowers and apocalyptic scenarios that are initially reminiscent of Hollywood, but are rooted in the harsh grassroots spirit of Kaduna.

In 2019, The Critics caught the attention of Hollywood and were introduced to JJ Abrams. A year later, they received professional filming equipment from the United States, upgrading their capabilities to face even more challenging genres. With time, African sci-fi might no longer be just “Wakanda Forever”, but also “Kaduna Forever”.

ABOUT THE CRITICS

The Critics is a Kaduna-based group of artists renowned for creating sci-fi films using mobile phones. From 2012, they started reenacting scenes from movies at home. Starting in 2015, they embarked on a series of projects including Redemption and Stupid Argument. In 2018, their debut sci-fi film, CHASE, was released, followed by the second sci-fi creation, Z: The Beginning, in 2019. This marked their appearance on Reuters TV, introducing The Critics to a wider audience.