What do The Devil Wears Prada, Crazy Rich Asians, and Cinderella have in common? They are the inspiration behind the upcoming film Stitches! Helmed by seasoned filmmaker Chris Odeh, the fashion-forward film weaves fashion and love in the vibrant city of Lagos into a glowing narrative of glitz, glam, and, of course, drama.
It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in August to stellar reviews—and a repeat of those reviews just might be on the horizon.
Stitches came to be thanks to the collaborative effort of the production and distribution companies of Odeh (Sozo Films), Ramsey Nouah (Ramsey Films), and Joy Odiete (Blue Pictures Film Distribution), which merged to form what is now known as BRS Studios.
Founded in 2024, they are easily recognizable for their Netflix action-drama Tokunbo, which became an instant hit on the streaming platform, emerging as a mainstay in the Top 10 most-watched films in various countries in August 2024. Now, they aim to keep that momentum alive with Stitches, directed by AMVCA-nominated Ghanaian director Shirley Frimpong-Manso.
In an exclusive interview with The Nollywood Reporter, Odeh talks about the winding journey of naming Stitches, the meticulous process of picking its cast members, and the broader vision that shaped the project.
Fairytale Seamstress or A Stitch in Time?
“Joy brought the idea of a film she had about the fashion world,” Odeh reveals. That was the trigger that set the film into full steam ahead with production, but things took a pause when there was no consensus on what to name the film. “The story behind the name Stitches is a full season of a series,” he happily recollects. “It was first called Fairytale Seamstress, which was quite a mouthful. Also, fairytales sound more Western than Nigerian, as we do not have fairies in Nigeria. When we pitched the idea to a big streamer, there was also an agreement that the name was not going to do justice to the film.”
From there, a marathon in search of a name began. Odeh threw over thirty names at Odiete (the originator of the story): A Stitch in Time, A Stitch Out of Time, Obioma, Needles and Thread, Love Needles, Eye of the Needle, Love on the Runway, but none of them seemed to work because they did not fully capture the essence of the story, especially the love story, which is the film’s integral part.
“I remember fighting for the name A Stitch Out of Time, but it was again seen as a mouthful,” he recalls. After multiple deliberations, simplicity won the name game, and the film was named Stitches. “It’s a beautiful thing because the story came before the name,” he muses.
A Love Letter in Thread and Color
At its core, the film centers around a woman who strives to make a name in the fashion industry in Lagos. In the midst of threads, chaos, and extravaganza, she falls into a whirlwind romance that is initially seen as a distraction but ends up being her path to fulfilment.
The film’s romantic pulse is brought to life by Blood Vessel’s Obinna Okenwa and Adaobi Dibor, who play the romantic leads in Stitches. Odeh assures viewers that there aren’t unnecessary lovemaking scenes in the film, as is the culture of most Nigerian films nowadays. “It was just the traditional form of love: the man giving the woman attention, and little touches here and there.”
Reflecting on the film’s world premiere at TIFF 2025, Odeh describes his feeling of seeing his film on the world stage as nothing short of beautiful. “We had people from different continents watching Stitches, and it was exciting to observe the pure love for the film.”
He recalls sitting behind an audience member from the Middle East who was visibly moved by the film. “At some point, he even teared up. He didn’t know I was the producer; so, it was a genuine emotion. It was nice to see that we could trigger such emotion from a non-Nigerian with a Nigerian story.”
A Star-Studded Runway
Stitches marks the return of Nollywood legend Regina Askia after a thirty-five-year hiatus from the Nigerian movie industry. “If you’re a millennial or a boomer, you would love to see Regina because we grew up watching her content. It was wonderful to see her eyes, elegance, and softness whilst shooting,” Odeh says with admiration.
The cast also includes notable names in Nollywood like Chimezie Imo, Tomi Ojo, Detola Jones, Jemima Osunde, Nasboi, Frank Edoho, Swanky Jerry, among others, a lineup that Odeh perfectly curated for aesthetic reasons.
“I wanted people who looked the part, and not people who worked too hard to look the part,” he says. “The cast members are all beautiful people, just like Telemundo characters.” They were also cherry-picked to align with the vision of Stitches. “If Swanky Jerry comes on screen, for example, I didn’t want that to take away from the story.”
And everyone knows Jerry, the flamboyant fashion stylist whose work has been seen on red carpets, music video shoots, cover stories, and magazine publications both at home and abroad. Now dabbling in acting, Jerry made multiple appearances in the film, as Odeh describes him as a “catalyst in the story.” Ultimately, the fashion icon was just being himself. “What’s the fashion world in Nigeria without Swanky Jerry?” Odeh asks. Absolutely nothing.
Beyond Fashion—Finding Story in Humanity
Though set against the backdrop of the vibrant fashion industry in Lagos, Odeh insists that Stitches is not about the fashion industry. “I do not think I have done enough research to make a film about the fashion industry,” he explains. “What we did, however, was create our own little fashion world that was easy to weave in 90 minutes.”
It’s the same formula that has been used in previous BRS Films. Living in Bondage was hinged on the advertising industry, but it was not about the advertising industry. Nneka the Pretty Serpent also briefly touched on the liquor industry, but the highs and lows of it were not the central purpose. Tokunbo placed less emphasis on the car-smuggling industry and more on the good man who only went into crime to provide for his family.
On this motivation, Odeh says: “When I do my own films, I try not to make it about an industry, because that comes with its own particular nuance. My stories are about people; the industry is a backdrop.”
The Next Thread?
As for its release, Odeh admits that Stitches is in a “struggle” between a grand cinematic rollout and tempting straight-to-streaming offers. “We do want to go to the big screen,” he admits. “The film is so beautiful, and it deserves to be seen that way. But there are heavy conversations about streaming; so, it’s a big challenge.”
Still, beyond the technicalities of distribution, Odeh hints at a secret thread running throughout the film, one that is drawn from real life. When asked what might surprise audiences most about Stitches, he reveals, “The love you see in the film might just be real.”