Inspired by Zikoko’s editorial brands, the three-part short film series explores love, sex, and agency through the eyes of Nigerian women.
Big Cabal Media Unveils “Zikoko Life” Anthology Film Series
Big Cabal Media held a private screening for “Zikoko Life” on Saturday, July 5, in Lagos ahead of its YouTube premiere later this month.
The project marks the company’s first entry into narrative film, adapting themes from its editorial franchises — Naira Life, Sex Life, and Love Life — into a three-part short film anthology.
Created by Anita E. Eboigbe and produced by Blessing Uzzi for Bluhouse Studios, “Zikoko Life” explores themes of intimacy, autonomy, and social expectation through the eyes of Nigerian women across different stages of life. Each short is a standalone film inspired by real-life experiences Zikoko has chronicled.
The first short, “What’s Left of Us,” directed by Victor Daniel and Olamide Adio, stars Caleb Richards and Tolu Asanu. It follows Mariam, a woman whose decision to stop having children prompts a quiet unraveling of her marriage. Inspired by “Marriage Story” and “Revolutionary Road,” the film reflects on how economic disparity can be used as a tool of control within Nigerian households. “It’s also about body autonomy,” Daniel said. “What happens when a woman says no, even in marriage?”
In “My Body,” directed by and starring Uzoamaka Power, a newlywed couple faces an unexpected challenge when they are unable to consummate their marriage. Power stars opposite Andrew Yaw Bunting in a story that addresses shame, religious conditioning, and the pressure to reduce sex to duty. “I wanted to tell a story where a woman is seen and understood,” said Power. “Too often, we hear things like ‘she can just lie there and let him take it’ — it’s exhausting.”
The final short, “Something Sweet,” written and directed by Dika Ofoma, follows a woman in her 40s whose quiet life is disrupted by a relationship with a younger man. The film stars Michelle Dede, Ogranya, Oladozie Chiedoziem, and Kanyinsola Erogbogbo. “Love doesn’t end at a certain age,” Ofoma said. “You can still feel butterflies in your 40s. You can be desired, and you can choose.”
According to Uzzi, the producer, the three films are intended as “emotional time capsules that portray African women in ways that feel real and rooted… These aren’t just films. They are our stories — not imported, not idealised.”
“Zikoko Life” will premiere on Zikoko’s YouTube channel on July 12, 2025.